20 Quotes On How Every Leader Should Lead During The Coronavirus COVID-19

As a leader, are you a hired hand or are you a shepherd?  All leaders are either one or the other.  Allow me to explain.

There are some good things happening as a result of the coronavirus.  One such thing is families are spending more time together and not just more time together, more quality time together talking.

Last night, my 21-year-old daughter Anna and I formed an impromptu book club and discussed Larry Osborne’s classic Lead Like A Shepherd: The Secret To Leading Well.  I had the privilege of reading this book about a year ago but Anna was just assigned it because of her role on a church staff.  I’m so glad they asked her to read it.

As we went through the book’s content, it is exciting to see how many of the same passages and statements we both highlighted and underlined.  Great minds think alike I say!!!

While we were talking about what we were learning and how we would apply the book’s lessons, I knew I wanted to pass those same ideas along to you.  So, if you have not ordered your own copy yet, you can do so by clicking HERE or on the image provided.  There is not a better book you can read during this global pandemic.

The following are 20 leadership quotes from Larry Osborne’s book Lead Like A Shepherd: The Secret To Leadership Well:”

1. It’s not so much about the task of leadership as it is about the heart of leadership and what it means to lead like a shepherd instead of a CEO.
2. I can’t think of anything worse than a lifetime of ministry praised by strangers but despised by those who know me best.
3. A large swath of our culture couldn’t care less if Christian leaders are immoral or hypocritical.  What they’re offended by are the standards themselves.   Our biblical values have become scandalous… Jesus and the Bible have gone from being widely honored (if only marginally followed), to grudgingly tolerated, to politically incorrect, to widely vilified as a repressive and dangerous threat.
4. Shepherding was a low-paying, low-prestige, transient occupation filled by those on the fringes of society.  And hirelings were notoriously undependable.
5. The mark of a good shepherd is his willingness to lay his life down for his sheep.  “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep.  So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.  Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away becomes he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:11-13)”
6. When it comes to being a New Testament shepherd, it’s all about the sheep, not the shepherd.
7. The right question is always, “What do the sheep need?”  It’s what a real shepherd asks.
8. There are no stepping-stone churches.  There is only the bridge of Christ.
9. Referring to how own church, Osborne acknowledged, “We grew.  But it was only one person during the first three years.”  Please know he did not quit or seek to find “a better church”.  He stayed and today the church runs weekly attendance of over 12,000 people.  That’s faithfulness.
10. Every shepherd has to occasionally make his sheep do something they don’t want to do.  It’s an unpleasant but necessary part of leadership.  A good shepherd doesn’t take a poll to see where the sheep want to go.  He finds out where the sheep need to go and then leads them there.
11. Those who learn to lead with a shepherd’s heart won’t always be loved and understood.  But they’ll wish they were.  Those who lead with a hireling’s heart won’t give a rip – at least not until they find themselves in the unemployment line.
12. A five-year-old hits a homerun in T-ball.  His parents suddenly realize that he might get a D-1 scholarship… What they don’t realize is that no matter how much they maximize their son’s athletic prowess and no matter how many doors they open for his future, he has, at best, a tiny chance of making his high-school team.  As for getting a scholarship, the odds are near zero.  And the odds of playing in the big leagues? They’re infinitesimal!  On the other hand, the odds are incredibly high (nearly 100%) that he will learn the life lesson that his parents are unintentionally teaching him: church is important… unless there is something more important.”
13. A good shepherd doesn’t berate his weak, frightened, or struggling sheep.  He adapts and adjusts in order to help them do what they need to do.  His goal is to help the sheep, no to harangue the sheep.”
14. As a shepherd, I don’t have the luxury of being pained, frustrated, or angry.  I have sheep who need to know what the Bible says so they can renew their minds and align their lives with it.  It’s my job to create quiet waters so they’ll drink deeply from it.
15. A leader has to put people into boxes.  It’s the only way to know how to treat them.  The reality is that liars lie, helpers help, gossips gossip, the dependable show up, and the impulsive chase butterflies.  A wise shepherd takes that into account and puts them into the appropriately labeled boxes.  But a good shepherd never seals the box.
16. There’s a huge difference between being a struggling lamb and an infectious lamb.
17. Blatant sin is not only harmful but contagious – highly contagious.  There are two main reasons why we hesitate or fail to remove and quarantine toxic and infectious sheep: 1. We confuse love with looking the other way.  2. We fear collateral damage.
18. A good shepherd has the guts to do the right thing even when it’s a scary thing.  He doesn’t stand by while the cancer spreads.  He won’t let one sick lamb destroy the flock.  He might fear collateral damage, but he’s not paralyzed by it.  He knows that cancer kills in the long run.  So he cuts it out before it spreads too far.
19. What makes someone a servant leader is not a lack of spunk or authority.  It’s a laser-like focus on meeting the needs of others.
20. They (servant leaders) can accept the perks and privileges of leadership when they’re appropriate.  But they neither need nor demand them.  Servant leaders find their ultimate joy and status in helping others.  They don’t care who gets the credit or the perks.  They don’t sulk when their contribution is overlooked or taken for granted.  They’re happy to see their fruit growing on someone else’s tree.  And they willingly wash the feet of others.  They don’t wait for someone lower on the food chain to wash theirs.

During times of crisis and uncertainty, few things can help leaders more than strictly focusing on others.  Pick up Larry’s book today by clicking HERE.  It will help you and your people navigate these times.

My book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase.  If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you!  By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you.  This book is not to be read alone.  Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence.  Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.