The Good Shepherd

If you’re like me, you’ve only encountered sheep at a petting zoo, so here’s a fun fact about them: sheep have rectangular pupils. I included that to make sure you learn something today and to challenge us to explore other sheep characteristics and what we can learn from sheep-shepherd relationships. In doing so, we’ll use the C5 safety leadership model from the Incident Prevention Institute’s Frontline training program to establish what it means to be a good shepherd and then apply that understanding to enhance our roles as safety leaders.

Sheep and Shepherds
Sheep are valuable assets that need protection. Because it’s easy for them to get lost or deviate, they require direction, feedback, and correction when they are off course. They make other mistakes, too. For example, a cast sheep (i.e., one that’s rolled onto its back) can’t get up without help. Sheep need good shepherds.

Shepherds provide for, lead and protect their flock. They do that by being competent at their job; staying committed to the safety and well-being of their sheep; caring for the flock and each individual member in it; being courageous, especially when wolves show up; and gaining credibility with their sheep. That sounds a lot like the definition of a great safety leader, doesn’t it? Shepherds must also be great at their work because a shepherd whose sheep don’t follow them is just a person wandering in the wild. Shepherds need sheep.

Competence
Competence is how well you can do a job, and good shepherds are skilled at their job. They are strong navigators who know how to find green pastures and still waters. To keep the flock together and protected, a shepherd will use their staff situationally and strategically – sometimes for support, sometimes to correct and guide, and sometimes for defense. In challenging times and difficult situations, shepherds are competent enough at the technical aspects of their role to develop solutions to their problems.

Commitment
It takes commitment to be a good shepherd. Commitment is how passionate you are about achieving individual and TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) goals and investing in and developing yourself and others. Shepherds lead nomadic lives devoted to the flock. If they have 100 sheep and one strays, they will search for the stray and do all they can to ensure its return to the flock – because they know and care about each sheep.

Caring
Caring – that is, how much you want to help prevent harm and encourage growth – is in the middle of the C5 list because everything you do should revolve around how much you care. And what greater example of caring exists than the willingness to sacrifice yourself for the good of others? If you care enough and are intently focused on preventing harm and encouraging your TEAM’s growth, the other components of the C5 list and everything else you do as a leader become automatic.

Courage
Courage is how often you act, and it takes a wolf to find out how much courage a shepherd has. Shepherds staring down literal wolves must demonstrate the brave, reactive type of courage that typically comes to mind when we consider the word’s meaning.

As safety leaders, our wolves are difficult people, challenging and stressful situations, finite resources and uncertainty. Demonstrating courage in safety leadership can be as simple as being the first person to turn on your camera during virtual training or as challenging as being the newest person on your TEAM to exercise stop-work authority. Your responses to successes and errors play a huge role in your perceived credibility, and it often takes courage to respond appropriately. See something, say something, do something.

Credibility
Credibility, or how trustworthy you are, is at the bottom of the C5 list because it’s the foundation upon which your safety leadership is built. Sheep recognize and follow their shepherd’s voice because they trust the shepherd – not because of the shepherd’s positional authority but because the sheep believe the shepherd to be competent, committed, caring and courageous. Your TEAM will trust and follow you if they consistently see that you possess the same qualities.

Conclusion
Pastor and leadership author Andy Stanley has wisely said that “leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people with nothing to say.” That’s your C5 safety leadership barometer. You can tell a lot about culture and relationships by how comfortable people are communicating their thoughts and how they interact with and respond to each other.

The next time a proverbial wolf appears, think about this quote from Pastor Charles Swindoll: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond.”

Sheep need shepherds, and shepherds need sheep. The dynamics of the sheep-shepherd relationship offer us an example of what happens when a servant leader displays the C5 characteristics. By challenging yourself to increase your competence, commitment, caring, courage and credibility – remembering that your leadership matters most when a wolf appears – you will enhance your safety leadership, culture, relationships and TEAM performance.

About the Author: David McPeak, CUSP, CIT, CHST, CSP, CSSM, is the director of professional development for Utility Business Media’s Incident Prevention Institute (https://ip-institute.com) and the author of “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle” and “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle.” He has extensive experience and expertise in leadership, human performance, safety and operations. McPeak is passionate about personal and professional development and believes that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are key to success. He also is an advanced certified practitioner in DISC, emotional intelligence, the Hartman Value Profile, learning styles and motivators.

About Frontline Fundamentals: Frontline Fundamentals topics are derived from the Incident Prevention Institute’s popular Frontline training program (https://frontlineutilityleader.com). Frontline covers critical knowledge, skills and abilities for utility leaders and aligns with the Certified Utility Safety Professional exam blueprint.

Webinar: The Good Shepherd
May 7, 2025, at 11 a.m. Eastern
Visit https://ip-institute.com/frontline-webinars/ for more information.