The Strategic Nature of Servant Leadership and Emotional Intelligence in Interpersonal Conflict Management among Pastors from Selected Urban Churches in Kenya

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between servant leadership and interpersonal conflict management among pastors in selected urban churches in Kenya. The study applied a pragmatic philosophy and used the convergent parallel mixed methods approach to collect data. The target population was 180 pastors. Through purposive sampling, a sample of 123 respondents was arrived at. Questionnaires were sent to respondents through email addresses and through WhatsApp social media applications. A total of 75 responses were received. The qualitative data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the texts from qualitative data. The qualitative analysis revealed challenges that impede the use of servant leadership in conflict management. The emerging themes from the qualitative analysis revealed that organizational leadership, organizational culture, spiritual maturity and self-leadership were necessary antecedents to the use of servant leadership in conflict management. The researcher recommends that leaders at the top or executive levels of an organization need to pay attention to the culture of the organization when handling conflict management if they desire to see an improvement in interpersonal relationships and overall performance. Practical recommendations from the findings include capacity-building education and training for pastors on the practical application of servant leadership behaviours in relation to conflict management, conflict resolution skills and emotional intelligence skills.