Stoicism and Leadership

Well, it's been a few months since our last edition. i have been working on some other projects that took up a lot of time but now I am able to get back to posting here more regularly. Thanks for your subscribing and staying with me!

A few years back, I came across an article on Stoicism that rekindled my interest in this ancient brand of philosophy.

Now, I had been introduced to Stoicism many years ago when a friend gave me a copy of "Meditations" written by Marcus Aurelius. Marcus was Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD and was also a Stoic philosopher. Meditations was in essence a journal he wrote for himself encompassing his thoughts on life, leadership, resilience, compassion and how to be a better human being. The book was never intended for outside eyes. The words on the pages were intended for his eyes only. It was a primer for himself so he could hold himself accountable for his actions and try to be a better ruler and person on a daily basis. Unlike many Roman emperors who were basically monsters, Marcus Aurelius was a benevolent and kind leader who sought to embody the four principles of Stoicism each and every day. He and the other prominent Stoics in the ancient world including Seneca, and Epictetus, followed the principles of:

• Courage

• Temperance

• Justice

• Wisdom

And remarkably, these four cornerstones of Stoicism are essential traits to be an effective leader. It was then, 1845 years ago, and it is now, here in 2025. Let me explain how the study of Stoicism has helped to shape my leadership outlook and practice, even now in retirement. 

Control:

A core tenet of Stoicism is to focus on what you can control and not worry about the rest. Meaning, the things out of your control. As leaders, we can control our strategic decisions, how we model ourselves as leaders to our team, our bosses, our clients etc. What we can't control are things like the economy turning and being ordered to cut headcount. Even when you can ill afford to cut anyone given you, as a leader, have already eliminated the non productive people in your organization. You can't control the boss who won't listen and makes decisions that you believe are wrong for your organization. You can't control an employee who makes a bad mistake, or commits some fraud or theft that puts a stain on your and your team. There are more things out of your control than in your control. That is true of both your personal and professional life. Can you control the stupid driver that cuts you off on your commute home? No. Can you control your refrigerator going on the blink or the leak in your roof that will cost you a lot of money to repair? No! But you can control how you respond to these things. By raging at the stupid driver or the messiness of life, or to take a breath and realize you have no control over this situation. 

This is why the Stoics have "control" as the centerpiece of their philosophy. And leaders should too. I've seen too many leaders in the scenario I just described above regarding having to cut headcount, bitch and moan about how "unfair it is." "How it isn't right." 

They are right. It isn't fair and it isn't right. And guess what? None of that matters. The decision is out of your control. Stop obsessing about it. Leadership means making the hard decisions. The ones others don't want to make. It is out of your control. Make the cuts and move on. You can make the cuts with empathy and try to help the affected people land other positions within the company or elsewhere. But you do your duty because the decision is not in your control. What IS in your control is how you approach such a situation. Your attitude, your response, your internal grit, your resolve to see your troops through this bad situation. All of this is in your control. This is what you should be focusing on. Everything else is chatter and a waste of your time and a strain on your emotions. 

Courage:

Leadership takes courage. Courage, as in the above scenario, to make hard decisions even when you don't want to. It takes courage to tell the higher ups they are wrong about a strategic decision they are making that will adversely affect the company and/or your organization. What about this? Having to fire people for cause, for non performance, even if they might be your friends? Courage. Yes. It takes courage to do that. It takes courage to reorganize an outfit and go in a new strategic direction when you meet with resistance from the troops who say, "It has always been done this way!" When you know that if you keep the status quo, there will be no resistance, but there will also be no improvement, no advancement in your organizational goals, no new innovations. It takes courage to fight against the tide. But that is exactly what leadership requires. To face criticism that is unjust and still keep pressing on with a good attitude. Trust me. I have had ample experience in dealing with unjust criticism from leaders and higher ups who should know better. You have to be willing to shrug it off, mind your ego, and move on with your mission and your people. Without courage, you can never be an effective leader. 

Justice:

This is simple but alas, not always practiced by people in leadership positions. Justice. What does this mean in Stoicism. It means treating people fairly. Not having favorites in your organization. I have heard of security organizations where the leader comes from a particular organization be it Secret Service, FBI or say, the CIA, my old alma mater. And these leaders simply staff their teams with former colleagues from their old organizations. What's more, whoever in their organization is not from the leader's former employer are treated like second class citizens, even if they have better skills and knowledge in corporate security that the former Bureau and Secret Service folks. That is not justice. And actually, that is not even good business. Real leaders surround themselves with people who don't think like them. Who may not have their backgrounds but have the diversity of thinking required for the leader to make the best decision for the organization. Treat people fairly, humanely and with compassion. As a leader, justice should be in your DNA. 

Temperance:

I guess temperance could mean making sure you don't eat or drink too much (which you shouldn't) but in this case, the meaning is more subdued. I look at it as having a balance in your life and not going to the excesses. As leaders, we can find ourselves working seven days a week, and taking the job home. At times, yes, this is necessary. We are in the security profession and it is not a 9-5 job by any means. But within that context, you control (there is that word again - control!) how you approach the job when it isn't a crisis situation. You control whether or not you send or answer non critical emails when you are at home or on vacation. You control whether you bake in things like walks, exercise, meditation, prayer, social activities in your life to balance out the stress of being a security leader. This, you control. But do you? Or do you find yourself scrolling through emails on your smartphone while eating meals, while watching TV, while getting ready for bed? Oh, I bet a fair amount of you do! Stop doing that. Life is balance and the Stoics knew that even back in the ancient days of Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius had so many pressures on him daily. He ran the largest country in the world at the time. He dealt with wars on multiple fronts, a plague that decimated his country, political intrigues and betrayals, the loss of many of his children and failing health. But he still took time to journal daily. To exercise when he could. To take walks and give his mind a break. If a Roman emperor thousands of years ago could figure it out, you can too. Temperance. Practice it. 

And finally,

Wisdom:

Leaders need to be wise. To make the best decisions for the good of your enterprise. Wisdom means when making critical decisions, to take counsel from any quarter. You as a leader don't have the market cornered on good ideas. I have seen too many leaders go full steam ahead with ideas they came up with that they "knew," was the best way to go, despite sound advice otherwise from direct reports, or peers. They didn't listen. And when the plans don't go as planned, they blame everyone else but themselves. These are not wise leaders. Wisdom entails listening and then talking. It means learning, growing, admitting mistakes and learning from them. That is how you cultivate wisdom. You don't cultivate it by letting your ego drive your decisions. There is a great verse in the Bible that I just love and believe is apropos for all leaders:

"I will do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, I will esteem others better than myself."

Now THAT, is the essence of wise leadership. Yes, there are times you will call the ball as security leaders in spite of what others counsel. Those are the one off situations that I have encountered when I knew we needed to zig and not zag even when many were saying to zag. But, I listened first. Earnestly with a critical eye to make sure it wasn't my ego getting in the way of the best decision. I approached it with wisdom. It took years of me learning and growing and being unwise, before I got to the state where I was wise enough to be an effective leader. But take the time to grow and nurture wisdom. It will pay off. Trust me.

Stoicism continues to be a major influence on my life. Even now, when I don't command a global security organization, in my board work and community engagement activities, I will rely on Stoicism to help me make good decisions, stay resilient when tough times come and to practice courage, wisdom, temperance and justice daily.

Want to be a better and effective leader? Study the writings of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. Their wise words transcend time and will make you a better and more effective leader.

Until next time!