Assessing the relationship between leadership development outcomes and servant leadership philosophy adoption among postgraduate students at Christian universities in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Leadership development remains a critical area of research. This study assessed the relationship between leadership development outcomes and adoption of a servant leadership philosophy among postgraduate students in Christian Universities in Nairobi, Kenya. The study established that Christian spiritual formation, personal formation and leader self -concepts are predictors of adoption of servant leadership. A framework for leadership development process has been proposed. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design. Stratified random sampling method was used to select 288 postgraduate students from three Christian universities in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected through a self- administered questionnaire using the survey monkey application and data analyzed using SPSS software. A multiple regression model was a good fit. Christian spiritual formation, personal formation and lead self -concepts statistically significantly predicted adoption of servant leadership philosophy, ( F(3,181)=33.75,p<.001. Adj. R2 =.36). Gender, year of study and course of study did not moderate servant leadership adoption. Level of study did have a moderating effect. These findings suggest that institutional mission focus on spiritual growth and leader identity formation plays a more significant role in developing servant leadership style. The findings have practical implications for various stakeholders. Institutions should implement structured curricula that emphasize spiritual and personal formation, leader identity development, and experiential leadership practice. Future research should explore qualitative narratives of leadership development outcomes, longitudinal tracking of leadership growth, and comparative studies across different institutional contexts.