A Correlational Study of Governmental Leaders' Faith Development and their Perceived Servant Leader Behavior

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a significant relationship exists between the variables of faith development and perceived servant leader behaviors among governmental leaders in the County of Salem, NJ. Specifically this study sought to examine whether a leader's faith development, as measured by the Faith Development Scale (FDS), correlated with being recognized as a servant leader among one's followers, as measured by the Servant Leadership Behavior Scale (SLBS). The FDS data was compiled from the leader's selection of the eight-item paired choice inventory. The SLBS data was compiled from the follower's selection of a 35-item 5-point Likert scale inventory. The results of the correlational analysis indicated that no significant relationship existed among the results of the FDS and SLBS. Additionally, factor analyses of the SLBS indicated that the scale does not measure the creator prescribed sub-scales within the inventory but may just measure an overall construct of servant leadership. The conclusion of this study indicated that faith development may not be antecedent to servant leader behavior in a governmental context.