There’s a marvelous article in the January issue of Harvard Business Review on “leading from behind” and “leadership as collective genius.” Professor Linda Hill is chair of the Harvard Business School’s High Potential Leadership program and an active researcher in the field of leadership. Leadership in the future, she says, will require “leading from behind” to create environments where people working in teams can contribute their skills for collaborative problem solving and innovation through the joint creativity of diverse teams.

Tibetan Good Shepherd (Click to Enlarge)

She compares this process to the work of a shepherd. Shepherds lead from the rear of the flock, helping them navigate and creating an environment where the more nimble and agile are able to run ahead so that the others can follow. The task of the leader is to help individuals flourish in their roles, setting boundaries for the flock, and helping to resolve tensions. Leading from behind is particularly important when the goal is to encourage innovation, discovery and implementation of new ideas and processes. Innovation flourishes where leaders both unleash and harness the creativity of the team, Hill says. “You have to create an environment in which” all the participants are “engaged and in which the collective talent of team members is tapped by having everyone take the lead at some point.” Professor Hill says that she picked up this idea from reading the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, but she could have as easily picked it from the New Testament where Jesus explains that the “good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Some years ago while traveling in Tibet we met a small shepherd by the side of the road. Through our translator we asked if he went searching for lost sheep. “Yes!” he replied, “it’s my job to take care of them.” Explaining more fully he told us that his 400 sheep were owned by ten families in the village who shared their care. This was his day to take the flock to pasture.” He seemed to us the perfect picture of a “good shepherd.”

Tibetan “Bad” Shepherd (Click to Enlarge)

The next day, returning along the same road, we met a shepherd with 1,000 sheep. Through our translator we asked the same question, “Do you search for lost sheep.” His reply surprised us. “No,” he said, “there was no pointing searching for lost sheep.” We asked, “What happens to the lost ones?” Animals ate them, he thought, or perhaps they just died in the wilderness. What was the reason for this callous attitude to his sheep we wondered. Eventually he told us, “The sheep belong to the wealthy man who hires me.” Well, there was the answer. He was like the “hired man” of John 10 who runs from the flock when the wolf comes. They weren’t his sheep. Why should he care what becomes of them? We called him the “bad shepherd.” Jesus, the good shepherd, leads us “from behind,” making it possible for us to run ahead as we are able, navigating gently, and allowing and encouraging the sheep to work together as a body. I find it fascinating that researchers at the very pinnacle of the academic world are discovering through their research that the pattern of leading through serving that Jesus taught is at the heart of effective leadership. The Scriptures are not only true theology, they are true wisdom for living.