Five Lessons In Leadership From Game Of Thrones
George RR Martin’s great saga, The Song of Ice and Fire (and the TV series based on it, Game of Thrones), offers many lessons when it comes to leadership. Leadership is difficult to learn because it is very nuanced and it depends on the situations and specific cases. But fiction gives us a very good chance of explaining it.
Leadership is something that we all need to practice at some point in our lives. It is just as important to bosses and businessmen as it is to teachers or parents raising children.
If you’ve read the books or watched the series, you’ll recognize these five leadership lessons and hopefully apply them in your life to achieve your goals.
1 – Keep your promises and pay your debts
You will have come across this expression many times in the series from the mouth of every Lannister, especially Tyrion: “A Lannister always pays his debts.”
In everyday life, the fastest way to lose people’s respect and any power and influence you may have is to make promises you can’t keep and not settle your debts.
The best way to gain respect and trust from others is to build a reputation as a person who always keeps his promises and pays his debts. The Lannisters go one step further: they remind everyone of this. It is without a doubt a good lesson in personal marketing.
2 – Be consistent in your decisions and do what you have to do
A good leader does not hide when it comes time to make difficult decisions. Nor does he leave the task of doing what needs to be done to others. “The man who pronounces the judgment must also be the one who wields the sword,” said Ned Stark.
Leaders spend a lot of time in the trenches, working hard, making the tough decisions. Because as Ned says, “A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.”
3 – Leadership is not given, it is earned
“Any man who has to say ‘I am the king’ is not a real king.” This fantastic expression was used by Tywin Lannister, the patriarch of the most powerful family in the Seven Kingdoms. And it’s a very good lesson when it comes to the meaning of leadership.
The best leaders are supported by a collective will , not because they say, “I’m the boss” or “I’m in charge.”
If you are a leader, act accordingly. Earn people’s respect by working for them. The influence and power you gain from this will only be effective if it is earned and based on mutual respect.
4 – When chaos and trouble sets in, there is only one way to go: forward
Problems are challenges that give you the opportunity to improve. When problems arise, the true leaders rise, ready to fight. Amid the chaos, a leader’s true strength will be revealed.
Effective leaders are not frustrated by challenges. Instead, they use them to prove themselves.
“Chaos is not a pit. Chaos is a ladder,” Littlefinger said at one point. He is right. If you see chaos as something that can devour you and for which there is no solution, you will surely sink into a pit. A leader sees that same chaos as an opportunity to grow. He has no other choice.
But Littlefinger doesn’t just say that. He adds: “Chaos is not a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get the chance to try again. The fall breaks them. And some get the chance to climb. But they refuse. They cling to the kingdom or to the gods or to love. Illusions. The ladder is the only thing that is real. The climb is all there is.”
5 – Always be alert and prepared for the worst
“Winter is coming.” This is the motto of House Stark. The story in Game of Thrones begins with this sentence; it is the title of the first episode of the series and also the first chapter of the book.
The Stark house, the cradle of leadership (even the bastard Jon Snow emerges as a natural born leader), takes this motto to the extreme. This motto contains many essential lessons when it comes to achieving a successful life.
Leaders stay alert. The world is an uncertain place. The best leaders innovate and plan for the future. They are prepared for the unexpected and that is the key. And they welcome winter, especially when everyone is distracted by the sun.
