Blaine McCormick and David Davenport, Shepherd Leadership: Wisdom for Leaders from Psalm 23. Jossey-Bass, 2003.
Referenced in: Shepherd Leadership
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Some literature on shepherd leadership focuses on intense pastoral identification with those a leader serves, e.g. Lynn Anderson, They Smell Like Sheep. Others, such as this volume by McCormick and Davenport, use the shepherd image to convey a more multi-faceted leadership model. I recommend both to get a fully nuanced view of the shepherd model. Several volumes are referenced in the resource guide on Shepherd Leadership.
Here, the authors draw upon their expertise in business, education, and public policy to integrate the best current theory and practice with each phrase of Psalm 23. They see the description of God’s shepherding of his people as a prototype of how shepherd leaders should interact with those they serve today. This is not an exegetical/theological work, but an accommodation of the language of Psalm 23 to derive a shepherdly model for organizational leadership.
In the introduction, the authors back away from presenting shepherding strictly in gentle terms. They say, “Shepherds might be gentle, but they are also tough as nails.” (1) They argue that the writer of Psalm 23, King David, would not have romanticized about shepherding as a calm, peaceful, activity, but knew it as a dangerous, demanding, round-the-clock job. “Shepherding was also a business, and bad shepherding could ruin a family’s welfare if the quality of the sheep’s meat, wool, skin, or milk diminished.” They insist that “when viewed from this perspective, David’s poem about shepherding might seem more relevant to twenty-first century business leaders.”
They also place the shepherd leader in context. Historically, there was the Industrial Age emphasis on multi-divisional, profit-driven companies and their task-oriented, machine-like models bent on productivity (e.g. Frederick Taylor and Alfred Sloan). But this devolved into something that was dehumanizing, mechanistic, and shortsighted. Then came authors such as Robert Greenleaf who focused on serving first rather than leading first, upending hierarchical views and insisting leaders function in a way that those served grow as persons. The authors respect the contributions of both trajectories, but suggest circling back to the Agrarian Age to the image of shepherd. This certainly is inclusive of the servant model, as “sheep are not known for their ability to care for their own needs. Sheep need a servant leader to find them food and water, bind their wounds, and even carry them when the going gets tough.” (4) But shepherds cannot be only servants, they must also lead. “whereas servant leadership downplays hierarchy and status differences, shepherd leadership places the leader squarely at the front of the followers to serve as a role model.” (5) They give examples which suggest that leaders “become shepherds when they awaken to the reality that their actions and decisions can improve the quality of their followers’ lives forever.” (5) Certainly this entails hands-on care for individuals and intimate and reciprocal relationships, but it also calls for visionary projection of the best paths and clever handling of day-to-day organizational affairs to reach such visions.
Building upon this philosophical foundation, they integrate the shepherding image with the best of leadership studies, political and social theory, and other disciplines. They mine out eleven practices of shepherd leaders.
- Shepherds meet needs
- Shepherds lead immortals
- Shepherds lead on right paths
- Shepherds know the valley
- shepherds come alongside
- Shepherds use the right tools
- Shepherds transform conflict
- Shepherds remove irritants
- Shepherds create supply
- Shepherds share a postive vision
- Shepherds cultivate loyalty
From the Publisher
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters;
He restoreth my soul.
Today’s professionals need reliable models to teach them how to become better leaders. In this remarkable book, leadership experts Blaine McCormick and David Davenport introduce us to a new kind of leader by offering a new image of leadership – the leader as shepherd.
Drawing on the wisdom of the timeless Twenty-Third Psalm, King David’s psalm, the authors provide professionals with ancient wisdom for grappling with today’s leadership challenges. Shepherd Leadership offers a much-needed lens through which to consider our own leadership as well as the leadership of those around us. This important book teaches us important lessons about leadership:
- We can be vigilant without being adversarial
- We can serve without being passive
- We can guide without commanding.
Shepherd Leadership offers a visionary new model for transforming leadership practices in both corporate and small business settings. This is whole-person leadership. It’s not just a matter of thinking or doing things a certain way. It’s a fully integrated life – a matter of head and hand and heart. It’s a way of thinking and doing and being.
Blaine McCormick and David Davenport inspire leaders with a fresh interpretation of this familiar spiritual text, helping all to integrate their spiritual life with their working life through a unique blend of timeless wisdom and contemporary business leadership strategy.
Reviews
“What a joy to learn that David Davenport has placed his thoughts on paper! He has touched thousands with his teaching may he and Blaine touch even more through this book.” – Max Lucado, best-selling author and pulpit minister, Oak Hills Church of Christ
“Providing fresh insight into one of the most cherished texts in the Bible, David Davenport and Blaine McCormick walk with us beside the ‘quiet waters’ of our contemplation and embolden us for ethical, fearless, and transformational leadership.” – Andrew K. Benton, president, Pepperdine University
“Shepherd Leadership extracts spiritual insights from the writings of one who was anointed by God to lead, David. It makes a tremendous contribution, not to the ‘science’ of leadership but, far more significantly, to its heart and soul.” – Richard Stearns, president, World Vision United States
“Shepherd Leadership is remarkable for showing how timeless truths from one of the most significant passages in the Bible apply to the complexities of contemporary organizations. It’s abundantly clear that when leaders accept the call to lead like a shepherd, not only is the organizational culture improved, but so is the bottom line.” – Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and The Servant Leader and cofounder of the Center for FaithWalk Leadership
About the Authors
Blaine McCormick is an award-winning professor at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University. He has appeared on CNN and ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.
David Davenport is the former president of Pepperdine University and is currently distinguished professor of public policy and law at Pepperdine University. He writes a column for Scripps Howard News Service, and his writings have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Christian Science Monitor.
***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***
Related Areas
See Other Resources on Servant Leadership:
See Other Resources on Leadership in General:
See Related Ministry Resource Guides:
- Change and Transition
- Church Administration
- Church Leadership and Renewal
- Conflict
- Elders, Plural-Elder Congregational Leadership
- Ministry Teams, Ministry Staff
See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Ministry Leadership: