Assessing the servant organization: Development of the Servant Organizational Leadership Assessment (SOLA) instrument

This study attempted to answer three questions: How is servant leadership defined? What are the characteristics of servant leadership? Can the presence of these characteristics within organizations be assessed through a written instrument? There were two main parts to the study. Part one involved a Delphi study to determine the characteristics of servant leadership and part two used these characteristics to construct the Servant Organizational Leadership Assessment (SOLA) instrument. The three-part Delphi survey was conducted with fourteen authorities from the field of servant leadership. The panel was asked to name and rate the characteristics of the servant leader. All characteristics that were rated from "Necessary" to "'Essential" in the final survey were used in the construction of the SOLA instrument. A significant (p < .05) decrease was found in the interquartile range between round two and round three, indicating a move toward consensus. Seventy-four items were written for the field test version of the SOLA and six items were added to assess job satisfaction, for a total of 80 items. The field test was conducted with 828 people from 41 organizations representing various states in the U.S. and one organization from the Netherlands. The instrument had an estimated reliability of .98. One way ANOVA and correlation tests were run with demographic data and the SOLA score and also with the job satisfaction score. A significant (p < .01) positive correlation of .653 was found between the SOLA score and the job satisfaction score. A factor analysis revealed a two factor solution composed of organization assessment items and leadership assessment items. Potential subscores were considered, but there was a high correlation between the scales; therefore use of the overall SOLA score is recommended for research purposes. This study provides an operational definition of servant leadership and the servant organization as well as a list of the characteristics of servant leadership, as determined by a panel of experts. The SOLA was found to be a reliable tool for measuring servant leadership in organizations and will be useful for further research as well as diagnosis in organizations.