Balancing competing needs is always a challenge. There are occasions for servant leadership, and then there exist times when one has to be autocratic. I personally believer that dealing with students involves a situational perspective where at different times and in different situations, one has to switch between multiple leadership styles -- be it autocratic, empowering, transactional, and transformational. Service is fine and certainly needed at times, but too often treating the student as a customer has been used as an excuse for lowering standards (I emphasize that this is not always the case).
In this context, I am providing a link to the USA Today article that I found intriguing -- a bit strong perhaps but provides a perspective as opposed to servant leadership as possible.:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060308/cm_usatoday/foronceblamethestudent;_ylt=AsJAGDiYJpyjTAp8naBIs7ADW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Vikas Anand
Associate Professor of Management
Sam M. Walton College of Business
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
Phone: 479-5756232; Fax: 479-575-3241