Are you a genuine leader or merely an administrator? You might have skills and experience to become the head of an organization or a country, but true leadership is much more than that. True leadership “comes from inside, and requires the cultivation of a personal philosophy that carefully examines the nuances and complexities of life”.
Enlightenment Media News recommends “The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership”, written by two scholars and modern philosophers Dr. Michael Soupios and Dr. Panos Mourdoukoutas.
The authors of “The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership” bring ancient wisdom to life: they explore the writings of classical philosophers – Aristotle, Heraclitus, Sophocles, Hesiod, and other great thinkers, taking their concept of true leadership to the modern environment.
“True Leadership”, they say, “begins with the Philosophy of Life”. The ten golden rules described in great detail cover the basics of the philosophy of leadership:
Rule 1: “Know thyself”, Thales. “Understand your inner world, your bright and dark sides, your personal strengths and weaknesses. Self-comprehension is a fundamental precondition necessary for real leadership”.
Rule 2: “Office shows the person”, Pittacus. “The assumption of authority brings out the leader’s inner world. It reveals whether the leader has undergone the process of honest self-discovery that allows for the productive application of power”.
Rule 3: “Nurture community in the workplace”, Plato. “Community development and positive group sentiment are virtues leaders must nurture by providing the right support, guidance, and incentives”.
Rule 4: “Do not waste energy on things you cannot change”, Aristophanes. “Do not waste resources and energies on things you cannot control and things you cannot change. Leaders must have the wisdom to distinguish between things that are in their control and things that aren’t”.
Rule 5: “Always embrace the truth”, Antisthenes. “Effective leaders should always embrace the truth, always encourage candid criticism throughout the organization, be skeptical of flattering appraisals, and never let authority place a wedge between them and the truth”.
Rule 6: “Let competition reveal talent”, Hesiod. “While knowledgeable employees can be hired in the marketplace or recruited from within, bringing their talent out and aligning it with organizational interests requires an environment that allows employees to compete with each other in a constructive rather than a destructive way”.
Rule 7: ” Live life by a higher code”, Aristotle. “Dedicate yourself to a higher standard of personal conduct; don’t hold grudges and ill will toward those who offend; be ready to assist those who are in need without asking something in return; remain calm in the face of crisis; dedicate yourself to principle without compromise; earn the trust, respect, and admiration of your subordinates through your character, not through authority conferred upon you by the corporate chart; turn authority into power.”
Rule 8: “Always evaluate information with a critical eye”, The Skeptics. “Don’t rely on old premises, assertions, and theories. Develop a critical mindset that accepts nothing at face value, certify the credibility and usefulness of critical information, analyze the context that produces critical information and the messengers that convey it, and never rush to judgments.”
Rule 9: “Never underestimate the power of personal integrity”, Sophocles. “Never underestimate the power of personal integrity; always set an honorable agenda; adhere to a code of professional conduct; never try to justify dishonesty and deceit; rather fail with honor than win by cheating”.
Rule 10: “Character is destiny”, Heraclitus. “”Character is destiny”, true leadership begins within, not without”.
Available on amazon.com – Ten-Golden-Rules-Leadership
