Leaders have shared important tasks that are the core of their job – they need to support other people, motivate them and believe that they can become better at what they do. Genuine leadership is a lifelong journey. Working on inner qualities is the cornerstone to being a good manager, you have to know yourself. The leadershipnow.com website published an article in which there are some other inspirational comments by ancient thinkers on the topic of leadership.
Ancient comments on leadership
Classical philosophers had much to say on the topic of leadership. Early authors claimed that true qualities of a great leader are highly complex and rather rare. However, everyone has the potential to be a true leader. This potential often remains unrealized because becoming a genuine leader is an extremely challenging task. Leaders should recognize things they cannot change and not waste time trying to. They need to be just as flexible to live with unchangeable adverse conditions.
1. Know thyself (Thales of Miletus)
Although we are convinced that our tasks at hand are much more important and urgent, knowing yourself is truly a crucial element of leadership. Everyone has a tendency to fabricate a reality. You have to know your hidden motives and identities in order to be able to perceive reality accurately.
2. Give a person power to see who he really is (Pittacus of Mytilene)
When you give someone the power, to make some decisions, it reveals if he has managed to get rid of his psychological deficiencies. In case he doesn’t, he can never be a good leader.
3. Community instead of discord (Plato)
If one member of the community suffers, all feel the pain. Promoting and nurturing a culture of cooperation and getting others to share it by working together make us all better off. That is a key task for every leader.
4. Seek the truth (Antisthenes)
The higher you are in the hierarchy, the less likely your subordinates will be honest with you. Honest assessment is essential for effective leadership, therefore listen to voices of critics.
5. Character and personal integrity (Heraclitus)
It is easy to rationalize cheating and failing, but believing that the ends justify the means is not a wise approach. You can’t control the world around you, but your character and morality is something you can control. Therefore, you are responsible for almost all of your successes and burdens.
-jk-