Almost 20 Years of Research Studies with the OLA
Research Studies Conducted Using the OLA
Since 1999 when the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA) was created, there have been multiple research studies conducted using the instrument providing a rich research base for the concept of servant leadership. Attached here is a document that provides a summary of the OLA studies indicating different the types of organizations and different topics studied with a summary of key findings.
Scroll down this page to review each of the studies, beginning with the most recent and going back to the original 1999 study by Dr. Laub. Several of these provide the full study for upload.
The Impact of Management’s Use of Servant Leadership Principles to Satisfy and Maintain Volunteer Workforce in a Nonprofit Organization
2017 - Hines, Carmia Sykes
Organization Type:
National Non-profit Organization – emergency disaster relief
Focus:
Volunteer vs. Employee perceptions on SL and Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant positive relationships existed between SL and Job Satisfaction. Volunteers had significantly higher OLA scores than did employees
Generational Differences in the Organizational Leadership Assessment within Religious Non-Profit Organizations along the US/Mexico Border
2017 - Lafitte, Glenn
Organization Type:
Religious Non-Profit Orgs
Focus:
Generational Differences in followers perceptions of SL and followers Job Satisfaction
Findings:
Significant differences found in followers’ perception of SL by language (Spanish speakers had higher perceptions of SL than English speakers)
Servant-Leader Boards: A Quantitative Study of For-Profit Firms in the United States
2016 - Denning, Brian
Organization Type:
For-profit Firm in the U.S.
Focus:
Board leadership
Findings:
A significant positive relationship was established between servant leadership and organizational health
The Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction in a Colorado Nonprofit Organization
2016 - Henning, Paul
Organization Type:
Non-Profit Organization
Focus:
Job Satisfaction – Psychometrics – validated JS Scale
Findings:
Statistically significant correlations between Job Satisfaction and Servant Leadership
The Relationship Between Servant Leadership and Faculty Satisfaction Among Faculty Members in the Council of Independent Colleges
2016 - DeWoody, Susan
Organization Type:
CIC member Christian Colleges – Faculty
Focus:
Job Satisfaction among faculty
Findings:
Significant positive relationship found between SL and faculty satisfaction
Servant Leadership and its Relationship with Core Self-Evaluation and Job Satisfaction
2016 - McCormick, Tischler, Giambatista & McKeage
Organization Type:
3 firms
Focus:
Core Self-Evaluation – Job Satisfaction
Findings:
SL predicts both Core Self-evaluation and job satisfaction. Core Satisfaction also predicts Job Satisfaction
Servant Leadership: An Effective Leadership Model for Achieving Optimal Productivity
2016 - Hodoh, Stacey
Organization Type:
For-profit Distribution Center
Focus:
Worker Productivity
Findings:
A statistically significant relationship between workers productivity scores and overall SL behavior
Exploring the Leadership Practices of Principals of Blue Ribbon Schools
2015 - Van Worth, Scott
Organization Type:
Blue Ribbon Schools in Oklahoma
Focus:
SL perceptions from teachers
Findings:
All blue ribbon principals espoused SL and displayed 3 SL characteristics; listening, commitment to the growth of teachers and building community
Leading Volunteers: Understanding Correlations between Servant Leadership Practices and Volunteer Satisfaction within a Non-Denominational Church
2015 - Harless, Jon
Organization Type:
Non-denominational Church
Focus:
Volunteer Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant correlation between SL practices and volunteer satisfaction
Perceptions of organizational servant leadership and doctoral student satisfaction with e-Learning
2014 - Nyamboli, Richard
Organization Type:
Higher Ed.
Focus:
Doctoral student satisfaction with eLearning
Findings:
A significant relationship was not found between SL and student satisfaction with eLearning
The Relationship between Servant Leadership and Athlete Satisfaction
2014 - Azadfada, Shiva
Organization Type:
Sports Teams – Iranian Universities
Focus:
Female Athlete Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant positive correlation between SL and athlete satisfaction
Servant Leadership and Job Satisfaction in a Multicultural Hospitality Organization: A Quantitative, Non-experimental Descriptive Study
2013 - Wilson, Douglas
Organization Type:
Multicultural Hospitality Org
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A statistically significant relationship existed between SL and Job Satisfaction as perceived by culturally diverse employees
Servant Leadership in Mississippi Private Christian Schools: A Correlational Study of Servant Leadership and Job Satisfaction
2013 - Mortan, Michele Morgan
Organization Type:
Christian Private Schools
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A Study of Elementary School Administrators' Implementation of Servant Leadership and Elementary School Teachers' Job Satisfaction in an Urban School District
2012 - Shears, Mitchell
Organization Type:
Urban Elementary Schools
Focus:
Teacher Job Satisfaction
Findings:
High performing schools had the highest mean scores in all categories of the OLA – Low performing schools had the lowest mean scores
Higher Education Leadership: Servant Leadership and the Effects on Student Satisfaction
2012 - Padron, Joshua
Organization Type:
Higher Ed
Focus:
Student Satisfaction
Findings:
No correlation found between SL and Student Satisfaction
The Impact of Servant Leadership within a US National Campus Ministry: An Examination of Effective Leadership among Millennials
2012 - Nordbye, Valorie
Organization Type:
National Campus ministry
Focus:
Millennials and effective leadership
Findings:
A positive relationship between the leadership culture style and the growh of the area (staff recruitment, total number of ministries)
Organizational Identity: An Exploration of Organizational Values and Perceived Leadership Behaviors
2012 - McNiven, Chris
Organization Type:
The Brethren in Christ Church (US/Canada)
Focus:
Servant Led Org identity and perceived leadership behaviors
Findings:
An organization may possess values that positively correlate with SL values yet behaviors may not be perceived as being servant-led. This resulted in a model of being and becoming a servant-led organization.
Servant Leadership Training and Development in Selected Evangelical Churches
2012 - McNeff, Michael
Organization Type:
Evangelical churches
Focus:
Servant Leadership Training
Findings:
A positive relationship between SL and the presence of Leadership Development programs
A Correlational Study of Servant Leadership and Teacher Job Satisfaction in a Public Education Institution
2012 - McKenzie, Roger
Organization Type:
Public Education institutions – High Schools
Focus:
Teacher Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A positive correlation between SL and teacher job satisfaction in a public school district
Servant Leadership in Bolivia: A Phenomenological Study of Long-Term Effects of a Servant Leader in Missions
2012 - Chavez, Elizabeth
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – Bolivia
Focus:
Female Servant Leader – founder of 2 universities
Findings:
The OLA and interview data confirm the presence of SL behaviors 30 and 50 years after their founding
An analysis of the Relationship Between Organizational Servant Leadership and Student Achievement in Middle Level Schools
2012 - Babb, Corbett
Organization Type:
Middle Schools
Focus:
Student performance
Findings:
Organizational SL factors had a minimal impact on school effectiveness variables
Servant-Leadership Perception and Job Satisfaction among Saudi Food and Drug Authority Employees: A Correlational Study
2012 - Al-Yousef, Baleegh
Organization Type:
Food and Drug Employees – Saudi Arabia
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A statistically significant positive and substantial relationship between SL and Job Satisfaction
Servant Leadership Practices among School Principals in Educational Directorates in Jordan
2011 - Salameh, Kayed
Organization Type:
Jordanian Educational Directorate
Focus:
SL among school principals
Findings:
SL is practiced at a moderate level
Faculty Perceptions of Organizational Leadership at Christian Colleges and Universities with Missions of Servant Leadership
2011 - Palmer, Marila
Organization Type:
Christian Higher Ed – faculty
Focus:
Faculty perceptions of SL
Findings:
SL Perceptions of faculty with fewest years was significantly higher than those faculty with more tenure
Assessing the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Effective Teaching in a Private University Setting
2011 - Jacobs, Karen
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – private university
Focus:
Effective Teaching
Findings:
No significant relationship between SL and effective teaching
Committed to Serve: A Descriptive Study of the Growing Presence of Servant Leadership Within a Non-profit Organization
2011 - Goodwin, Orenthi
Organization Type:
Non-profit organization – YMCA
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
An Examination of the CompStat Management Model on Organizational Health and Job Satisfaction
2011 - Freeman, Richard
Organization Type:
Law Enforcement
Focus:
The CompStat management method – Job Satisfaction
Findings:
CompStat does not have an adverse effect on the organizational health of police departments
Relational Leadership: A Study of Organizational Health and Clergy Within the Wesleyan Church
2011 - Bradford, Brian
Organization Type:
Pastors – Wesleyan Church
Focus:
Relational Leadership
Findings:
Senior pastors tend to view their relational leadership performance more positively than do staff workers
Correlational Analysis of Servant Leadership and School Climate
2010 - Black, Glenda
Organization Type:
Education – Canada
Focus:
Organizational Climate
Findings:
A significant positive correlation between servant leadership and school climate
Servant Leadership and Job Satisfaction among Long-term Care Employees
2009 - Wyllie, Judith
Organization Type:
Healthcare – long term care employee
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant positive correlation between SL and Job Satisfaction. Significant differences between Manager and Workforce responses
Organizational Leadership: A Study of the Perceptions of Servant Leadership Practices and Beliefs, and its Implications for a Private Christian Institution of Higher Education in Brazil
2009 - Miguel, Jose
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – Brazil
Focus:
SL perceptions in 2 Universities
Findings:
Servant-Leadership in Higher Education: An Analysis of the Perceptions of Higher Education Employees Regarding Servant Leadership Practices at Varying Types of Institutions
2009 - McDougle, Lisa
Organization Type:
Higher Ed
Focus:
Perceptions of administrators compared to workforce
Findings:
A significant difference in the perceptions of administrators and workforce on SL
A Correlational analysis: servant leadership and participation by volunteer leaders of credit unions
2009 - Gormley, James
Organization Type:
Credit Unions
Focus:
Volunteer participation
Findings:
Significant correlations were found between SL and Volunteer Participation
The Effects of Servant Leadership Behaviors of School Principals on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction
2009 - Cerit, Y.
Organization Type:
Education – Turkey
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A strong positive relationship between SL of school principals and teacher’s job satisfaction. SL was a significant predictor of teacher job satisfaction
Servant Leadership in a Community College: A Multivariate Analysis of Employees' Perceptions
2009 - Adamson, Laurie
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – Community College
Focus:
Perception Match
Findings:
No statistically significant differences between leaders and workforce though leaders perceived higher levels of SL
Servant Leadership and Job Satisfaction
2008 - Xin Yin
Organization Type:
Focus:
Job Satisfaction – Psychometrics – Reliability
Findings:
A significant positive correlation between SL and Job Satisfaction – Reliability score of .9769 for the OLA
A Correlational Study of Servant Leadership and Elementary Principal Job Satisfaction in Ohio Public School Districts
2008 - Svoboda, Sandra
Organization Type:
Education – Elementary School Principles
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant positive correlation was found between SL and principal job satisfaction
Servant-minded Leadership and Work Satisfaction in Islamic Organizations: A Correlational Mixed Study
2008 - Salie, Achmat
Organization Type:
Islamic organizations – U.S.
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
Servant Leadership and Effective Classroom Teaching
2008 - Metzcar, Aaron
Organization Type:
Education
Focus:
Effective Teaching
Findings:
There may be a positive relationship between SL and effective teaching
An Exploratory Study of Servant Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and Job Satisfaction Among High-Tech Employees
2008 - Johnson, Lolita Regina
Organization Type:
High Tech/Emotional Intelligence
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
No significant relationship between SL and Emotional Intelligence or between EI and job satisfaction
Influence of Servant-Leadership Practice on Job Satisfaction: A Correlational Study in a Lutheran Organization
2008 - Inbarasu, Jeba
Organization Type:
Religious Org – Lutheran (ELCA)
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant relationship between SL and Job Satisfaction
Servant Leadership: A Model for Organizations Desiring a Workplace Spirituality Culture
2008 - Herman, Rebecca
Organization Type:
Organizations
Focus:
Workplace spirituality culture
Findings:
Positive correlation between SL and workplace spirituality.
Leadership in Higher Education: An Investigation of Servant Leadership as a Predictor of College Performance
2008 - Hannigan, John
Organization Type:
Higher Ed
Focus:
College performance
Findings:
SL did not exist at the organizational level at the 5 colleges
Employee Perception of Servant Leadership and Job Satisfaction in a Call Center: A Correlational Study
2008 - Chu, Hai-Wen
Organization Type:
Call Center
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
SL was positively correlated to individual’s Job Satisfaction
Second fiddle? An interpretive study of followers of servant leaders
2008 - Beaver, Shirley
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – Nursing
Focus:
The follower experience
Findings:
Multiple qualitative responses from followers
A Correlational Study of Servant Leadership and Registered Nurse Job Satisfaction in Acute Healthcare Settings
2008 - Amadeo, Carol
Organization Type:
Healthcare – Nurses
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A strong correlation between SL and RN job satisfaction in acute health-care settings
An analysis of the leadership practices of the churches of the Plymouth Brethren movement in the United States
2007 - Witter
Organization Type:
Religious Org – Plymouth Brethren
Focus:
Perceptions of SL
Findings:
The Plymouth Brethren enjoy a high level of organizational health
Servant Leadership and Team Effectiveness: A Study of Industrial Manufacturing Correlation
2007 - Rauch, Ken
Organization Type:
Industrial Manufacturing
Focus:
Employee Attrition and Absenteeism – Employee Safety
Findings:
A significant correlation between SL and a reduction in both absenteeism and attrition rates. No support for a relationship between SL and accident rates
Serving the World: A Cross-cultural Study of National Culture Dimensions and Servant Leadership
2007 - Molnar, Darin
Organization Type:
Cultural Studies
Focus:
National Culture Dimensions – Hofstede
Findings:
A new instrument is developed – the Servant Leadership Index
Servant leadership from the student officer perspective in Phi Theta Kappa
2007 - Merideth, Susan
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – student officers
Focus:
Student perceptions of SL
Findings:
SL is perceived within this organization
A Study of the Church Staff Organization's Servant Leadership Tendency and Job Satisfaction of the Pastor and of another Ministerial Staff Person in Southern Baptist Convention Churches in Tarrant County, Texas
2007 - Kong, Paul
Organization Type:
Religious Org
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant positive relationship between SL perceptions and Job Satisfaction
Star Gazers or Servant Leaders? An Examination of the Belief and Practice of Servant Leadership in the U.S. Military and a Comparison to Business Leaders
2007 - Kegler, Michael
Organization Type:
U.S. Military
Focus:
Military leader perceptions of SL
Findings:
Team Effectiveness and Six Essential Servant Leadership Themes: A Regression Model Based on items in the Organizational Leadership Assessment
2007 - Irving, Justin
Organization Type:
Focus:
Team Effectiveness
Findings:
SL as a significant predictor of team effectiveness – 6 essential themes are identified
Organizational Leadership and its Relationship to Outcomes in Residential Treatment
2007 - Bradshaw, Mary
Organization Type:
Healthcare – 16 residential treatment organizations
Focus:
Org outcomes
Findings:
A weak negative correlation between SL and successful outcomes
Servant Leadership in Religious Congregations: The Effect on Donations
2007 - Beaver, Tiffany
Organization Type:
Religious organizations
Focus:
Generating revenue
Findings:
No statistically significant correlation between SL and donations
Called to serve: Servant-leadership perceptions at a Franciscan-sponsored university correlated with job satisfaction
2006 - Van Tassell, Malachi
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – Franciscan University
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A moderate positive linear relationship between SL perceptions and Job Satisfaction
Perceptions of the evidence of a servant leadership culture among educators in the P--12 school system in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists
2006 - Ross, Donovan
Organization Type:
Education/ Religious Org
Focus:
Findings:
There is a difference in how educators perceive the attributes of SL based on gender and enrollment . No difference based on age, ethnicity, level of education
Servant-leadership in a Catholic charities agency: A case study
2006 - McCann, Robert
Organization Type:
Religious Org/ Non-profit
Focus:
Employee perceptions of SL
Findings:
Exploring social enterprise organizational climate and culture
2006 - Klamon, Virginia
Organization Type:
Social Enterprise organizations
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
Enterprise members co-create healthy organizational environments.
Stepping out of the shadow: The leadership qualities of successors in family business
2006 - Cater, John
Organization Type:
6 – Family Businesses
Focus:
Leadership Succession
Findings:
Differing perceptions are presented
Servant leadership: A quantitative study of the perceptions of employees of a Christian-based, for-profit organization
2006 - Arfsten, Debra
Organization Type:
Religious Org
Focus:
Employee perceptions of SL
Findings:
No significant differences in response based on gender and number of years in the organization
Servant leadership in public schools: A case study
2006 - Anderson, Jason
Organization Type:
Education – Public Schools (K-12)
Focus:
Employee perceptions of SL
Findings:
A SL’s behavior positively impacts the health of the school organization
Servant-leadership and job satisfaction: A correlational study in Texas Education Agency Region X public schools
2005 - Miears, Larry
Organization Type:
Education
Focus:
Job Satisfaction – Psychometrics for OLA Ed. Version
Findings:
The OLA Ed. Version shows the same strong internal reliability as the original OLA. SL leads to higher teacher satisfaction
Can Servant-Leaders be Safety Indicators? Development and Test of a Model Linking Servant-Leadership to Occupational Safety
2005 - Krebs, Kristen
Organization Type:
Large pharmaceutical organization
Focus:
Org Safety – workers propensity to actively care for safety and promote safe behaviors
Findings:
SL is predictive of actively caring. SL significantly influenced accidents directly.
A Correlation of Servant Leadership, Leader Trust and Organizational Trust
2005 - Joseph & Winston
Organization Type:
Focus:
Organizational and Leader Trust – with OLA and the Organizational Trust Inventory (OTI)
Findings:
SL correlated positively with both leader trust and organizational trust
Servant Leadership and the Effectiveness of Teams
2005 - Irving, Justin
Organization Type:
17 – organizations
Focus:
Team Effectiveness
Findings:
A statistically significant and positive correlation was found between SL and Job Satisfaction when analyzed in reference to team effectiveness
Servant leadership in higher education: Exploring perceptions of educators and staff employed in a university setting
2005 - Iken, Stacie
Organization Type:
Higher Ed – private Christian university
Focus:
Perceptions of SL
Findings:
Length of employment did not significantly impact perceptions of SL
A correlational analysis of servant leadership and job satisfaction in a religious educational organization
2005 - Anderson, Kelly
Organization Type:
Education/Religious Org – LDS Church
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A strong correlation exists between individual Job Satisfaction and perceptions of SL
Defining Servant Leadership: A Recommended Typology for Servant Leadership Studies
2004 - Laub, Jim
Organization Type:
Focus:
Findings:
Defining of SL terms
Servant leadership qualities of principals, organizational climate, and student achievement: A correlational study
2004 - Lambert, Wendy
Organization Type:
Education – Florida School Districts
Focus:
student achievement – school climate
Findings:
A significant relationship between SL of secondary school principals and gains in student achievement. An even stronger relationship between SL and school climate
Employee perceptions of servant leadership: Comparisons by level and with job satisfaction and organizational commitment
2004 - Drury, Sharon
Organization Type:
Higher Ed
Focus:
Job Satisfaction – Org Commitment
Findings:
A statistically signifiant gap exists between perceptions of SL by different levels of employees – A significant positive and substantial relationship between SL and Job Satisfaction – A statistically significant inverse relationship between SL and Org Commitment
Law enforcement leaders and servant leadership: A reliability study of the organizational leadership assessment
2003 - Ledbetter, Stephe
Organization Type:
Law Enforcement
Focus:
Servant Leadership and ComStat program – Psychometrics – Reliability
Findings:
Confirmed reliability of the OLA
From Paternalism to the Servant Organization
2003 - Laub, Jim
Organization Type:
Focus:
Accuracy study for Org Health Level descriptions
Findings:
OLA founcational concepts (APS and PAC models, Org Health Level descriptions)
Perspectives of servant-leadership and spirit in organizations
2003 - Horsman, John
Organization Type:
34 Multiple Organizations
Focus:
Spirit in Orgs – Psychmetrics
Findings:
A significant relationship was found between personal dimensions of spirit and servant leadership
Organizational servant leadership and its relationship to secondary school effectiveness
2003 - Herbst, Joel
Organization Type:
Education – secondary schools
Focus:
Student Achievement
Findings:
Positive relationships found between SL and student achievement
The relationship of perceived servant leadership and job satisfaction from the follower's perspective
2003 - Hebert, Sherri
Organization Type:
12 Organizations (public and private)
Focus:
Job Satisfaction
Findings:
A significant relationship between perception of SL and Job Satisfaction
Servant Leadership Characteristics in a Health Care Organization, and the Relationship with Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)
2003 - Freitas. F.M.
Organization Type:
Healthcare – Hospital
Focus:
LMX relationship
Findings:
A high correlation between all six subscales of the OLA and the LMX-7 instrument
The perception of servant leadership characteristics and job satisfaction in a church-related college
2002 - Thompson, Robert
Organization Type:
Christian Higher Ed
Focus:
Job Satisfaction – Psychmetrics – validated JS Scale
Findings:
The perception of SL (OLA) positively impacts Job Satisfaction – validated the OLA Job Satisfaction scale
Spiritual orientation of a leader and perceived servant leader behavior: A correlational study
2002 - Beazley, Debra
Organization Type:
TDIndustries – Construction Org
Focus:
Spirituality in Orgs
Findings:
The correlated dimension of spirituality is positively significant and influential to SL behavior
Servant-leadership: Belief and practice in women-led businesses
2000 - Braye, Ruby
Organization Type:
Women leaders
Focus:
Top female leaders compared to top male leaders
Findings:
No difference found between top male leaders and top female leaders
Assessing the Servant Organization: Development of the Servant Organizational Leadership Assessment (SOLA) Instrument
1999 - Laub, Jim
Organization Type:
40 – Multiple Organizations
Focus:
OLA Develoment – Psychometrics – Job Satisfaction
Findings:
OLA is created with items determined through a Delphi process. Reliability of .98 with high correlation to Job Satisfaction