Leadership: Lessons and Experiences from the Modern and Ancient Past

In the last few years, leaders and their styles have been in the spotlight. What can this person, regardless of political affiliation, learn from leaders of the past?

Confucius recommends that we “study the past if you would define the future.” Lessons abound in past lives, to be sure, and no more than in those who led. As Retired Admiral Stavridis (and former NATO Supreme Commander) notes in his book The Leader’s Bookshelf, leaders across time, profession, level and setting face “creating effective strategies, inspiring subordinates, distributing scarce resources, communicating effectively, building collaborative teams, and developing innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems”.

Mark Twain would, likely sardonically, agree as in this quote often attributed to him: “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”
Hence, anyone ignoring history ignores the lessons, often hard won, of millions of leaders. Time does not begin with us. However, the future does.

A lot of criticism and praise have been poured upon different leaders for their decisions and the way they managed business and people throughout these difficult years. It is said that a crisis can bring out the best, as well as the worst in a leader.

However, leadership today is geopolitical war, rising inflation, talent shortages, revamping policies to meet employee demands for more flexibility, and constantly reassuring and focusing on employees in the face of constant uncertainty.

But does being a strong and effective leader enough to cope with the rising challenges presented by the world?

Trust, empathy, compassion, and inclusion are the key asks from the leadership of today! And what’s the better way than to go down the lane and learn from the biggest crisis and shape our leadership with the right skills.

Leaders need to be empathetic, humble and present. That ideal may sound thoroughly modern but it was pioneered by the ancient Greek philosopher, general, historian, novelist, manager and economist Xenophon (430-355 BC), a ‘Renaissance Man’ centuries before the Renaissance was even a thing.

Lauded by Peter Drucker, the ultimate management guru, this Athenian aristocrat remains overshadowed by his mentor Socrates and by Plato, his hero’s famous (and fascist with a lowercase ‘f’) pupil, who saw no place for poetry in his ideal republic.

Xenophon’s worldview was more nuanced. He was admired – and read – by Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Jefferson who, in their differing ways, drew inspiration from his example as a leader who was both thinker and doer.

Leaders need to let go of the “power” trap. People lose the skills that got them power in the first place. Leaders need to beware of the traps that power can create in them which often lead to disaster.

Followership is an important aspect of good leadership- without followers, there are no leaders. Everyone, including leaders, has been a follower at one time. There have been countless research and workshops on effective leadership but none on effective followership.

To differentiate between the “Yes Man” and loyal followers that truly help leaders in creating an impact and achieving the vision. Hence, it is imperative for a leader to be committed to their followers and learn about their team members as individuals. Learn their personal interests and aspirations.

“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney

Disney is seen most often sitting around a drawing table or storyboard, with a dozen other artists — sometimes as many as 40 – meticulously plotting and crafting scenes and characters. Walt Disney relied upon his need to give more opportunities to their teams to collaborate and innovate and make the desired impact, and hence participative leadership is a win-win for both employer and employees.

Reading from time-to-time about Roman history, I often think of the great triumphs and advances made by the Empire. I also think of its great generals and emperors who led with robust confidence and self-belief; and of each Roman who did their part in creating an enriched society that stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved by a well-organised collective.

But I also consider the reasons behind the Empire’s downfall. The conceited leadership, the vast expansions, the greed, deceit and betrayals that ultimately led to the Empire’s end have as much to teach us about the perils of leadership that can arise when we aren’t paying attention.

No matter how grand a leader or an organisation might be, success – to paraphrase Winston Churchill – is never a final result.

Jack Whyte’s books ‘The Singing Sword’ is book two of “The Camulod Chronicles”. I could not help but think of the days King Arthur was in power and of Julius Caesar. How were the words honour, integrity, probity, morality and self-sufficiency used then and exactly what can we learn from this era about ethical or moral conduct of a business or operation today.

Do we lack determination, imagination, courage, and passion in today’s business world?

Are we lost in the big data phenomenon and blame/accountability of others?

Do we actually take responsibility of our actions with others?

How is this effecting the way we behave, our conduct, and more importantly, the outcomes?

So as you can imagine this discussion did provoke lateral thinking around our experiences and learnings from assignments, when finally we came to historical information vs. historical thought.

There is a great deal of historical knowledge around today. We are awash with books on history, massive biographies, and philosophy on historical figures. Information on history is much broader than ever before, but there is very little historical thought across both spectrums in the business world.

As a famous lord, Lord Acton, once said: “Historical thought is far more important than historical knowledge”. Historical thought is using the lessons of history to understand the present and to make decisions for the future.
Can or should we be using history as an analytical tool and making use of the lessons of history?

If we were to draw lessons from the Roman Empire and experience it in our everyday existence, as human nature never changes, similar circumstances will always produce similar events. Churchill did change history and this should act as a guide and impediment to understanding the present, so that we can change the future.

The questions we should ask ourselves:

Do we have the reserves of moral courage that the Romans did to undertake that burden of empire or in business?

If we make change, what will be our legacy to the next generation?

Are we generous in spirit, determined to leave the world a better place, or are we hoping that an algorithm or technology is the answer?

Should we constantly refer to the Roman era or can we in still the disciplines, teachings, values and techniques that are far more enduring and far better than that of the Roman era?

In leadership, we need to have the courage to develop a bold vision, but we also require the humility to recognise that tomorrow doesn’t care about yesterday’s successes. That said, there are several lessons we can take from the ancient world of the Roman Empire. Here are just some of those which stood out for me:

1. Know that good fortune doesn’t last forever
In Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, he writes about his mortality and the certainty of death; and, in Augustine’s works, we read his deeply sad account of his mother’s death. Great leaders use profound realisations of impermanence to consider how to best prepare for the future.

2. Be bold in your leadership… but keep your feet on the ground
In the examples of Julius Caesar and Caligula, we can see just how easy it is for power to go to a leader’s head, making them believe that they have all the answers and their way is unquestionable. Many emperors of the Roman Empire took for granted their power and its continuous nature.

3. Learn from your competitors
The Romans were an ingenuous people, but much of their advances including technology and engineering was helped by taking in the Celts and the Gauls’ approach to developing their own cultures. They would then quickly deploy what they had learnt to enhance their own culture and society, enabling success for the Roman Empire and establishing their leadership.

4. Invest in building a strong culture
This point is well-worn in leadership circles, but many of today’s leaders have yet to learn how to put this valuable idea into practice. The Romans knew the importance of building a culture where everyone knew their role and felt a strong sense of belonging.

Finally, The collective motto of the Roman Empire was Senātus Populusque Rōmānus – “The Senate and the People of Rome”. Having a shared identity and a common purpose – which all were clear on – meant that the Romans truly gave themselves to the cause.

The culture wasn’t simply an idea – it was a lived lifestyle that informed every success of the Empire.

As Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman, once said:

“Experience is the teacher of all things.”


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