The Way of the Shepherd

To be a successful leader, you're going to have to interact with them in much the same way that a shepherd interacts with his sheep.

"Ted, the first principle of the Way of the Shepherd is to always know the condition of your flock!"

So, you have to make a point of knowing not just the status of the work but also the status of your people. Many managers focus too much on their projects and not enough on their people.

You have to really care about your people. You can go through all the right mechanics, but if you don't genuinely care about the people who report to you, you'll never be the kind of leader they'll drop everything to follow. If they're nothing but stinking sheep to you, they'll never do their best work for you and they won't stay in your fold for long. It's an old adage, but it's true: people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Ted, most people spend years struggling to find their calling in life. I was one of them. I spent years doing other things that I was pretty good at, but I always felt something was missing. Until I discovered teaching, I felt like a square peg in a round hole. Once I found the classroom, I knew I had found my life purpose.

"Now let's talk about the flock you're going to shepherd...," he said. "How do you turn a collection of individual sheep, bordered by the same fence, into a flock?"

A leader's personal mark becomes the common denominator of the organization.

A man can sell his integrity for a nickel, but all the money in the world won't buy it back again.

People long to follow a leader who is a person of integrity, authenticity, andd compassion. That person will have the loyal following and trust of his people.

[Great leaders] know people are easily distracted by the many pulls of life, so they're continually calling them back to the mission, back to their purpose for being.

You can [lead] from afar, or you can do it up close and personal. You can impress from afar, but to influence, to really leave your mark, you're going to have to do it personally.

"One more thing before we move on," Neumann said. "Keep your sheep individually informed, as well as the flock as a whole."

You let your people know from day one, Ted, that everyone is important on your team. Teach your people that each person has a vital role to play. Make them feel like you couldn't do it without them.

Point is: rotate opportunities among the different members of your flock, Ted. That way they won't feel a need to fight for them.

Be visible. Don't be an absentee shepherd. Nothing reassures the sheep more than the presence of the shepherd.

A shepherd's first duty of the day is to lead his flock out of the fold to find fresh pasture. So the shepherd not only needs to know the terrain and where to find the greener grass but also how to get the flock there.

The thing about sheep is they have tendency to focus on the grass that's right in front of them. Therefore, someone has to keep an eye on where the flock is going.

"What if it's raining?" I probed. "Doesn't matter. They're my sheep. I'm responsible for their well-being and safety. If they're in trouble, I go out and get them."

Discipline isn't about handing out punishment or assigning blame; it's about instruction. It's about instructing your people in the direction they should go by helping them see further down the path they're currently treading.

"It's your duty," Neumann continued, "to regularly inquire about the progress of your people, because you're responsible for developing them."

More than anything, the Way of the Shepherd is a lifestyle of leadership that places great value on the worth of the flock.

"Great leadership is hard work," he said. "More than that, it's unrelenting. Those who do it well do so because they are willing to pay the price. You need to know that going in."

The price you're willing to pay is relative to the value you attribute to something. That man refused to pay the price, not because he thought it was too high but because the value he put on his sheep was too low. Shepherds call a person like that a 'hireling.'

What makes a shepherd a shepherd isn't the staff or the rod; it's the heart. What distinguishes a great leader from a mediocre one is that a great leader has a heart for his people.

You could be the greatest shepherd in the world, but if they don't know you as their shepherd, you're just a stranger to them.