What might corporate managers learn from a shepherd’s way of managing sheep?

The shepherd’s rod and staff are two instruments that today’s managers could benefit from learning how to use for facilitating a culture of creativity that puts human thriving at the center, and thereby enhancing the company’s profitability.

Unlike what some might think, the shepherd’s  rod is not intended to beat the sheep but rather to protect the sheep. The shepherd’s rod is used to keep at bay animals that could potentially attack and kill the sheep in the shepherd’s care.

The other piece is the shepherd’s staff, which typically has a hook at one end. The staff’s hook is used to bring back into the fold sheep who may have inadvertently strayed away from the flock and in this way it is used to prevent sheep from becoming lost.

Both rod and staff are instruments of power because of the way that they are used to instill a sense of safety, physical and psychological. The process of cultivating a culture of comfort at work is not without the uneasiness that comes with honest and open confrontation, confession, and conversation. For example, a manager that chooses to ignore the warning signs of a colleague’s potential failure for optimal work potential is not being faithful to the role of a manager. Likewise, if there is no transparency or vulnerability between manager and the people in context, then there is a lack of trust-building opportunities. A confessional—ready to recognize and admit own faults and failures in a healthy way indicating a willingness to learn along with others—approach to human interactivity can address this problem. Further, a command and control regime is a poor alternative to open and friendly conversation to instill a culture of mutual learning and growth. 

A manager that rightly learns to use both rod and staff stands to benefit because the manager has learned when ideally to use a rod and the right way to use a staff without instilling fear or harming those under the manager’s care. Yes, pastoral or shepherding care is a crucial skill for managers. It is a fundamental and natural way for people, leaders and the people they lead in a given context, to thrive in the realization of their personal and organization’s ultimate creative potential.  

Consider,

How am I perceived by those in my care (colleagues and others included) when it comes to my use, metaphorically, of a shepherd’s rod and staff in my workplace and even at home? 

Photo by Mohamad Babayan on Unsplash. Thank you!