This article analyses the pastoral-managerial discourse of James Hunter's The servant identifying its characteristics and functions, and how it is articulated to the "new spirit of capitalism" (Boltanski & Chiapello). Using Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis approach, we discuss aspects of the hybrid genre of self-help and spiritual management, the representation of the servant leadership, and potential effects of subjectivization of that kind of book. By defining management in terms of moral and spiritual self-development and limiting to interpersonal relations, the narrative is ideologically invested, tending to turn structural and organization problems into private spiritual issues for which the individual is responsible. In this sense, Hunter's text seems to reinforce the individualistic ideologies and essentialist views of the "I" that assign responsibility to individuals for not only keeping their jobs, but also for their personal salvation and business success.
Ideology; leadership; critical discourse analysis