Business people don’t often turn to classic authors for leadership advice. But they should. Timeless works of literature, history, and philosophy may speak of ages past, but their concerns are our concerns and their advice as relevant as ever.
Here are nine common leadership challenges, each paired with a classic that offers new insight.
Make big changes stick.
Launching change is one thing, sustaining it is another. For advice on the latter, see Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince.“ Machiavelli is infamous for the maxim, “Better to be feared than loved,” but when it comes to making change stick, it’s important to pay attention to the soft stuff: how people feel about you and the changes in question. Force may work in the short run, but in the long run, you must win over their hearts and minds.
Steer through a crisis.
Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” best known for his inspiring speeches, is also the most self-reflective of leaders. But he never falls prey to analysis paralysis. In a crisis, he keeps himself in the learning zone: neither complacent nor panicky, always moving forward, listening and course-correcting as he goes. He brings the same spirit of learning to his subordinates.
Get your message across.
To rivet an audience, communication must meet three criteria:
- It must make people feel part of an entity that’s lasting and special.
- It must challenge them to live up to the ideals described.
- It must be brief.
To see how it’s done, read Pericles’ Funeral Oration in Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War.” More than two millennia later, Pericles’ words inspired Abraham Lincoln as he wrote the Gettysburg Address.
Help people achieve their potential.
Jane Austen’s “Emma” features a heroine who loves to “improve” people. Though Emma’s talent development efforts are kindly meant, she takes the wrong approach. Instead of drawing out strengths, she tries to fix weaknesses. Complications ensue. Leaders should spend less time trying to mold subordinates in our own image and more time helping them become even greater versions of themselves.
Be perceived as fair.
Plato’s “The Republic” explores the surprisingly complex idea of what is due to groups, individuals, and even parts of oneself. It is important to note that company rules and policies are well and good, but if you don’t show appropriate flexibility—giving people what’s owed to them based on their role and the circumstances— you’ll be perceived as unjust. Conversely, leaders who know when to make exceptions can be exemplars of justice.
Increase accountability.
Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd” is a tale of manslaughter at sea that asks whether the perpetrator of a crime should always be the person held accountable. Corporate leaders often wonder why accountability is so elusive. Melville’s story points to three reasons: the problem of unknown intentions, the problem of many hands, and the problem of blame avoidance. All three can be mitigated by driving out fear.
Beat a bigger competitor.
No one’s better on competitive strategy than Theodore Ayrault Dodge. T.A. Dodge was a 19th-century colonel-turned-historian, largely forgotten today, who wrote penetrating accounts of the war strategies of “Great Captains,” including Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and more. Read about Hannibal’s Battle of Cannae and discover how to beat a stronger competitor by turning your vulnerabilities into strengths.
Work with difficult people.
The ever-popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is based on C.G. Jung’s “Psychological Types,” a far deeper look at what makes people tick. For Jung, introversion and extraversion are the two fundamental attitudes that shape our world. Acknowledging our non-dominant attitude, rather than repressing it, is essential to healthy interactions.
Face your worst nightmares.
Imagine making a bold move: a controversial hire or a bet on an innovative product. Soon after rollout, you realize all is not well. The new hire isn’t cutting it. Customers aren’t buying it. What do you do? Recoil from the “monster” you’ve created … or courageously step forward and listen to what it has to say? In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” a leader runs from his monster, straight to disaster.
Relating classic books to our work today, one final piece of wisdom emerges. Eras come and go, but great leadership practices remain the same.
Jocelyn Davis is an international leadership consultant and author. Her latest book, The Greats on Leadership (Hachette), provides practical advice for leaders from history’s masterminds.
