Abstract
The concept servant leadership (SL) has continued to spark debates amongst academic practitioners and has gained considerable attention as a leadership approach that is appropriate for organisations facing global change, such as adapting to the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies. With that said, there has been constant debate on what it constitutes to become a servant leader. This study reports on a case study that explores the role mindfulness plays in SL. Through empirical examination, the research attempts to identify, understand, and develop the value of mindful servant leadership in dealing with 4IR technology changes in the studied company that, for the purposes of this study, will be called Company X. It is a company that needs to evolve rapidly to serve customers better in the face of fierce competition. Arguably, the assumption is that the existence of a leadership approach that is relatively selfless and conscious of the changes, created particularly by the nature of 4IR, allows for organisational sustainability. Given the impact of the 4IR technologies on Company X, this organisation finds it necessary to change its business processes and procedures. This need for change triggers challenges such as mismanagement of input resources by managers new to the 4IR technology adaptations and this reverberates to each manager’s direct employees and results in their frustration to constantly deal with 4IR instigated change. Mindfulness in SL is gradually becoming a popular tool in strategic management for combating these challenges, to build sustainable organisations that thrive in the 4IR (Mpofu & Nicolaides, 2019:13).
A qualitative research design was deployed applying an action research (AR) design approach. The goal of the research was to explore the comprehension of nine leaders and three subordinates in Company X regarding their application of mindfulness in developing it as a SL trait. The researcher employed at Company X played the role of a change agent by conducting mindfulness training as an intervention. The researcher then followed these managers in the workplace to track any change in leadership style that exhibited mindfulness – assessed from the perspectives of their subordinates. Content
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analysis was used to analyse the data to reveal concerns, patterns and trends raised by the participants. This provided the deep and insightful narratives for the study, subsequently leading to the finding of the importance of interdepartmental communication, since the users (employees and managers) of the new 4IR technological systems require a constant back and forth flow of information as well as skills development in order for systems integrations to be carried out efficiently by all new users of technology systems. The study highlighted that the current 4IR technology adopted by Company X, revealed many challenges, attributable to the lack of a clearly communicated strategic vision to all employees. The key finding of the study was that mindfulness in SL could play an important role in 4IR technological transitions for Company X. The researcher also pointed out that senior managers were loath to change from a traditional transactional style of leadership, characterised by autocratic decision making that tended to ignore valuable information about that decision from lower placed employees. On the other hand, middle managers, junior managers and employees, indicated they felt that mindfulness within a SL style of leadership had an important role to play in managing 4IR disruptions strategically.