The Good Shepherd, Servant Leadership

“ To lead from the front and to lead by example” , is the definition of 'LEADERSHIP' we have heard so often.

Nelson Mandela In his autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom," emphasizes on “The Good Shepherd  Leadership”. He turns the concept of being a leader Topsy- turvy and goes on to say, "It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You ( The True Shepherd Leader) take the front line when there is danger."

I am tempted to think reading through the holy scriptures that our beloved Nelson Mandela probably was inspired by the greatest inspirational spiritual Guru of all times “Jesus Christ” also known as 'The Good Shepherd', 'The Sacrificial Lamb' among Christians, spoke about what true leadership is all about 2000 odd years ago, when he proclaimed through his mind boggling parables  "The True Shepherd seeks out for the meekest in the herd, stays behind the flock, directing them by his very presence to move ahead to the destination he has in mind.” 

“The Good Shepherd Leadership” which I am inspired to coin as ‘Servant Leadership’ wherein the 12 disciples were told  by their Lord & Master, “ To Rule (Lead) is to SERVE, if you want to be the Master than you need to be the servant to all Mankind”.

The Good Shepherd Servant Leader, 'Talked his Walk' & 'Walked his Talk' by effectively demonstrating in action at 'The Last Supper Meal' by going down on his knees in all humility, washing the feet of his 12 disciples (followers), kissing their feet and wiping them dry saying, " If I your Lord and Master have done this, go do likewise". A beautiful example set 2000 years ago as a demonstration to all those in positions of power, to our current leaders in service, for our future world & spiritual leaders alike, on the importance of inclusiveness, humility and selfless service which is the soul & integral part of 'The Good Shepherd Servant Leadership'.

The all time focus of " Servant Leadership" is then not about focusing on power, self -growth, on moving up the ladder of wealth & prosperity for self, but it on being other centered, concentrating on being inclusive, selfless service, inspiring confidence, displaying compassion, empathy, creating winning teams by energizing, empowering teams to collaborate in moving the organization forward towards the planned desired goal. 

What would then be core aspects of “ The Good Shepherd, Servant Leadership” and how does it  work?

1, Defines the Core Values and Shares the Vision:- .

"Servant ( To be of Service | Assistance) Leadership" calls you to define the core values viz. Humility, Spirit of Selfless Service, moving beyond diversity divide, being other centered, Accountable & Responsible, the discipline of work execution, a 'Client Delight' approach in service, which when imbibed & executed in the system, become building blocks to reinvent perspectives, empowers minds to drive change and shape the culture of the organization.

Servant or the Good Shepherd Leadership  is :-

• About inspiring young impressionable minds to look beyond themselves,
• To inculcate fellowship, to collaborate rather than compete,
• Identify gaps, initiate ways of improvement in areas of weakness,
• To collate individual strengths and thus build a strong winning team.
• Inspire team members to work in joy & harmony and that they are in sync, on the same page with the vision w.r.t core values, to ensure that positive exponential growth and scalability becomes a reality.

Servant inspirational Leadership gets the team to focus on core and shared values of compassion, patience, fellowship, sacrifice and inspiring every member through the discipline of execution, to seamlessly, joyously drive the organization towards achieving defined objectives.

2. Playing the Subtle Supportive Mentor’s Role .

For organizations to be successful it is often believed that leaders need to be in the thick of action and take the center stage. Collaborative 'Servant leadership' emphasis on the leader playing the supportive role, to be a mentor, be a source of inspiration to every member in the team, empower key performers, prepare them to be future leaders by engaging them in the decision making process and thus empower them climb up the leadership chain.  When you consciously guide, empower & inspire the down line team with your dynamic inspiring leadership, you empower ‘Self Belief’ in every team member and inspire them to be proactive and take responsibility to successfully deliver on the task at hand.

3. Taking Responsibility, being accountable & taking charge when the going is tough.

The shepherd moves to front line when the sheep fold is encountered  face to face with (the wolf) challenges or danger. When in stressful situations he notices the sheep ( team members) losing focus, on the verge of making wrong choices & decisions or moving in the wrong direction, the ever vigilant good shepherd proactively steps upfront and gets the team back on track. In times of challenges and crisis, He draws on his awesome wisdom, experience, common sense and intuition to take charge of the situation and steers the team back on course.

Live corporate examples playing before us almost across every continent, where the agenda of the day is to take the credit when the going is good and identify & fire the scape goat when the chips are down. The Good Shepherd Servant leadership gets us to focus all our energies on good corporate governance, and work towards eliminating the misinformed style of current leadership that of indulging in divisive, organisational corporate politicking, finding the scape-goat when there is a break down in communication (blame it subtly on the generation gap), diverting attention & push the blame for failure on the sacrificial lamb or every Tom-Dick-Harry, Mary-Lucy-Jane down the pyramid chain in times of challenges.

In today's challenging times of self conceited, aggressive display of power, divisive self centered egoistic approach to work execution ' My way or the Highway approach of leadership style', Playing the bully power game in events of failed decisions, " Do it My Way, My Ship, My Order" has become the accepted Leadership Style across the world. It is in these challenging, trying times "The Good Shepherd, Servant Leadership” comes as a breadth of fresh air for it represents inclusiveness, humility, compassion, understanding, crystal clear interpersonal skills, crisp communication, selfless service, other centeredness, collaborating to work in harmony and this indeed is the desired need of the hour.

4. The Hallmark of ' Servant Leadership'

'The Good Shepherd , Servant Leadership' may be compared to 'STARS' in the magnificent universe that are ever present constantly shining in the background and we only see them bright & upfront taking on the center stage, upholding the reigns in the 'DARKEST' hours of uncertainty & turbulence.

Inspire to aspire, being accountable, looking out for the weakest & meekest in the team and empowering them identify their strengths, being empathetic & supportive, taking responsibility & ownership when the tidings are challenging & the chips are down, being gracious in sharing glory, accolades & credit with the front line team when the going is awesome, is indeed the True Hallmark of “ The Good Shepherd , Servant Leadership”.

+ Stephen Lawrence Moras | Learning & Development Specialist

" An Extract from a Highly Interactive Learning & Development Session delivered on behalf of "Innovative Minds"for the leadership team of a Leading group of Education Institute in Mumbai"