How To Be A Leader

How To Be A Leader is Greek philosopher Plutarch’s guide to leadership and uses practical ideas, historical narratives, political events, and more to outline the qualities of the best leaders, including serving for the right reasons, speaking persuasively, and following more experienced leaders.

Many people aspire to be leaders, but people don’t always want to lead for the right reasons. Some people want to lead only because they’re tired of taking orders. Other people might just be after the reputation. If you are considering taking on a leadership role, what motivates you?

Plutarch emphasized that this decision isn’t to be taken lightly. As a leader, you will directly affect the lives of those around you. According to Plutarch, a good leader is motivated by honor and duty, not by a desire to receive acclaim.

Why does it matter if someone is after the glory? Because those motivated by glory don’t make moderate and rational decisions. Instead, their pursuit of fame drives them to act recklessly. This only introduces instability to the society they are meant to serve.

A good example of a leader was Cato the Elder. When the citizens of Rome wanted to erect a statue of him, he told them not to. Cato said he’d rather people ask why they didn’t have a statue than why there was a statue. Cato didn’t care about his lasting reputation. Plutarch felt all leaders should act this way.

A leader also shouldn’t only be looking for fame because they aren’t likely to get the applause they are looking for. The truth is, people are far more likely to criticize a leader than praise them, so they are better off if they aren’t in that position just to be praised.

In democratic Athens, an aspiring politician had to win over the people and be elected as their leader. The key to this was to be able to give a great speech. Athenian statesman Pericles was an example of a leader who was exceptional at both speaking and arguing. When Pericles’ good friend Thucydides was asked who was a better wrestler, he said that nobody knew. Thucydides replied that each time he pinned Pericles to the ground, Pericles would stand and begin to argue he hadn’t been pinned at all, and he would convince the audience he was telling the truth. In Athens, eloquence became the most important advantage in politics. Pericles used this gift throughout his career and convinced his fellow citizens that Athens shouldn’t participate in the wars going on throughout Greece. He believed it would be better to avoid war and keep the prosperity and security they had. Athens stayed in peace throughout his life even though he faced a…