The Dark Side of Servant Leadership

Using Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray as an extended frame, Forney examines the disturbing shadow side of the servant-leadership model that Robert Greenleaf introduced in his 1970 essay "The Servant as Leader." The model — praised for its humility and moral seriousness — can conceal manipulation, martyr dynamics, weaponised humility, and unaccountable power; the glowing public portrait of the servant leader hides a darker portrait in the attic that nobody is allowed to see.