Alexander vs. leadership

 

I’m not the kind of guy who gets hyped up by motivational posters or media.  I don’t follow fitness influencers or business gurus on social media. My personal philosophy is that routine trumps motivation ten times out of ten.  While I try to develop and maintain my routines to take me towards a happy and healthy life, sometimes I do need some motivation to keep me centred; to remind me of the ultimate goals I’m working towards.  Nothing quite satisfies my need for motivation like Epic History TV’s dramatisation of Alexander the Great’s speech to his mutinying troops at Opis:

 

That definitely says a lot about me. 

Now I do not want to be Alexander the Great. Indeed even if I did, I would probably find it difficult to emulate his life, seeing as he was born a king in possession of the greatest army on earth.  I might find it difficult to convince some of my friends to stand up to me in a bar fight.  But if I were born with royal blood, and commanded legions of elite soldiers, would I set my self upon the war path?

Dan Carlin, in his five part podcast series Wrath of the Khans, has described Alexander, Ghengis, and the other great conquerors of history as historical arsonists.  I find the description apt.  In justifying his use of the term, Carlin quotes a historical enemy of the Romans, a Caledonean named Calgacus, who says that the Romans will “make a wasteland and call it peace”.  Indeed, Alexander would set the world ablaze with a flame that would burn long beyond his passing.  His wars of conquest, and the Wars of the Diadochi subsequent to his death, embroiled the ancient world in decades of war, and undoubtedly killed hundreds of thousands.

Now the aspect of Alexander that I admire is, needless to say, not his internal arsonist. Yet it burning the ancient world to the ground, Alexander shows a leadership trait that I could probably not truly point to in one leader in my life.  The key moment is from the following lines of the speech:

Yet what have I taken for myself, aside this purple cloak and diadem? No man can point to my riches. Only what I hold in trust for you.

Now Alexander’s speech contains claims of other admirable leadership traits, including many that I’ve heard before.  Alexander leads from the front.  He stays up on watch with his men.  He does not allow his power to exempt him from the hardships that he would subject his soldiers to, nor the peril.  Alexander reminds the soldiers of the scars from his many wounds, including some from near death scares.  This advice can be found in any good book on leadership. What sets Alexander’s speech apart is his reminder about his duty to hold the spoils of his conquests in trust for his soldiers.

Further, Alexander’s words did not ring hollow.  We can guess that his rhetoric was not empty since his soldiers seemed to have bought it.  If the warriors were weary of war, then they were willing to go along with their king, for they truly felt that this was all for their benefit.

Now of course most leaders in life do not have this kind of power to distribute the material wealth brought about by their inferiors’ (and I mean that in a strictly organizational sense but I can’t think of a better word right now) labours.  However, amongst those with this power, how many leaders today or throughout history could live up to this standard? What CEO or entrepreneur would offer the income from a company for their employees?

Alexander’s strategy of paying off soldiers with the spoils of conquest may cause what some might call a moral hazard.  However, when leading others, I think it is useful to remember him in order to remind yourself to ask “Am I leading others where they would want to go? And for who are these plans really going to benefit?” If the workers are not part of those answers, think of Alexander.