Servant Leadership in the Boardroom: A Challenge to Shareholder Primacy? (Section I: Board Diversity and Corporate Governance‪)‬

Does servant leadership, when applied to the boardroom, represent a challenge to shareholder primacy? The traditional mantra of "maximizing shareholder value" is so often repeated that it is rare to hear it challenged or even questioned. Servant leadership holds that boards should look to maximize value for all stakeholders not just shareholders. It further holds that if value is maximized for all stakeholders, the shareholder value will actually be higher than it would be when other stakeholders are marginalized or excluded from consideration. Servant leadership in the boardroom advocates a broader view of boards' responsibilities to serve all constituents. A robust discussion of shareholder primacy versus stakeholder primacy and a number of other issues related to servant leadership in the boardroom took place at the Greenleaf Center's 21st Annual International Conference this June in Dallas. The Greenleaf Center is an international non-profit organization, promoting the awareness, understanding and practice of Servant Leadership by individuals and organizations.