Leadership Lessons from "The Way of The Shepherd"

OK, this is a book review. Prepare to be... astounded. Or not. Normally, I don't care for book reviews. Whether it's a book review from someone highly regarded, or even a close friend or colleague, I prefer to gather the facts for myself, read the book, and come to my own conclusions. Perhaps Mr. Fairman's "Every man is his own historian" guidance from junior year AP History made more of an impression than first thought. 

I won't go into lengthy detail, but suffice to say a recent read, recommended by a friend and colleague, made an impression on me. The Way of the Shepherd (which I'll refer to as TWOS in this article) by Dr. Kevin Leman and William Pentak, made me consider several things, which I wanted to share here. In brief, TWOS is the fictional story of a soon-to-be MBA graduate who seeks and finds managerial wisdom from a grad school professor who is also a part-time shepherd. The story is told in past-tense narrative, as the former MBA/now ready-to-retire CEO reflects on conversations with the prof-herder from decades earlier. It's a brief read at a smidge over one-hundred twenty pages, and includes some worthwhile gleanings. The main takeaway is found on page 106: "The ultimate test of leadership isn't setting a direction for your flock. The ultimate test is this: can you get your flock where you want it to go?" Bulleted thoughts follow: 

• Do not confuse leadership with position. I'll admit I have been guilty of that mindset. One of my first jobs out of grad school was reporting to an ineffectual officer in a wayward company. In my frustration, I remarked to this Assistant Vice President (let's call him Ray), "Ray, I need your help. If you could just get onboard with my proposal, and if the internal team could see that someone of your position supports my idea, everyone else will come along and this project will solve our problems." Did I mention that Ray was ineffectual? Long story short, Ray and his title and position as an officer in the company (not to mention his penchant for showing up to work hungover, and belittling my female colleagues) meant nothing. I had to be the one to get the team onboard, and I had to make certain that I was engaged with the team. TWOS confirms this with the principle, "Help Your Sheep Identify With You." In other words, when you build trust, authenticity, communication, and high standards into your relationships with your team, you won't need a title to be effective. 
• Be certain you're in the right place. A lot of well-meaning folks, whether in the workplace, your family, or at school, will let you know what they think you are good at, so that you won't step on their toes. Other people will tell you what they know you are not good at, because you are a threat to their way of doing things or they feel intimidated by new ideas and change. No matter what others say, know what makes you tick so that you can be the best at where you want to be engaged. In TWOS, the sage prof-herder remarks, "[M]ost people spend years struggling to find their calling in life.... I spent years doing other things that I was pretty good at, but I always felt something was missing." TWOS provides a simple guide, using the acronym "SHAPE," to help the reader determine what it is about their Strengths, Heart, Attitude, Personality, and Experiences that are unique and make the person qualified to excel at what they do.
• Are you a hireling or a shepherd? Arguably the most incisive and thought-provoking part of TWOS. 

1. Loosely defined, a hireling is in it for themselves, because the position of authority that the hireling has over others is all about status, money, control... pretty much the outward signs that a person is occupying a position of leadership, but with none of the personal cost involved. TWOS draws a great inference from microeconomics about how a hireling thinks: "The price you are willing to pay is relative to the value you attribute to something." The hireling's direct reports are unit measures of productivity, likely perceived as worth only what they are willing to do in order to make the hireling look good, earn a bonus, or receive a promotion. A perfect example from my own work experience comes to mind: at various companies, I have heard one supervisor or another tell their direct reports that their job is to make the supervisor "look like a rock star." For some of you, this may be painfully familiar. 
2. A shepherd, on the other hand, "has a heart for his people." Here's a bit of a long list, not at all exhaustive, but full of golden nuggets from the book about how a shepherd truly fulfills the role of a leader. The shepherd takes a personal interest in each team member; invests in his people; sets a clear path forward and leads from the front; communicates; doesn't count the cost of mentorship; understands that his position is the first line of defense for his team when they make a mistake; immediately nips any problem (or problem child) in the bud; and personally models the leadership values they want the team to exhibit. 

Interestingly, after reading TWOS, I was curious how the concepts of hireling and shepherd play out among my connections on LinkedIn. Despite the limitations that an informal poll would be self-reported, not scientific, and kinda sorta barely applicable to the real world, I asked "What's your management style?" Given a choice of two responses ("1. Consider value, return, and opportunity cost first [the hireling]; or 2. Begin by earning trust and loyalty [the shepherd]."), most respondents (eighty-six per-cent) self-identified as shepherd. In my own experience, though, I would categorize the vast majority of my supervisors (eighty per-cent), because of their actions, as hirelings. It is also telling that, of the (twenty per-cent) supervisors whom I consider shepherds, fully two-thirds of those shepherds have experience in the military. 

Final thoughts on the topic of leadership.... First, I'm not entirely certain that leaders are made, though I have no doubt that leaders are not born. Second, I do think that leadership is first a condition of the heart, requiring the sacrifice of self for the good of one's team. Third, neither a title in an org chart, nor a pedigree from a university, nor a cock-sure attitude are indicative of leadership. And finally, I believe the military is a great place to forge, if not refine, leadership qualities that can be transferred to practically any environment. 

This post originally appeared on dungeblog.