The Power of Leadership
Without strong leadership, humans would not have accomplished half as much as they have to this day. Leadership skills are an essential part of society, and The Odyssey demonstrates this vividly. According to many sources, specific key skills are essential towards success as a leader. Leadership skills such as critical thinking, persistence, and inspiring others are essential towards being a good leader, as Odysseus learns through experience in Simon Armitage’s adaptation of The Odyssey.
In The Odyssey, leadership skills play a critical role. As the captain of his crew, the protagonist Odysseus leads his men on a perilous journey to return home. To accomplish this, Odysseus shows numerous qualities of a strong leader that allow him and his crew to overcome the many trials they are faced with. As his shipmate describes him, “He’s got foresight and acumen and charisma” (Armitage 104). Despite this, Odysseus has his shortcomings as a leader; most notably, he fails to take charge of his crew. His crew slaughters and eats the cattle of the sun god against his orders, causing Zeus to send down a storm that kills all of them except for Odysseus himself.
One example of an important leadership skill is strategic, critical thinking. People are often met with difficult situations that require problem solving to resolve, and it is the job of a leader to find a way around the problem. As Forbes.com states, “Leaders must always be prepared to adjust their strategies to capture emerging opportunities or tackle unexpected challenges” (Patel). An example of this skill in The Odyssey is when Odysseus and his crew are trapped inside the Cyclops’s cave. To escape, Odysseus devises a plan to tie each person to a sheep and trick the Cyclops into letting each sheep―along with each person―out of the cave. Through his quick and clever thinking, Odysseus and his crew are able to escape the Cyclops’s cave and continue on their journey.
Another critical leadership skill is determination. According to Encyclopedia.com, “Early students of leadership examined great leaders throughout history, attempting to find traits that they shared. Among personality traits that they found were determination” (“Leadership”). A leader must be willing to keep going, even when everyone else gives up. They must possess a natural drive that allows them to continue working regardless of the circumstances. Odysseus frequently demonstrates his intense desire to return home and see his family by stopping at nothing throughout the story to do so. As he tells the Phaeacians about his journey, “Nymphs have held me back. Armies have held me back. Witches have held me back. Sea monsters have held me back. The one-eyed mumbling Cyclops, the mind-melting songs of the sirens, the deep narcotic of the lotus flower, the prophecies of the dead, whirlpools, clashing rocks…” (Armitage 67). Despite all the dangers Odysseus faces on his journey, he manages to overcome them all because of his sheer determination and yearning to return to Ithaca.
Finally, one of the most important leadership skills is inspiring and earning the respect of others. Regardless of how good an individual is at being a leader, they cannot lead anyone if people do not trust them or listen to them. The book Lives of Moral Leadership says, “a leader is someone who knows how to persuade others to keep others company, to stand for what she believes in, the good, the one hundred percent right thing to do” (Coles 11). In The Odyssey, Odysseus is not successful in establishing his authority. Despite his best efforts to convince them otherwise, his crew disobeys him. As his crew member Eurylochus tells him, “I stand by my actions. You’ll never get us home – you’ve lost your bearings” (Armitage 175). The lack of trust that Odysseus’s crew has in him eventually leads to their untimely deaths. Had Odysseus been able to gain the respect of his crew, they could have followed his orders and potentially survived.
Overall, leadership skills play a critical role in life as well as in The Odyssey. Only through the use of critical thinking, hard work, and gaining the respect of others can a leader truly succeed. Despite Odysseus’s misfortune as the leader of his crew, leaders to this day continue to utilize the same skills he did with great success.
Works Cited
Armitage, Simon. The Odyssey. W.W. Norton & Co., 2008.
Coles, Robert. Lives of Moral Leadership: Men and Women Who Have Made a Difference.
Turtleback Books, 2001.
“Leadership.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed, Encyclopedia.com, 2018.
www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-
labor/businesses-and-occupations/leadership.
Martin, A. M. Empowering Leadership: Developing Behaviors for Success. Chicago, Ill: AASL,
2013.
Patel, Deep. “11 Powerful Traits Of Successful Leaders.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Mar.
2017. www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/03/22/11-powerful-traits-of-successful-
leaders/#3fbbd35d469f.