The Daily Stoic - How To Be A Leader | Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers

Episode Date: January 28, 2024

As one of history’s most important biographers and essayists, Plutarch studied deeply the traits of great Greek and Roman leaders to identify just what it is that made them great. In today���s audiobook reading, Ryan shares an excerpt from How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership, in which Plutarch clearly and succinctly lays out his thoughts on the subject, as well as his advice to anyone striving to become a leader. This book is part of the fantastic Princeton University Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series, which you can find at The Painted Porch.💪 Visit store.dailystoic.com/pages/leadership to sign up for in the Daily Stoic Leadership Challenge before September 25th.✉️ Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Check out the Daily Stoic Store for Stoic inspired products, signed books, and more.📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic podcast. On Sundays, we take a deeper dive into these ancient topics with excerpts from the Stoic texts, audio books that we like here, recommend here at Daily Stoic, and other long form wisdom that you can chew on on this relaxing weekend. We hope this helps shape your understanding of this philosophy. And most importantly, that you're able to apply it to your actual life. Thank you for listening. I remember very specifically I rented an Airbnb in Santa Barbara. I was driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I just sold my first book and I'd been working on it and I just needed a break and I needed to get away

and I needed to have some quiet time to write. And that was one of the first Airbnb's I ever started with. And then when the book came out and did well, I bought my first house. I would rent that house out during South by Southwest and F1 and other events in Austin. Maybe you've been in a similar place. You've stayed in an Airbnb and you thought to yourself, this actually seems pretty doable. Maybe my place could be an Airbnb. You could rent a spare bedroom.

You could rent your whole place when you're away. Maybe you're planning a ski getaway this winter or you're planning on going somewhere warmer. While you're away, you could Airbnb your home and make some extra money towards the trip. Whether you use the extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun, your home could be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca. Hey everyone, it's Ryan Holiday. We've got a very special episode of the podcast today. Everyone's want I read a book and I'm just like, wow, that is Ryan Holiday. We've got a very special episode of the podcast today. Everyone's want I read a book and I'm just like, wow, that is a book. And I've really loved the Princeton University Presses series of classical texts. They sort of take these

great classical texts, they shorten them, they short excerpts, they put them together, they've got some of Epictetus, they've got some of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca. I just really love them. And this episode is from their book How to Be a Leader, which was written by Plutarch. It's from his essay series Moralia. It's translated and introduced by Jeffrey Benaker. And today's episode, the title of it even is just fantastic. It's a leader should do anything but not everything. And it's about how a leader has to share power, has to

delegate, has to prioritize the tasks that they do. It's just, Plutarch is the best that's ever done it. And I'm so grateful to Princeton University Press and this ancient wisdom series that they have for putting together this new edition. I highly recommend you read How to Be a Leader. And if you like this audiobook sample, thank you to the folks at Tantor Media, Highbridge Audio, a division of recorded books. They're the ones who were generous and kind enough to give us the audiobook sample. So if you love audiobooks, you can listen to an audiobook version of this full edition, which we have here. Check it out. Plutarch's How to Be a leader. A leader should do anything, but not everything. To an uneducated leader. In this brief essay, Plutarch refutes the notion that the benefit

of holding office is merely the opportunity to exercise power. This is the myopic stance of uneducated leaders whom he portrays as insecure and afraid of the people they govern. Educated leaders conversely are primarily concerned with the welfare of their constituents, even at the expense of their own power or safety. A leader becomes educated in Plutarch's view by exposure to philosophy and in particular to moral philosophy. The greatest benefit to be derived from this sort of education is the development of the logos or reason, which is essential to controlling one's emotions and impulses. Leaders who allow themselves to be

governed by reason will in turn govern their cities benevolently. The uneducated leader, on the other hand, is plagued by greed, paranoia and a false sense of grandeur. Plutarch holds out God in this essay as the ideal to which leaders should compare and assimilate themselves. This God, however, is not one of the deities of the polytheistic Greek religion, but rather a philosophical concept that Plutarch has borrowed from Plato. It represents a pure reason and the perfection of moral virtue. Plutarch conceives of this deity as existing in the heavens where the

sun becomes its physical manifestation. And just as the sun in the sky represents the perfection of the deity, so the leader who is governed by reason exhibits an example of virtue to the citizens of a city, and, even more, this virtuous leader may in turn make the citizens virtuous. Thus good political leadership depends not on formulating and executing particular policies, but on the moral development of the leaders themselves. 1. The people of Cyrene were in treating Plato to write laws for them and to reorganise their constitution. But he declined, claiming that it would be difficult to establish laws for

the Cyrenians because they were so well off. For nothing is so naturally haughty and harsh and hard to govern as a man who has acquired a reputation for success. For the same reason, it is difficult to act as an advisor about governing to those who hold office, because they are afraid to accept reason as their own governor, for fear that it will make them subservient to the obligations of their office and so reduce the benefit of their power. These people do not know the example of the Apompos, king of the Spartans, who was the first in Sparta to involve the Ephors

in the affairs of the kings. When his wife reproached him with a complaint that he would leave to his children an office that was weaker than the one he had received, he replied, "'Actually, it will be stronger, to the same degree, that it is more stable.' For by letting go of the excessive and absolute character of his office, he escaped envy and so avoided danger. And yet, when Theopompus diverted royal power to the Ephors, which was like diverting the current of a great stream, he deprived himself of whatever power he granted to them. Reason that has been conditioned by philosophy, however, once it has been established as a

counselor and protector of the one who governs, removes the unstable element of power and leaves behind what is sound, just as happens when we apply reason to the maintenance of our health. 2. Most kings and leaders, however, lack sense, and so they imitate the unskilled sculptors who believe that their colossal statues appear great and strong when they fashion their figures with a mighty stride, a straining body, and a gaping mouth. These kings and leaders, because they speak with a low-pitched voice, cast a harsh gaze, affect a cantankerous manner, and hold themselves aloof in their daily lives, suppose that they are imitating the dignity and solemnity of leadership. In fact, they are not at all different from those colossal statues, which

on the exterior possess a heroic and divine facade, but inside are filled with earth and stone and lead. In the case of the statues, however, this weight keeps their upright posture stable and steady, while uneducated generals and leaders are often times tripped up and toppled over by their innate foolishness. For they establish their lofty power upon a pedestal that has not been levelled, and so it cannot stand upright. Moreover just as a builder's rule is first established straight and unbending and then is used to correct the alignment of everything else through adjustments and juxtapositions with respect to it. In the very same way, those who govern must first achieve governance of themselves, straighten out their souls and set their

character a right, and then they should assimilate their subjects to themselves. For the one who is tipping over cannot straighten up someone else, nor can the ignorant person teach, the disorderly established order, the disorganized organize, the ungoverned govern. But most leaders misunderstand this, thinking instead that the greatest benefit in governing is the freedom from being governed themselves. Take the king of the Persians, for instance. He believed that everyone was his slave except for his wife, over whom he ought especially to have been the master. 3. Who then will govern the governor? The law which is king of everyone both mortals and immortals, as Pindar says. But I am not referring to a law that has been written in books or on any wooden tablets to be read

But I mean reason which exists within those who govern always accompanying and guarding their souls And never allowing them to lack guidance Now the Persian king assigned to one of his attendants this task To come to him at dawn and to say arise, oh king and attend to the matters that the great Ahura Mazda wants you to attend to. But this voice is always present within educated and self-controlled leaders, speaking out and exhorting them. Polomon used to say that erotic love was a service of the gods intended for the care and well-being of young people.

One might more truly say that those who govern serve God for the care and well-being of their fellow humans with the aim of dispersing some of the noble and good gifts that God grants and protecting the rest. Do you see this boundless sky up on high and infeliding the earth in its soft embrace. The sky sends down the beginnings of the necessary seeds, while the earth yields them up. Some will grow from rain, others from wind, and others when warmed on their surface by the stars and moon. And the sun arranges everything, and mixes its own charm into all that grows. But of the good gifts which the gods give, gifts that are

so great and so many, there is no enjoyment or proper use of them that is separate from law and justice and a leader. Justice, in fact, is the aim of the law, and law is the work of the leader, and the leader is the image of God who gives order to everything. True leaders require no Phidias to fashion them, no Polyclitus and no Myron, because they, on their own, transform themselves into the likeness of God through virtue, creating a real-life statue that is the most pleasant to look upon and the most fitting image of a God. And so just as God has established the sun in the sky as a beautiful image of

Himself and the moon as well, so in cities there is a facsimile of God and a source of light, the leader who is God-fearing and upholds righteousness. That is to say, the leader who possesses the reason and the intellect of God, but not one who holds a scepter or lightning bolt or trident, has some fashion themselves in images and describe intellect of God, but not when who holds a scepter or lightning bolt or trident has some fashion themselves in images and describe themselves in writing, thus making their foolishness odious by adding to it what in fact is unattainable. For God resents those who imitate thunder and lightning and shooting rays of light, but he is pleased with those who eagerly pursue his virtue and assimilate themselves

to true beauty and benevolence. These he strengthens, and to these he gives a share of his order, justice, truth, and mildness. Fire is not more divine than they are, nor as light, nor the course of the sun, nor the risings and settings of stars, nor eternity and immortality. For God is fortunate, not in his longevity, but in the governing ability of his virtue. For this is a divine thing, and noble too is the ability of his virtue to be governed." 4. When Anarchsarchus was consoling Alexander, who was despondent over his murder of Clytus, Alexanaxarcus was consoling Alexander, who was despondent over his murder of Cletus. He said that justice and right were a tendance to Zeus, so that everything done by a king

was by definition righteous and just. But in his attempt to assuage Alexander's remorse for his crime, he encouraged similar actions in the future. This was wrong and harmful. For if we must find a model for this situation, it would not be to say that Zeus has justice as an attendant, but that Zeus himself is, justice and right, and that he is the eldest and most perfect of laws. The ancient authors and teachers tell us, however, that not even Zeus is able to govern nobly apart from justice.

that not even Zeus is able to govern nobly apart from justice. She is a maiden, writes Hesiod, uncorrupted and the companion of reverence, self-control and prophet. For this reason they call kings reverend, for it is appropriate that those who are least fearful should be most revered. Leaders in fact must be more afraid of inflicting harm than of suffering harm themselves. This is what causes them to be revered. This is the benevolent and noble sort of fear that leaders possess, to be afraid on behalf of those they govern, and so to remain vigilant and keep their constituents from harm, just as dogs keep careful watch over flocks in the pen

when they've heard a stout-hearted wild beast. They act not in their own interests, but on behalf of those they are protecting. Take Epaminondas, for example. When his fellow Thebans had abandoned themselves to a drunken festival, he alone kept watch over the city's weapons and walls, saying that by remaining sober and awake he was freeing the others to get drunk and sleep. Or consider Cato the Younger at Utica. Following their defeat in battle, he ordered that everyone be sent to the coast, and after embarking them on ships and praying for good sailing, he returned to his quarters and committed suicide. Thus, he has taught us on whose behalf a leader ought to be afraid and what things a leader

ought to scorn. But Clearchus, the tyrant of Heraclea Pontica, used to curl himself into a box like a snake when he went to sleep. And Aristodemus of Argos used to go up into a room on the second floor through a trap door and after moving his bed on top of the door he would sleep there with his mistress, while the woman's mother would take away the ladder from below and then put it back again in the morning. How much do you suppose the theatre and the town hall and the council chamber and the drinking party frightened this man, who had converted his own bedroom into a personal

prison? In truth, kings are afraid for their subjects, while tyrants are afraid of their subjects. And so tyrants increase their fear in proportion to their power. The more people they rule, the more people they fear. This podcast is brought to you in part by Audible. Every year offers us the opportunity to get closer to the best versions of ourselves. No matter where you are on your well-being journey, Audible is there for you. They have an ever-growing selection of stories to inspire, sounds to soothe, and voices that have the potential to change your life.

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is an undercover tabloid reporter who's recorded the whole conversation. Oh, and just one more thing, promise last one, it's all about to appear on the front page of the news of the world. In the latest season of British Scandal, we take you inside the story of the so-called fake shake, the investigative journalist Mazem Amoud, and the series of explosive sting operations he used to con public figures. From Fergie to singer Tleesa and former England football coach Sven Goran Ericsson. Follow British Scandal wherever you listen to podcasts or listen early and ad-free on Wondry Plus, on Apple Podcasts or the Wondry app. Honestly, a million pounds and I still wouldn't introduce you to him. And that's for your sake.

Five. It is, indeed, neither likely nor fitting, as some philosophers claim, that God should exist intermingled with matter that is entirely passive or with substances that are liable to countless acts of compulsion and changes of fortune and fluctuations. Rather up on high, somewhere near that nature which ever and always remains the same, God is established upon a holy pedestal, as Plato says, and, making his way along a straight path in accordance with nature, he completes his course. Just as the sun in the sky appears plainly as a beautiful facsimile and mirror image of God to those who are able to perceive

Him in it, so God has established in cities the light of righteousness and of His own reason. This light acts as an image, which those who are blessed and self-controlled seek to replicate in themselves through philosophy, reshaping themselves closer to the absolute standard of goodness. Nothing other than reason developed through philosophy creates this character within a person. If we understand this, we may avoid making the same mistake as Alexander. For when he saw Diogenes at Corinth, he admired him for his natural abilities and marveled

at his intellect and stature. Then he declared, If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes. In saying this, he essentially affirmed that he was weighed down by his own good fortune, fame and power which acted as impediments to virtue and left him no time for anything else. He was further declaring that he envied the philosopher's ragged cloak and leather bag because Diogenes was neither conquered nor held captive by them, while he himself was restrained by armour and horses and spears. But it was, in fact, possible for him to practice philosophy, and

so to become Diogenes in his character while remaining Alexander in his success. Indeed, because he was Alexander he had all the more reason to become Diogenes, because with respect to his great success which like a ship is subject to strong winds and rough seas, he was in need of heavy ballast and astout pilot. 6. For private citizens who are weak and obscure, however, lack of intelligence combines with a lack of power to result in no harm being done, just as in bad dreams when a sense of grief disturbs the soul, but the soul, though it has the will, is unable to respond.

But political power, once it is latched onto depravity, gives physical strength to one's emotions. Thus, the saying of Dionysius proves to be true, for he declared that whenever he achieved his desires quickly, that was when he most enjoyed being tyrant. There is a great danger then, when people who are able to accomplish what they wish, in fact wish for things that are improper. Then, as soon as the word was spoken, the deed was accomplished. To Pravity, once combined with political power, races to give expression to every emotion. It converts anger into murder, love into adultery, and greed into the confiscation of property.

Then, as soon as the word was spoken, the offender was put to death. As soon as the suspicion was raised, the one who was slandered was killed. Scientists declare that lightning follows thunder as blood flows after a wound is inflicted, even though we see the lightning first, because our sense of hearing passively awaits sound while our sense of sight actively encounters light. Likewise, in the sphere of government, punishments may come before formal accusations, and indictments may precede the presentation of proof. For the spirit is already yielding and no longer holds out, as the hook of an anchor lodged in sand yields when seas are rough, unless a weighty reason presses down

on and applies pressure to political power. For then, a leader imitates the sun, which moves least when it achieves its greatest height. Once it has ascended high into the northerly sky, and by taking its time, it makes its path more certain. 7. It is, of course, impossible for vices to go unnoticed when people hold positions of power. Epileptics begin to spin and rock back and forth when they go to high places and move around, and so height and motion expose their disease. Fortune, likewise, after elevating uneducated and unlearned people to even slight prominence through some wealth or glory or political office, immediately makes a show of their downfall. Or to put it another way, when jars are empty you cannot distinguish between those that

are intact and those that are damaged, but once you fill them then their leaks appear. Just so, cracked souls cannot contain political power, but they leak with desire, anger, boasting, and vulgarity. But why must I go on about this? When we know that people criticize even the smallest of defects in prominent and famous leaders. Wine, for example, became a slander against Kymann and sleep against Scipio, while Luculus was criticized

for his overly luxurious dinners. Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to The Daily Stoic Podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30 million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it, and this isn't to sell anything.

I just wanted to say thank you. Hey Prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Happening now at Mademy Homes, the Now's Your Time event, offering limited time savings and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.