Community service (or volunteering) is a wonderful and much-needed practice. It brings community members together, uplifts those in need, and fosters civic responsibility. Yet, as Gene Wright, Assistant Professor, Executive Mentor, and long-time volunteer for WISL, often reminds us, there is a common misconception:
Many individuals assume that community service and servant leadership are the same thing. While both focus on serving others, they are not the same actions.
Community service is a periodic act; it addresses immediate needs through acts of generosity. While servant leadership is a mindset that heals, it transforms relationships, communities, workplaces, and schools by embedding service into the very identity and actions of a leader.
This distinction matters. Understanding that allows us to honor the value of service while embracing the deeper, transformative mindset of servant leadership. Our goal is to help clear up this servant leadership misconception and give guidance to a true servant leader mindset.
Here, we’ll discuss:
- How community service and servant leadership are related but not the same
- The value of community service (and how volunteering can be a pathway to servant leadership)
- How servant leadership is a deeper mindset
- Examples of servant leadership in action
- Practical ways to start your servant leadership journey
Clearing Up a Common Misconception: The Difference Between Community Service and Servant Leadership
Community Service: An Act of Contribution
Community service is generally defined as unpaid work focused on helping the environment, non-profit organizations, or within a community. This may look like volunteering time, tutoring, organizing events, and helping out in your neighborhood.
The benefits are clear: communities receive much-needed resources, while individuals gain empathy and awareness. Service-learning programs in higher education, for example, suggest that these experiences may be a positive path for developing servant leaders (Robinson & Magnusen, 2024).
Yet, community service is often periodic. It tends to be more task-focused and time-bound. The impact is nevertheless meaningful, but it is limited to those times (unless you are an active volunteer). But, there is more to servant leadership than just community service.
Essentially, community service is a piece of the servant leadership puzzle, but that isn’t the full scope of what being a servant leader is.
Servant Leadership: A Full-Practice Mindset
Servant leadership is not a single act but a way of living and leading. First created by Robert K. Greenleaf (1970), servant leadership asks leaders to serve first, prioritizing the growth and well-being of others before personal gain. The prominent question Greenleaf posed still guides us today: “Do those served grow as persons?”
Larry Spears (Spears & The Spears Center, 2010) identified 10 key characteristics of servant leaders: empathy, listening, healing, stewardship, foresight, and commitment to the growth of people, among others. These qualities are not confined to one moment of service. Adopting a servant leader mindset shapes how leaders make decisions, build culture, and sustain long-term support.
In this sense, servant leadership goes far beyond “helping.” It is about healing–one of the core principles highlighted within servant leadership.
How Servant Leadership Goes Beyond Community Service
The difference becomes clear when comparing the scope of each:
- Community service contributes through acts of kindness.
- Servant leadership transforms through relationships, values, and vision.
As Steve Burrell (Vice President of IT and CIO at Northern Arizona University) notes in his work on quantum leadership, modern organizations need holistic, flexible, and self-organizing models that thrive at the edge of chaos. Servant leadership offers this kind of adaptability because it treats humans as the center of flourishing systems.
Servant Leadership in Action
Evidence shows that servant leadership has a measurable impact in both workplaces and education. For example:
Some name-brand organizations have implemented servant leadership principles into their cultures. The results include higher employee engagement, stronger customer loyalty, and greater organizational resilience (CEOWorld, 2023). Academic studies confirm this as well, showing that servant leadership is linked to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and service behavior (Ghahremani et al., 2024).
Additionally, employees led by servant leaders often expand their service mindset beyond the workplace and into community involvement (Khan et al., 2024). Servant leadership doesn’t just help organizations; it shapes lives.
Servant leadership is in action, right now. And you don’t need “permission” to be a servant leader. WI Servant Leadership hosts various opportunities to engage in meaningful networking and conversations with like-minded servant leaders across the state. We encourage you to grab a friend and attend a City Wide event or sign up to join a roundtable discussion!
→ You can also learn more from our dedicated blog: Benefits of Attending Wisconsin Servant Leadership Roundtables & Events.
Practical Applications
Not sure how to get started? Don’t overthink it. Here are some practical examples:
- Encourage community service, but go beyond to reflect on it. Journals, roundtables, or mentorship can help individuals see how service experiences connect to leadership identity.
- Embed servant leadership into organizational culture. Workplaces and schools should measure success not only by productivity, but how people grow and heal.
- Model the servant-first mindset. Leaders can share their own stories of service, practice empathy in decision-making, and mentor others in the philosophy.
→ Learn more about How to Implement Servant Leadership Core Values in Your Daily Life.
Community service is important. It meets immediate needs, connects people, and strengthens civic life. But that doesn’t have to be the endpoint. By making service a way of being rather than an act, servant leaders help heal, build trust, and cultivate collaboration. Communities need both service and servant leadership.
Next Steps: Grow as a Servant Leader
If this article resonated with you, keep your servant leadership journey moving forward. Here are a few ways to take action today:
- Join a Roundtable Discussion: Connect with servant leaders across Wisconsin in honest, inspiring conversations. Explore Roundtables ←
- Attend a City Wide Event: Hear from thought leaders, engage in meaningful networking, and walk away with fresh perspectives. Learn about City Wide ←
- Keep Learning with WISL Blogs: Dive deeper into servant leadership and related topics. Explore Blogs ←
- Stay Informed About SL Opportunities: Get roundtable and event updates, and more information about WISL by joining our email list. ←
References
Ghahremani, H., Lemoine, G. J., & Hartnell, C. A. (2024). The influence of servant leadership on internal career success: An examination of psychological climates and career progression expectations. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 31(2), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/15480518241248217
Khan, M. M., Mubarik, M. S., Ahmed, S. S., & Islam, T. (2024). Expanding service beyond the organizational boundaries: a moderated mediated model of servant leadership to affect employees’ community citizenship behavior. Evidence-based HRM: A Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebhrm-12-2022-0311
Richardson, M. (2023, August 4). The difference between Servant vs Service Leadership and why it matters. CEOWORLD Magazine. https://ceoworld.biz/2023/08/04/the-difference-between-servant-vs-service-leadership-and-why-it-matters/
Robert K. Greenleaf. (2025, April 14). What is Servant Leadership? – Robert K. Greenleaf. https://greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/
Robinson, G. M., & Magnusen, M. J. (2024). Developing Servant Leadership through Experience and Practice: A Case Study in Service Learning. Behavioral Sciences, 14(9), 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090801
Wisconsin Servant Leadership. (2025, April 9). Governance – Wisconsin servant leadership. https://wisconsinservantleadership.org/resources/governance/
Wisl. (2025a, May 1). How to implement servant leadership core values in your daily life. Wisconsin Servant Leadership. https://wisconsinservantleadership.org/how-to-implement-servant-leadership-core-values-in-daily-life/
Wisl. (2025b, May 28). Benefits of Attending Wisconsin Servant Leadership Roundtables & Events. Wisconsin Servant Leadership. https://wisconsinservantleadership.org/benefits-of-attending-servant-leadership-roundtables-and-events/
Wisl. (2025c, July 2). Tips to Build Trust & Collaboration Through Servant Leadership. Wisconsin Servant Leadership. https://wisconsinservantleadership.org/tips-to-build-trust-and-collaboration-servant-leadership/
Wisl. (2025d, July 17). What is Servant Leadership? How is it Different from Other Leadership Styles? Wisconsin Servant Leadership. https://wisconsinservantleadership.org/what-is-servant-leadership-how-it-is-different-from-other-leadership-styles/
Wisl. (2025e, July 17). Most common questions around servant leadership. Wisconsin Servant Leadership. https://wisconsinservantleadership.org/most-common-questions-around-servant-leadership/
Spears, L. C. & The Spears Center. (2010). Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring leaders. In The Journal of Virtues & Leadership (Vols. 1–1, pp. 25–30). School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent University. https://www.regent.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Spears_Final.pdf