5 Lessons In Leadership From Game Of Thrones
The fantastic fantasy book series The Tale of Ice and Fire (and HBO’s TV series Game of Thrones based on it) by George RR Martin offers many lessons in leadership. Leadership can be difficult to teach because it is very nuanced and depends on situations and specific cases. Fiction, however, often offers us excellent opportunities to explain it.
Leadership is something we all have to use at some point in our lives. It is just as important for managers and business people as it is for teachers or parents who need to educate their children.
If you have read the books or seen the TV series, you will recognize these five leadership lessons, and hopefully you can use them in your own life to achieve your goals.
# 1 – Keep your promises and pay off your debts
You hear this phrase from the Lannister family many times during the series; especially from Tyrion: “A Lannister always pays his debts.”
In life , the fastest way to lose people’s respect and all the power and influence you have is to make promises you can not keep and not to pay your debts.
The best way to gain the respect and trust of others is to build a reputation as a person who always keeps his promises and pays his debts. The Lannister family goes even further than that: they remind everyone of it. Without a doubt an excellent lesson for personal marketing.
# 2 – Be consistent in your decisions and do what you have to
A great leader does not hide when it’s time to make difficult decisions. He also does not hand over the task of doing what is required of others. “The man who commits the sentence should swing the sword,” said Ned Stark.
Leaders spend a lot of time in the trenches where they work hard and make difficult decisions. For it is as Ned says: “A regent who hides behind paid executions will soon forget what death is.”
# 3 – Leadership is not assigned, it is deserved
“The man who has to say ‘I am the king’ is not a real king. This brilliant phrase was uttered by Tywin Lannister – the patriarch of the most powerful family in the Seven Kingdoms – and it is an excellent lesson in what leadership means.
The best leaders are followed by a collective will, not because they say “I am the boss” or “I decide here”.
If you are a leader, you should behave like one. Earn people’s respect by working for them. The influence and power you gain will only be effective if it has been earned and is based on mutual respect.
# 4 – When chaos and problems arise, there is only one way out: forward
Problems are challenges that give us opportunities for improvement. When problems arise, the real leaders emerge, ready to take on the challenge. In the midst of all the chaos, the true strength of a leader will show.
Effective leaders are not frustrated by challenges. Instead, they use challenges to prove themselves worthy.
“Chaos is not a pit. Chaos is a ladder. ” says Littlefinger at one point, and he’s right. If you see chaos as something that can devour you and have no solution, you will sink into a pit. A leader sees the same chaos as an opportunity to rise up and grow. He has no other choice.
But Littlefinger’s lesson does not end there, but continues: “Chaos is not a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fall and will never try again. The fall breaks them down. And some are given the chance to climb. But they refuse; they cling to the kingdom, or to the gods, or to love. Illusions. Only the steps are real. Climbing is all there is. ”
# 5 – Always be on the alert and prepare for the worst
“Winter is on its way” is Huset Stark’s motto. The whole plot of Game of Thrones begins with this phrase: it is the name of the first episode in the series and also the first chapter in the book series.
Huset Stark, a breeding ground for leadership (even the illegitimate Jon Snow turns out to be born to lead), takes this motto to the breaking point. This motto holds many key lessons about achieving success in our lives.
Leaders stay on alert. The world is an insecure place. The best leaders always innovate and plan for the future. They are prepared for the unexpected, which is the key. They also embrace winter; especially when everyone else is distracted by sunbathing.
