Strengths and Limitations

One downside of servant leadership is that it encourages people to adopt an approach to leadership that is sometimes too passive, and, in some cases, ineffective.  Also, Leaders don't always accept; sometimes they need to set and maintain standards, which requires rejection.  As James Manktelow put it, "leaders have to create visions of the future which engage the people around them. They have to inspire and motivate their teams.  They have to maintain focus and control distractions. And yes, they support and enable and build people, but they do this from a position of strength and self-confidence, not from a position of weakness (or of "service")."  In other words, leaders have to be in a position of authority and step-in and take charge at times.