Corporate Stewardship: What I Learned from Boy Scouts and Sheep Herders

A long, long time ago I was a Boy Scout. In addition to memorizing the scout law (“a scout is trustworthy, loyal, brave”, etc…) my scoutmaster made us memorize the Outdoor Code. I won’t recite it for you, but one of the main ideas was that you should always leave a campsite better than you found it – clean up your mess, don’t leave a fire-ring, have little or no impact on the environment, and so forth. It makes sense - it’s Common Courtesy 101. But there’s a broader application. The Outdoor Code is basically introducing the concept of stewardship isn’t it? I think there is value in looking through the “stewardship lens” as we view our roles as leaders at work.

A steward is someone who has been given responsibility and accountability over something – usually something of high value. For the good steward, it is not merely enough to “take care of” his charge – that’s the bare minimum. The good steward wants to leave his “something” better than he found it. A good example is illustrated in a discussion I heard in Sunday school a few years back. The teacher asked the question: “What is the difference between a sheep herder and a shepherd?” The class consensus went something like this: A sheep herder is a hired-hand. He takes care of the sheep because he has to – he’ll get fired if he doesn’t. He does the minimum required to keep his job. But don’t expect him to go above and beyond or to put himself at risk when danger emerges (i.e. wolves, robbers, storms). The shepherd, on the other hand, does what he does out of genuine concern – even love – for his flock. He will leave the flock to go after the lone lost lamb. He will risk his very life to protect his sheep. But the shepherd’s focus is not only on keeping his sheep safe from harm but also on helping them grow, prosper and be happy.

So you may be saying, “Okay, this shepherd talk is great for Sunday school class, but what about here at work?” Good question. But before we leave the sheep scenario, let me ask you this: if you were a sheep, would you rather follow a sheep herder or a shepherd? And here in the real world, would you rather have a sheep herder supervisor who is “managing” you like another unpleasant task (i.e. doing the least amount of work required) or a shepherd supervisor who is genuinely interested in helping you grow, prosper and be happy in your position? In which scenario are you most likely to enjoy your job? In which scenario are you most likely to perform better?

In a work setting what does stewardship look like? Am I suggesting you’ll need to risk your life fighting off wolves for your agents? No. What I am saying is that our relationships with agents will be more satisfying and productive for them and for us if we think of ourselves as not just managers but as stewards. The next time you get a new agent on your team I challenge you to ask yourself: “What can I do to leave this agent better than I found her?” Then work to ensure that every interaction you have with that agent builds on that theme.

Stewardship is a very deep concept that can be applied to every aspect of our lives. For the sake of this conversation we’re just applying it to our roles here at work. But there is tremendous power in approaching our day to day job related duties as a steward. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. There’s another word for steward with which you may be more familiar. The word is “coach”.