Shepherding 001

Shepherding 001

A shepherd is wholly responsible as well as dependent upon his flock.

Sheep do not lead themselves.

Sheep are the shepherd’s renewable resource.

Sheep are his living and to some extent his life.

Sheep, their health and wellbeing, are critical to the shepherd’s success.

No sheep, no shepherd.  No shepherd and the sheep are just dinner.

A shepherd shares all the dangers and hardships with the sheep.  He is neither isolated nor insulated from their environment and the elements.

The shepherd can be talented, wise, smart, strong and fun but if he is not willing to do the hard work, the messy work, the dangerous work, he will not be a shepherd for long.  No sheep, no shepherd.  This has to be a choice.  Taking up the shepherding model of leadership has to be a choice as well.

So, the first thing you need to do is to decide if you’re willing to do the hard, messy, dangerous, etc., work of shepherding.  Are you willing to start and keep going?  Are you willing to do it poorly as you learn to do it well?  Are you willing to step out of the fold and into the field?  Are you willing to share with the sheep what the sheep face as sheep?

This isn’t about steps, keys, secrets or anything magic.  It is about hard work – constantly done better and better.  This isn’t about emulating anyone or imposing a system.  It is about risk and reason and reward.

So the choice is yours.  Do you want to lead your people (or even yourself) or would you rather drive them?  Is yours the LONG view or the short?  A healthy flock can provide for the shepherd and others for a lifetime. 

First question.  Are you trust worthy? 

Why is your answer what it is?

Who would disagree?

Who would agree?

Why?

Challenge:  Write “Am I trust worthy?” on a 3/5 card.  Write YES on a second card and NO on a third and MAYBE on a fourth.  Take about 12 sets of these and give them to 12 people who know you.  Then, provide a way for them to get either the YES or the NO card back to you anonymously.

MS

ms@msandersconsultant.com

Why?

Why this blog?

For more than 20 years I have worked with individuals and organizations as they seek to achieve their goals.  Whether an individual or a large organization, the one issue that repeatedly comes to the forefront is the issue of leadership.  Not management, not supervision but leadership.

There are hundreds of models available to choose from.  Over the years I have come to believe that the model of the shepherd is perhaps the most comprehensive.  Blending both discipline and care this model allows the individual leader to see and interact with those under their leadership to have the security and provision to grow in their ability to contribute to their part of success.

The stand I take is that one manages things, supervised processes and leads people.  If you have to pay someone to see that your staff does their jobs, someone needs to go home.

If you measure your success or the success of your organization only by the bottom line of a financial report then you and/or your organization is functioning on the edge of failure.  Yes, the bottom line is a valid measure but it cannot be the only measure.

There is one absolutely critical element for leadership and that is trust.  Without it all kinds of toxicity flows through the organization.  Without trust, trust in the leader, there is fear, suspicion, anxiety, resentment – ad infinitum.

In this blog we will explore the leader as shepherd.  The most critical thing will be to examine the expectations of the shepherd by and for the sheep. 

This is not some “touchy-feely” model, although touch and feel are important.  Rather it is a deadly serious model that will challenge the leader deeply and powerfully.  It is not about making the sheep happy, although that’s not a bad thing, rather it is about taking responsibility for and with the sheep so the human resources stay healthy and grow stronger.

The greatest challenge will be to the individual who has accepted (chosen) the role of leadership.  You will have to work hard to develop or strengthen those characteristics that can make you a good leader while rejecting and refusing those characteristics which erode the trust that needs to exist.

This will not be fun but it will be effective.  I hope you’ll subscribe and join us on this journey.

“A cowboy drives cattle, a shepherd leads sheep.”

Michael