Companies are more frequently employing projects daily to achieve business objectives. This study focusses on a small manufacturing company situated in Springs, Gauteng. At this recycle fiber plant approximately 10% of the projects launched did not yield the desired outcomes. Research indicated that the leadership focusses on deliverables with little emphasis on the employee well-being and concerns. The aim of the research is to highlight the gap of servant leadership, and to provide the critical success factors that would contribute towards the implementation of servant leadership. A survey and questionnaire were used to collect data from departments of operations, engineering, project, quality, and safety. The study received 33 responses from a total of 50 population, which represents a 66% response rate. The study discovered inefficient evidence supporting the presence of leadership empowerment in this manufacturing company. The study further identified collaboration culture, leadership empowerment, organizational culture, fostering learning culture, work engagement, and team effectiveness as critical success factors for servant leadership. It is highly recommended that the organisation adopts a strategy to address the absence of servant leadership and implement a strategy to deploy this form of leadership, to reap the benefits of servant leadership in the project.