The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership: Classical Wisdom for Modern Leaders - Hardcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

M. A. SOUPIOS, PH,D., is professor of political philosophy at Long Island University, where he has taught for more than 30 years. He holds eight graduate degrees including four earned doctorates.

PANOS MOURDOUKOUTASS, PH,D., is professor of economics at Long Island University. A regular contributor to Forbes.com, he has been published in Barron's, The New York Times, The Japan Times, Newsday, and other publications. Together, they are authors of The Ten Golden Rules: Ancient Wisdom from the Greek Philosophers on Living the Good Life.

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All great leaders have a personal philosophy: a broad view of the human condition that informs every decision they make and their relationship with the organization and people they lead. Your philosophy is what allows you as a leader to access the kind of deeper, broader insights that result in extraordinary achievements. It is what sets you apart from those who simply "run" companies. To develop and articulate a sound corporate vision--and then follow through on it--you must develop an inner clarity, a ripened personal perspective.

The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership explores thought-provoking ideas from Aristotle, Heraclitus, Sophocles, Hesiod, and other classical thinkers, and introduces essential leadership truths, including:

Live life by a higher code * Do not waste energy on things you cannot change * Understand that character is destiny * Always evaluate information with a critical eye * Never underestimate the power of personal integrity

The book shows you how to apply each idea to the challenges of the modern workplace and combine it with what you discover about yourself as you delve into your own strengths and weaknesses. You'll develop your own ability to see The Big Picture, connect with members of your organization, foster a meaningful and productive work environment, and steer your corporate ship through any challenge.

Skills and experience might land you a leadership position . . . but they don't make you a true leader. This unique and enlightening guide arms you with eye-opening leadership principles that have stood the test of time.

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RULE 2 “Office shows the person.” —PITTACUS

Of all the many problems facing today’s business world

none is more critical than the quality of the work environment.

In the absence of an affable work setting, employee

loyalties quickly dissolve. According to U.S. Department

of Labor statistics, employees typically remain in their position for

only about two years. Surveys designed to explain this remarkable

mobility suggest that the number one reason for employee exit is

a disagreeable workplace. The implications of this rapid turnover

are clear: The organization forfeits the time, energy, and resources

it invested in recruitment and suffers the effects of having employees

who lack meaningful commitment to the organization. How

can organizations motivate staff members who are constantly seek-

ing vocational alternatives?

Negative work settings do not occur spontaneously. Almost

without exception, this potentially lethal failure can be traced to

managerial deficiency and more often than not, to the abusive

misapplication of power on the part of the manager. Nothing will

more rapidly disenchant and alienate workers than a manager who

delights in resorting to the stick as opposed to the carrot.

One of Thales’ colleagues on the list of Seven Sages was the

ruler of Mytilene, a man named Pittacus (circa 600 BC). After

governing his city for a decade, Pittacus voluntarily relinquished

his power and retired. The ancient author Diogenes Laertius

recorded a number of famous sayings traditionally attributed to

Pittacus, the most famous being “office shows the man.” Above

all else, this maxim addresses the critical issue of power and its ef-

fects. Implicitly it contains two premises. First, that the investment

of power—in other words, granting a leader meaningful authority—

is the trigger that will rapidly reveal that person’s inner qualities.

Second, that power not only has a potential to disclose who

a person really is; it also has the capacity to corrupt. We need to

examine both of these ideas.

Anyone who has been involved in hiring a new employee under-

stands that the resume, the reference letters, the interviews,

and so on provide at best only an opaque view of a candidate’s ac-

tual identity. Throughout the various phases of the hiring process,

the real person is easily concealed by a series of highly stylized rit-

uals and procedures. In terms of getting at the core personality, the

procedure remains as superficial as it is cosmetic, with the result

that one never really knows the person behind the mask until the

employee is “up and running.”

These points are particularly noteworthy in the case of senior

personnel, the people who are assigned important leadership roles

in an organization. For these individuals, the investment of power

has an all-important diagnostic potential. Power will invariably

reflect what no resume ever does, namely the psychological and

spiritual disposition of the person. And here, of course, we are

brought back to the points made in the discussion of Rule 1. What

is soon to be revealed in the newly hired “leader” is whether or

not a process of honest self-discovery has taken place. If the battle

to dispel self-induced fraud has been successfully waged, if indeed

the individual has heeded Thales’ “know thyself,” that achievement

will be mirrored by the manner in which power is utilized.