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Shepherd Leadership: Wisdom for Leaders from Psalm 23

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In a world full of leadership and management style handbooks, can we stand one more? Certainly, if this one - 'Shepherd Leadership: Wisdom for Leaders from Psalm 23' - is that one.

I picked up this book more out of curiosity than anything else. I wondered how such a manual could be developed. As a minister, I've preached on Psalm 23 a number of times, and have studied it both in seminary and outside, but the idea of using it in this way was a new, and I must admit, at first a suspect idea. I am happy to be proven incorrect in my initial assessment, as this book has proven to be insightful and wonderful in many ways.

McCormick is a professor of business (Baylor) and Davenport a professor of public policy (Pepperdine, where he was also president of the university). Together they brought practical and real-world focus on the ancient poem from Israel. Addressing it in a very business-methodical manner, McCormick and Davenport take the psalm line by line, deriving the maximum meaning from each piece individually before drawing it all together in a final meditation.

In the introduction, McCormick and Davenport recount the story of Maggie Lena Walker, who was an unlikely African American leader during the Reconstruction Era and shortly thereafter. She undertook the care and 'shepherding' of her community in Richmond, Virginia, becoming a very successful entrepreneur and community leader in the process. 'Like Walker, leaders become shepherds when they awaken to the reality that their actions and decisions can improve the quality of their followers' lives forever.'

Shepherd and sheep form a mutually beneficial relationship - it is incorrect to think of a shepherd as all-powerful, or even the only powerful one in this situation. Sheep require care and tending, but sheep do have minds of their own, and must be tended by someone both caring and clever, a shepherd-leader who cares both for the entire flock as well as each individual within the flock. Shepherds are also characterised by their presence with the flocks - they aren't remote, distant, from-on-high kinds of leaders. The shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep know their shepherd.

Going through the psalm line by line, McCormick and Davenport show aspects of sheep and shepherding that relate to everyday problems of individuals and organisations, as well as the large macro-cosmic problems of life, economies, and leadership authority. Whether or not the reader is called to be in the position as shepherd or sheep (and we all occupy these roles at different times in our lives), the reader will gain insight, and perhaps even in the role of a sheep, learn to guide an unresponsive shepherd toward right paths of action. The authors draw upon personal experience, business history, political and social theory, and common sense to help demonstrate their points.

This text is not heavy theology or biblical study; while McCormick and Davenport draw in references such as Rabbi Kushner and Parker Palmer, the text itself remains free of strong 'biblical' or theological biases that might limit the reader's appreciation or comprehension. In addition to doing basic background investigation in leadership and business areas, they also had the insight to ask actual shepherds how they manage their tasks, to see if in fact the shepherd model we mostly urban and suburban readers of Psalm 23 assume to be true is in fact accurate.

McCormick and Davenport also provide twelve versions of Psalm 23 in an appendix - many readers will automatically default to the familiar King James Version, that is unrivaled in its poetic strength. However, like many ancient, translated documents, there are insights to be found in the comparison of multiple translations, so that certain nuances and hidden meanings lost in the translation process may become more apparent in the multiple texts.

This is a fascinating text full of insight and grace.

In Shepherd Leadership, McCormick and Davenport present a refreshing model of leadership which takes the person as a whole into account. As someone who is young in my career, I found this book valuable in helping to develop my management style and philosophy. I left business school with strategies, theories, and policy, but very little in the way of leadership practices, which left me treading water when first entering a management role.

One section that stood out for me was the shepherd leader's toolkit. The compass and the frame represent two valuable practices for leaders at any level. The compass reminds you to set clear direction to navigate through the maze of information, reports, meetings, and endless action items that you encounter on a daily basis. The frame sets boundaries and expectations for your organization while still allowing your employees room to creatively explore new approaches.

A fantastic read for anyone who's just been thrown in the deep end of management!

Book Review by Robert Tunmire (from Baylor Business Review, Fall '03)

Many leaders, like me, have highly dominant personalities. We may struggle with the "softer side" of managing. Shepherd Leadership: Wisdom for Leaders from Psalm 23 gives us excellent reasoning and examples of how a "softer" - yet truthful and effective - approach can be a more effective management style.

The analogy of the leader as shepherd is a credible one, and presented in a straightforward manner. The authors clearly lay out, guided by Psalm 23, what a shepherd's responsibilities are and how that applies to a leader's responsibilities in the real world of business. Each chapter ends with two items: "Shepherd Thinking," and "Shepherd Doing," assisting with application of the chapter's concepts.

Read the rest of this review at
http://www.baylor.edu/bbr/index.php?id=10399

I enthusiastically reccomend Shepherd Leadership. It is well written and practical. Davenport is a writer but more importantly on this subject, a shepherd leader. It is tough to find leadership by the book in action. Davenport exudes leadership. Here he puts it down and tells how he has down it. It is easy to identify leaders. Just look for the followers. I hope they write another book following up on the rest of the Psalmists leadership.

Shepherd leadership is not for wimps. It is for leaders who want to be both strong and servant leaders. Both emphasisze vision, teaching, and service, but only servant leadership notes how leaders most have an edge, meaning they must make tough decisions.
This book has a number of practical suggestions for today's leaders who must both listen and direct. Leaders must add new skills to their arsenal, including being more accessible, genuine, and interactive. Many challenges for leaders are included in the book with practical solutions. It is a great approach using wisdom from a popular psalms with practical applications and stories. It is tough love for today's leaders in these tough times.

I understand the aphroism is really "brevity is the soul of wit" - but this small volume demands that the phrase be recast. McCormick and Davenport take the 23rd Psalm apart and suggest some basic principles about leadership that come from the psalm. The book is loaded with examples of each of the styles or main points. But perhaps even more valuable is a series of suggestions to work with the principles established in each chapter.

I found the most interesting issue raised in the book one about Supply Side management. I have been a CEO of an organization for more than a dozen years. McCormick and Davenport suggest that the role of a leader is too often looked at from the demand side of the equation - those inevitable lists. But leaders should also consider the supply side - what excites you about the job? How does one find those niches which make the lists of to dos a bit less demanding. Many leadership jobs seem to be comparable to that of Sisyphus. But with a little attention to the supply side - those inevitable demands become less onerous.

Buy it, read it, use it!

Dr. McCormick helps us get it "right." Servant leadership is all about knowing and living this truth: One leads most effectively when serving.....and one serves best by leading. This is the biblical pattern of leadership and when genuinely lived in one's everyday world it works as long as it is congruent with one's heart. Dr. McCormick also helps us understand that for one to consistently live the pattern of leadership that one must stay very close to the One who is the source of pattern.