As I mentioned below, Servant/Shepherd leadership is something of great interest and a passion for me. I hope and strive to be both in my leadership duties.
Below is a segment of a paper I did for a class on leadership and communication. I hope there is room for it to post. Much of it comes from a book, The heart of an Executive, Lessons on Leadership;From the Life of King David by Richard D. Phillips
To introduce us to the leadership principles of David the twenty-third Psalm is a great place to start. What it contains is mind boggling and also ear boggling, as well it should be as an attribute of shepherd leadership is something that is really from the heart. David himself was a man after God’s own heart.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever. (Bible, New International Version)
There is so much in this well known scripture about leadership to examine. The following is taken from a book entitled The Heart of an Executive, Lessons on Leadership from the Life of King David. To begin with David is singing to his Shepherd, the Lord, where he begins, “I shall not be in want.” Sheep and followers as well want to know that there physical needs are taken care of and what direction they are going. "He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters." So the executive must make decisions and communicate effective plans, monitoring and intervening along the way. David then sings, “He restores my soul and guides me in paths of righteousness.” For the shepherd this is a great reward that his knowledge and experience have directed his flock the right way as he guides them “for his name’s sake.”
Next David writes of the importance of the leader’s presence in instilling confidence in followers when he sings, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." The presence of the shepherd gives the sheep assurance, calms them, and moves them forward because they trust in his care. This need for trust is the same in human organizations; David's early experience would be repeated over and over, proving that every effective leader must learn to instill confidence and assurance in times of threat and turmoil. This is real life communication to followers.
Next in this leadership lesson David sings, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." The shepherd’s rod and staff are tools of the trade and symbol of authority. The staff is an emblem of the shepherd himself. He rests his weight upon it when he is tired and helps support him with each step. Its purpose is primarily for supervising the sheep themselves: the crooked end was bent just so in order to slip around the wayward neck, coaxing the stray back onto the right path. How familiar are the sheep with the sight and the feel of the shepherd's staff. It comforts them, for it assures them that there is someone watching over and drawing them back from the error and folly.
It is here we can see that David himself is comforted by the staff that God wields over him just like a shepherd. Followers expect the executive to exercise authority in order to rightly shape behavior, to nudge this one to the left and yank that one back to the right. Especially in times of danger or uncertainty, the follower is comforted by the leader who assertively and wisely wields authority. Just as sheep were comforted in the valley of shadows to see the shepherd ready to strike and defend, also men and women today look to the executive to wield power to protect and defend.
These, then, were the first reflections of young David upon his experience in the fields. The shepherd stands among the sheep, making the journey with them, providing direction, wielding authority, and exercising might for their defense. (Phillips, The Heart of an Executive, Lessons on Leadership from the Life of King David, pgs. 8-10)
Two more reflections will complete the psalm, the first of which is that the shepherd provides recognition and reward to the sheep. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." The banquet table was prepared for celebrations and commemorations. There, the faithful servant was commended publicly and thus vindicated before those who would oppose him. (Phillips pg. 10)
With this statement David sings of a need that followers long for: recognition. I know how great it made me feel when I publicly was recognized for achievements and how it made me want to work all the harder.
David goes on in the Psalm in a similar vain when he sings, "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." In the context of ancient Palestine to be anointed with soothing oil was a great blessing. Also to have your cup over running was great reward. Again we all relish it when we are rewarded for faithful service to our organizations and leaders.
The Psalm closes with a message of hope that is shared by all: "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
David turns to his own Shepherd with the hope of belonging, of membership in something worthy and meaningful and enduring. It is not David alone whose thoughts rise to such heights. For it is true that people will work for wages and are motivated by recognition and reward. But at the heart of working men and women is the longing--though oft forgotten and sadly despaired of--to participate in something greater than themselves, to belong to a cause that is meaningful and to share in a legacy that endures. (Phillips, pg. 11)
David was the first to use the theme of the leader as shepherd in scripture, and this theme was picked up by other Biblical writers. This theme of shepherd leadership reaches its highest meaning when Jesus said of himself, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14, 15). The shepherd knows and is known by the sheep, and he offers himself for their sake.
For Jesus, as for David, leadership is defined by these two principles: it is personal, and it is sacrificial service. Personal leadership does not always demand contact with each individual follower, particularly from those executives entrusted with a large organization. But the shepherd knows the sheep and the sheep know him. They are not, to him, a faceless mass. They are not human resources, but people. The leader knows his people--he understands their frustrations and fears, perceives their weaknesses and their strengths; she knows when they must be prodded forward and when they must be brought along still waters. To them he is not a distant calculator of numbers, an obscure maker of policy, but rather their shepherd, their leader. They know his dreams and the principles he holds dear, and they are themselves being shaped by his character and personality.
This, above all, is what they know about the shepherd-executive: He lays it down for the sheep. She spends herself for their sake. He can be trusted and believed in because he sacrifices himself for their sake. (Phillips, pgs. 11-12)
There has been much written here about servant and shepherd leadership. From what I’ve learned from my studies on the subject is that shepherd leadership is servant leadership at another level. Like servants, shepherds care for the needs of their sheep in what often seems to be a one-way relationship. Should the shepherd abdicate the servant role, the flock would quickly fall into trouble, 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. Make no mistake, there’s plenty of serving in the shepherd role. Yet if shepherds were only servants, the flock would quickly find itself in trouble. Shepherd leadership places the leader squarely at the front of the followers where he or she is often a role model for others to follow. Leaders become shepherds when they awaken to the reality that their actions and decisions can improve the quality of their followers' lives forever. (Davenport, McCormick, The Shepherd as Leader, excerpt, pg. 4)