Many studies have documented the effects of servant leadership on followers, but the proposition that this style of leadership increases followers’ independence remains untested, along with whether the characteristic of authenticity is passed on to followers. Thus, in this study we draw on the conservation of resources theory and assess whether servant leadership is negatively and indirectly related to followers’ dependence on the leader via their personal learning. We found that this indirect effect is moderated by followers’ need for achievement, such that followers with a high (vs. low) need for achievement respond to servant leadership by being less dependent on them. Servant leadership is also positively and indirectly related to followers’ felt authenticity via their vulnerability. This indirect effect is moderated by followers’ need for affiliation, such that followers with a higher (vs. lower) need for affiliation respond to servant leadership with more felt authenticity. Results from a three-wave survey involving 220 full-time employees from three companies in Zhejiang province, China support our hypotheses. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our study and its limitations, along with further research directions.
