A Simple Reflection, a Real Shift: Growing servant leadership from within

Dr Ui Sun, 2026

Purpose

Ui Young Sun set out to find a practical way for organisations to foster servant leadership – helping leaders better meet employees' needs and, in turn, create positive outcomes for organisations and society.

Practice

Sun developed and tested a counterfactual thinking intervention through a field experiment, guiding leaders to reflect on situations where they could have better met their employees' needs and consider how they might respond differently next time.

Output

The intervention positively shifted both leaders' intentions and actual servant leadership behaviours – evidence that a simple, low-cost reflection exercise can genuinely build servant leadership.

Outcome and impact

As leaders demonstrated greater servant leadership, employees experienced higher levels of thriving, learning and vitality, and were themselves more likely to serve others – giving organisations an evidence-based, low-cost approach to building healthier, more service-oriented workplaces.