The Way of the Shepherd Book Review

The way of the sheperd book review

The way of the shepherd is a book with seven chapters. Each chapter focuses on the different ways to become a great leader or shepherd to your employees or flock. The book also tells about the story of a college student named Thodore Mcbride who is troubled about managing his team at General Technologies.

        Along with the finals that he also needs to take care of, he went to Mr. Neumann to ask for advice about managing his team. When Mr. Neumann agreed, he took Ted the next day to his barn. Ted was skeptical at first because how in the world is, he going to learn about leadership in a barn. But Mr. Neumann showed the ways in becoming a great leader that neither Ted or myself expected.

        For the next seven Saturdays, Mr. Neumann taught Ted all the things that make up a great leader. Of course, some of what Mr. Neumann taught ted also came form his own experience in the corporate world. He also told Ted about the different challenges of becoming a great leader. He also showed Ted that being a leader is not about being strict, but its about utilizing your employees’ skill to their full potential.

        Before Ted went to Mr. Neumann to ask for some help on becoming a leader, he used to work at a bank branch and his boss did not treat neither him or his co-workers very well. When something went right, his boss took all the credit. And when something goes wrong, he blamed it to his employees. Ted knew to himself that he did not want to be like his boss so he did everything that he can in order to become a great leader.

        If it’s greatness you want, it’s greatness you must give. This book shows you the different management techniques to the things that will make you an outstanding leader. It also shows that being a leader is not always ordering others to do things or to make them do all the work. The leader must also learn to move and do the necessary things that a leader must do like supervising employees, checking status reports, etc. in order to get the trust and loyalty of his or her employees.

        The book compares the responsibilities of a leader or a manager in the modern world to those of a shepherd in the ancient times and how the responsibilities of these two has similarities. It also shows that being a leader is not easy. You have to put all of your time and effort into your team and for that to be pulled off graciously in order to gain your employees’ trust and loyalty.

Back then when I was a Cat officer, I have no clue on how to manage my platoon. All I did was teach them the things that they need to know and that’s it. I did not even show them the leadership skills or attributes that a Cat officer must have. But after reading this book, I wish I could go back to that time in order to properly lead them.

        Another time was when I was the coach for the swimming team. Granted, almost all of the swimmers were like six to seven years old and I have 6 assistants with me. It was hard teaching them because their attention span is limited. Instead, what they would do is just play with the other swimmers or just jump into the pool for fun. It was a hard time teaching them. But after learning the different ways of becoming a leader through this book, I might give coaching another shot next time around.

        This book also shows that dedication is another key to becoming a leader. You must be dedicated to your team no matter what. You must also be willing to sacrifice or in other terms, invest your time and energy into your employees so that your team will improve in all aspects.

        The term “what you see is wat you get” also applies to becoming a leader. If you give your time and dedication to your employees, you will benefit in the long run because your employees already see you as a person that can be trustworthy, a leader that is capable of leading the team. But if you give them little to no attention, your team as a whole might lose interest in their job or being on your team. And what’s worse, rumors might spread about you for being an incompetent leader because you did not invest your time and effort into your team.