Servant leadership, meaningfulness and flow: an upward spiral

Using the Broaden and Build theory, this study examines the relationship between servant leadership and flow and the mechanisms through which the relationship takes place (i.e. meaningfulness, empowerment, and sleep quality). A diary study was conducted in 2021 among 175 employees in three companies in China who completed two daily surveys for five days, one in the morning and one in the evening. While this design precludes causal inferences, the results show that people’s sense of meaningfulness is enhanced through servant leadership, which encourages a positive spiral that makes one more perceptive to a leader’s encouraging behavior, contributing to a greater experience of empowerment and flow. The study finds that servant leadership positively influences sleep quality, which is related to more psychological empowerment. This study expands our understanding of the impact of servant leadership on employees’ well-being and the interconnections among servant leadership, meaningfulness, empowerment, sleep quality, and flow.