A case study of Leadership

How Does Alexander The Great Measure Up To The 7 Points Of Leadership?

In my other Article, I have written about 7 points which a leader must take note of. Here I am using the example of Alexander the Great to see how many points he would score

1. Always have a vision
Good or Great Leaders have a vision that can be shared and appreciated by your staff would enable him to motivate the staff in getting the goal achieved. In the case of Alexander, his vision is that to right the wrongs done by the Persians on the Greeks and ultimately replace the Persian Empire with his own. At that time, his vision was thought to be bold, out of this world and basically impossible. His success in projecting this vision of his could be seen in history where he became king of an empire that was not exceeded by the Mongols.Hence we can draw a lesson from this is that via successful projection of a vision, nothing is impossible.

2. Do not focus on negative
A good leader basically should try to see and find the positive or good in the bad or negative and essentially take advantage of it. Again for Alexander, it is his sense of invincibility or good tactical sense that often bought his success against overwhelming odds in battles verses the Persian Empire or later in India. Here we got a leader where no matter how bad is the situation, he always or often turn it to his advantages.

3. Mood Management
A good leader should learn to keep one's feelings or moods to oneself and let nothing out if possible as to affect his staff. This is something which Alexander does not do very well as leader. Maybe in his case, the Greek Culture brings out emotions, feelings and moods more directly of men then. Hence we should not really fault Alexander as it should be said that being a Ancient King, he was entitled to his moods.

4. Core Values Communication
A good leader would make sure that his or her values are evident to all stakeholders involved while being able to align values or policies of the organization to those of the employees. Here is something which Alexander does very well. In history, he always managed to win the respect and loyalty of his men regardless of the situation. Proof of this can be seen is that he would not ask his men to do anything he would not do himself. And always before battles or after battles, he would go among his men to listen and encourage them.

5. Concentrate on the Big Picture
A good leader should always look at the big picture and think of it as the most important item. Alexander has never lost sight of his vision and the situation at hand during his short reign. One example is his destruction of Thebes after his accession to the Macedonian throne was a step in his vision where he hoped to cow any Greek opposition into submission before setting out to fight the Persians. Another example is that during the conquest of the Persian Empire, he often confirmed surrendered Persians in their posts. This allowed the governing of the regions to continue unbroken while reducing the need to garrison every province. He did make a precaution where only Macedonians are placed in charge of the garrison.

6. Crisis Management
Crisis Management is critical to being a good leader. If a crisis can be handled without losing control of the situation, a leader would be able to shine then. He or she should never be overwhelmed by the scope of the crisis. There was no bigger scope of the crisis or situation which Alexander faced. He was up against the largest Empire and its seemingly inexhaustible manpower. However through his calm and superior leadership, he managed to resolve most of the crisis to an advantageous ending.

7. Stop Gossip
A good leader should always avoid listening or believing in gossip unless one witness for himself or herself the event in question. Here is another fault of ancient times, where Kings are always suspicious of their powerful or successful subjects with deadly results. In the case of Alexander, gossip or rumors caused the death of Parmenion and Philotas. Hence he did not really manage to keep his actions clear of rumors or gossip.

Conclusion
Although Alexander does not score well for 2 of the 7 points, he can still be considered a good or even great leader as per his actions and achievements in history. Hopefully, this case study on Alexander would enable all to understand the importance of above seven points of leadership.

PS: Article has been posted on EzineArticles.

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