10. Positive Relationships

This chapter represents the third element of Seligman’s (Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being, Free Press, New York, NY, 2011) well-being theory. Many consider positive relationships the most critical element of well-being theory. One of the co-founders of the positive psychology movement, Chris Peterson, summarized positive psychology in three words, “other people matter” (Peterson in A primer in positive psychology, Oxford University Press, New York, p. 249, 2006). It is also important for servant leadership, Servant leadership emphasizes the well-being of the organization through growing and developing followers within the organization as well as bridging sustained positive relationships with stakeholders within and outside the organization (Brutus & Vanhove, in Servant leadership and followership, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, pp. 261–288, 2017). Servant leaders build relationships that operate at a higher level than a typical leader–follower or coach–athlete. Sendjaya (Free air, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland, 2015) refers to these distinctive servant leader–follower connections as covenantal relationships and are defined by mutual care, shared values, mutual trust, unconditional commitment, and concern for the welfare of each other. Servant leaders build and sustain relationships where followers feel valued and supported by the organization which, in turn, creates positive attitudes. This is mutually beneficial because when servant leaders meet the needs of others they grow by giving themselves to others; relationships improve when we serve human needs (Covey in Leadership Excellence, 23(12): 5–6, 2006).