Leadership Principles from Xenophon (concluded)
Motivate followers—Cyrus is adept at knowing how to motivate his followers. He knows when to be serious and when to be relaxed; he knows when monetary and non-monetary motivation are best; he knows when to use spiritual motivation; he knows when to use love and loyalty to motivate; and he knows when to use fear to motivate. To know how best to motivate a follower, a leader must know the follower quite well.
Based on Xenophon’s writing, both he and Cyrus the Great, thousands of years before Abraham H. Maslow develops his hierarchy of needs[i], understand and apply them. Consider the most basic need, physiologic, Cyrus understands the need to feed his army, but also the need to keep soldiers healthy. Xenophon notes, “There was a further matter, to which he gave much care; he wished no man to take his meal at morning or at night till he had sweated for it. He would lead the men out to hunt, or invent games for them, or if there was work to be done, he would so conduct it that they did not leave it without sweat. He believed this regimen gave them zest for their food, was good for their health, and increased their powers of toil; and the toil itself was a blessed means for making the men more gentle towards each other. . .. Moreover the knowledge of having gone through a common training would increase tenfold the courage with which they met the foe.”[ii]
Maslow’s second-level need, safety, is foremost in Cyrus’s mind as he equips, trains, and deploys his troops. Cyrus addresses the third-level need, love or belonging, by treating his army like family; whereas, his uncle acts like a dictator, Cyrus cares for his troops and thinks of them as equals, as brothers. He doesn’t believe leaders should allow distinctions of rank within their organizations. He believes treating people as equals leads to stronger bonds within the team and creates a culture of teamwork. He believes actions speak louder than words and, instead of telling people how special they are, he shows them how special they are by his actions. He goes out of his way to stamp out elitism within his command.[iii]
The fourth-level need, esteem, is evident throughout The Education of Cyrus. The esteem afforded Cyrus is evident from his title, Cyrus the Great. However, the feelings Cyrus has for his troops are evident through his words and actions. He understands the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion thousands of years before many contemporary leaders do.
In addressing his officers, Cyrus says, “‘… As our journey continues, we’re going to be joined by many races of men. Just as we choose our horses from the best stocks, not limiting ourselves to our national breed, we should choose the best men to join us in the work of command, regardless of their country or color.’” [iv]
Actions Cyrus takes to earn the respect of his men include, “Finally he sent out another proclamation, saying that if there was any slave among the Syrians, Assyrians, or Arabians who was a Mede, a Persian, a Bactrian, a Carian, a Cilician, or a Hellene, or a member of any other nation, and who had been forcibly enrolled, he was to come forward and declare himself. And when they heard the herald, many came forward gladly, and out of their number Cyrus selected the strongest and fairest, and told them they were now free, and would be required to bear arms, with which he would furnish them, and as to necessaries, he would see himself that they were not stinted.” [v]
In addition, he praises publicly, recognizing personal accomplishments. After a battle, Cyrus praises the gods and his men for their victory. Then, he announces publicly his promotion of one among their number: “But I need none to tell me the exploits of your brigadier Chrysantas; he was next to me in the battle and I could see that he bore himself as I believe you all have done. Moreover, at the very moment when I called on him to retire, he had just raised his sword to strike an Assyrian down, but he heard my voice, and at once he dropped his hand and did my bidding. He sent the word along the lines and led his division out of range before the enemy could lay one arrow to the string or let one javelin fly. Thus he brought himself and his men safely out of action, because he had learnt to obey. … Chrysantas I know already to be a true soldier and a man of sense, able to command because he is able to obey, and here and now I put him at the head of a thousand troops …’”[vi].
Maslow’s fifth-level need, self-actualization, involves achieving one’s full potential. Xenophon’s writing indicates Cyrus satisfies the fifth-level need. His motivation is greater than meeting his physiological needs and his needs for safety and belonging/love. Clearly, he is motivated by a need for esteem, which he achieves at a very young age. Thereafter, he appears to believe he reaches his full potential. On his death bed, Cyrus says, “‘My sons, and friends of mine, the end of my life is at hand: I know it by many signs. And when I am dead, you must show by word and deed that you think of me as happy. … And if I die now, I leave my sons behind me, the sons the gods have given me; and I leave my fatherland in happiness, and my friends. Surely I may hope that men will count me blessed and cherish my memory. … Remember my last saying: show kindness to your friends, and then shall you have it in your power to chastise your enemies. Good-bye, my dear sons, bid your mother good-bye for me. And all my friends, who are here or far away, good-bye.’
“And with these words he gave his hand to them, and then he covered his face and died.”[vii]
In answering the question of how will you make your life a success, Aristotle’s answer is to choose happiness. He says, “All knowledge and pursuit aims at some good … and what is the highest of all goods … happiness.”[viii] But, as Kolp and Rea note, “ … happiness occurs as a by-product of doing something worthy—when we do what we were meant to do and when we become who we were meant to be.”[ix] Cyrus’s life is a success. He chooses happiness. He does what he was meant to do and becomes who he is meant to be. He also provides a model of leadership that many leaders strive to emulate.
Closing
As noted, Peter Drucker introduced me to Xenophon. The combination of Cyropaedia (The Education of Cyrus) and Anabasis (The Expedition of Cyrus) yields a treasure trove of leadership principles and practices. Xenophon’s works support Steven Sample’s advice for leaders to read supertexts. My 8-part posting provides a sampling of insights gained by reading Xenophon’s works. Perhaps it will motivate you to read and explore them. If so, I suspect you will identify leadership principles and practices I failed to include in these posts.
Next: Leadership ABCs—Y
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[i] Abraham H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, Wilder Publications, Floyd, VA. (published in Psychological Review, 1943, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 370–396).
[ii] Gutenberg’s Cyropaedia: The Education of Cyrus, Book II, Chapter 1.
[iii] Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great, pp. 40-41.
[iv] Ibid, p. 46.
[v] Gutenberg’s Cyropaedia: The Education of Cyrus, Book IV, Chapter 5.
[vi] Ibid, Book IV, Chapter 1.
[vii] Ibid, Book VIII, Chapter 7.
[viii] Aristotle, “Nichomachean Ethics,” The Basic Works of Aristotle, Richard McKeon, editor, Random House, New York, NY, 1941, p. 937.
[ix]Alan Kolp and Peter Rea, Leading with Integrity: Character-Based Leadership, Cengage Learning, Mason, OH, 2009, p. 8.
