Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leaders

 

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If I had a hundred lifetimes, I would try to read all the books ever written. While this is an overwhelmingly impossible task, there are certainly books that demand to be read. In my experience, the real challenge is staying focused: I am easily distracted by bibliographies, which send me on a bloodhound search for more reading and knowledge. Many astute readers will identify with this experience—especially in literature and academic journal articles—where it is all too easy to get lost on a bibliographic off-road journey.

As a leader in my organization, I seek out mentoring through books, articles, and other published literature to help me as I help others. A few years ago, I was able to purchase, at a bargain, a 1952 set of books—Great Books of the Western World—which turned out to be a modest investment that has paid great dividends in my development as a leader, or circumspecta ductio. In the absence of a formal liberal education, these volumes have helped to fill the gaps in my learning. Plutarch, with his historical accounts of Greek and Roman statesmen and military figures, and his portrayals of governmental stewardship, has offered me insight into my own actions, behaviors, and attitudes. Reading the classics has enriched me beyond measure, stretched my thinking and contemplative life, and reaffirmed, time and again, my innate constitution. It is comforting to know that others have gone before me and traveled the same journeys. Pericles, in particular, has recently been a source of guidance and perseverance for me, especially on days when I lack enthusiasm for the work.

At a young age, I remember admiring people I wanted to emulate and trying to model myself after them. I have written about how Rocky inspired me as a youth, as did the US Marines I looked up to during my uniform years, various coaches, and a select few nurse preceptors who guided me as I cut my teeth in critical care. Yet those breathless, ancient influencers of old should not be abandoned, and their stories should not be left for dust on the shelf—their lives continue to provide new strength through the lessons of history and their distinctive ways of living. As Plutarch reminds the reader, “we find in the acts of virtue, which also produce in the minds of mere readers about them an emulation and eagerness that may lead them on to imitation” (Plutarch, 1952, p. 121). For that matter, a summary of Pericles and his attributes worth imitating will be the bulk of the following lines.

He made himself of service to his country and his people, and surrounded himself with a great mentor, Anaxagoras—nicknamed Nous for mind and intellect. Keeping his thought life above mediocrity and always pursuing purposeful living allowed him to remain calm, serene, and unshaken in public meetings and while speaking. In military service, he conducted himself fearlessly and dauntlessly. His disposition did not favor friendship with only the rich and few, but with the marginalized and many. He aimed for high ideals in his statesmanship, not only in the presence of others but also when out of the public eye, aspiring to be above reproach—not only to have hands clean of accusation, but also a conscience free from blame.

He took great pains to keep his integrity unstained and devoted energy, money, and resources to relieve the suffering of the poor. Mentoring others and sharing his knowledge of economic governance were also hallmarks of his leadership. He would not engage in fights with other nations if they were too hazardous or unproductive, nor did he envy the honors most generals craved. Never seeking to imitate them, he always put the safety of his nation first. Not easily influenced by public opinion, nor backing down from his own internal guide, he maintained his course of action and was not easily swayed. He was not ambitiously hungry for foreign lands but focused on improving his own country with the resources it already possessed. Yet he was not immune to thinking highly of himself and his successes—a hint of pride and arrogance crept in. Although others tried to discredit him, suggesting that age and illness would erode his inner virtues, he maintained his character and integrity. He endured ridicule for some failures and for occasionally giving in to envy or passions of the heart, but he remained true to himself. When setbacks and mishaps came, he kept his mind steady, his spirit high, and remained untroubled (Plutarch, 1952, pp. 121-140).

Reference:

Plutarch. (1952). The lives of noble Grecians and Romans (R. M. Hutchins & M. J. Adler, Eds.). In R. M. Hutchins (Ed.), The Great Books of the Western World (Vol. 14, pp. 1–897). Encyclopedia Britannica.