Learn (Nearly)

Everything about

Leadership from

World LiteratureDrs. Jill Channing and Thomas Cardoza

Truckee Meadows Community College

Reno, NV

Going Negative! Defining leadership

through bad leaders!▶ The Manager (Heart of

Darkness)

▶ Unimaginative, routine-

minded, amoral.

▶ Mr. Kurtz

▶ Selfish, violent, lacking in

“restraint.”

▶ Colonel Cathcart (Catch-22)

▶ Dishonest, uncaring, self-

promoting. Holds his

subordinates to higher

standards than himself.

▶ Tartuffe

▶ Dishonest, manipulative,

ambitious.

“All that we most revere, he uses/To

cloak his plots and camouflage his ruses.”

--Dorine in Tartuffe, Act 5, Scene 7

“It is a well-known fact that those people

who must want to rule people are, ipso

facto, those least suited to do it... anyone

who is capable of getting themselves made

President should on no account be allowed

to do the job.”

--Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at

the End of the Universe

Society for Human Resources Management:

Leadership Competencies Categories

▶ Leading the organization

▶ Leading the self

▶ Leading others

Machiavelli, in The Prince, giving advice about adapting to change

If a man conducts himself with caution and

patience, times and affairs may come around in

such a way that his procedure is good, and he goes

on successfully. But if times and circumstances

change, he is ruined, because he does not change

his method of action.

I have been writing and lecturing a good deal

recently about leadership, focusing on aspects I

feel are often crowded out by the charismatic

personal traits that draw admiration and are

frequently mistaken as a necessary quality of

leadership. Instead I have focused on humility,

trust, perseverance, creativity and the simple

desire to step up and take on a challenge and

make the world a better place.

Doug Guthrie, Forbes Magazine

Leading the Organization

▶ Managing change

▶ Solving problems and making decisions

▶ Managing politics and influencing others

▶ Taking risks and innovating

Managing Change

▶ Aeneas▶ Must deal with changing cultures and must make difficult decisions

in order to serve his people best

▶ Gilgamesh▶ His early rule is disastrous, but he gains wisdom and becomes a

great leader.

Solving Problems and Making Decisions

▶ Beowulf▶ Thinks critically to solve problems and is willing to take risks to try

different approaches for the sake of his people and to help others

▶ Odysseus▶ Develops the Trojan Horse and tricks the cyclops

Managing Politics and Influencing Others ▶ Gandalf

▶ Gandalf is The Great Instigator.” He moves behind the scenes and organizes a multi-racial coalition against Sauron, yet never seeks riches, power, or control. All his belongings are on is back.

▶ Moses▶ Manages the politics of Egypt, contends with Pharaoh, and influences

the other Israelites

Taking Risks and Innovating

▶ Odysseus▶ Innovates and takes risks to survive

▶ Buddha▶ Leaves the luxury of the palace and tries various techniques for

enlightenment, eventually finding the middle path

Senator Onésimo Sanchez, says to a crowd of constituents

with whom he uses demagoguery in Gabriel García Márquez’s

“Death Constant Beyond Love”

“We are here for the purpose of defeating

nature,” he began, against all his convictions.

“We will no longer be foundlings in our own

country, orphans of God in a realm of thirst and

bad climate, exiles in our own land. We will be

different people, ladies and gentlemen, we will

be a great and happy people.”

Leading the Organization

▶ Setting vision and strategy

▶ Managing the work

▶ Enhancing skills and knowledge

▶ Understanding and navigating the organization

▶ Fostering a sense of connection and belonging

Setting Vision and Strategy

▶The Prince▶ Gives detailed strategies for

understanding and navigating kingdoms (i.e. take pains not to be hated)

▶Tiresias (Blind prophet of Thebes )▶ Appears in Oedipus the King and

Antigone▶ Represents the same force — the

truth rejected by a willful and proud king, almost the personification of Fate itself

Managing the Work

▶Dido▶ Leads the creation of Carthage and navigates a patriarchal society

as a female monarch

▶Candide▶ “We must cultivate our garden”

Enhancing Skills and Knowledge

▶Dante▶ Learns from this travels and

experience

▶Gilgamesh▶ Pushes the limits of what is possible▶ Eventually learns to appreciate the simple pleasures of life

Understanding and Navigating

the Organization

▶Jesus▶ Anticipates true meaning of

questions (i.e. Should we pay taxes? Who are our neighbors?)

▶Penelope▶ Uses tactics to fend off suitors by unweaving her tapestry every night

Fosters a Sense of Connection

and Belonging

▶Aeneas▶ Fosters a sense of belonging to the Latinus people by taking on their language and culture when he becomes king

▶Achilles▶ Forms strong bonds (some say homosexual--Patroclus) with other soldiers, so they fight fiercely for one another

Confucius said this to his disciple Ran Yong when he asked

about humanity

What you do not wish for yourself, do not

impose upon others. Let no resentment enter

public affairs; let no resentment enter

private affairs.

Leading the Self

▶ Demonstrating ethics and integrity

▶ Displaying drive and purpose

▶ Exhibiting leadership stature

▶ Increasing your capacity to learn

Demonstrating Ethics and Integrity

▶Aeneas▶ Has to sacrifice much to obtain his goal

▶Beowulf▶ Puts his people and friends before himself (altruism)

▶Ruth▶ Acts in ways that promote the wellbeing of others▶ Demonstrates hesed by not going back to Moab but accompanying her mother-in-law to a foreign land (loyal)

Displaying Drive and Purpose

▶Candide▶ Leads his group with conviction, after he

has learned much, to be satisfied with the simple life

▶Jane Eyre▶ Remains calm and overcomes many

obstacles throughout novel

▶Frodo and Sam▶ Have drive and purpose, carrying the Ring into Mordor when bigger, stronger heroes cannot

▶ Miyamoto Musashi▶ Both in fighting and in everyday life you

should be determined though calm.

Exhibiting Your Leadership Stature▶Beowulf▶ Exhibits great leadership statue

by taking initiative▶ Displays ability to realize in

actions what he boasts in public

▶Theoden▶ Leads the charges at Helm’s Deep

and the Pellenor Fields, even though they will likely end in his death (and does)

▶Sampson▶ Displays feats of strength▶ Stands up to others and injustice

Suddenly the king cried to

Snowmane and the horse sprang

away. Behind him his banner blew

in the wind, white horse upon a

field of green, but he outpaced it.

After him thundered the knights of

his house, but he was ever before

them… For morning came, morning

and a wind from the sea; and

darkness was removed, and the hosts

of Mordor wailed, and terror took

them, and they fled, and died, and

the hoofs of wrath rode over them.

--The Return of the King

Increasing Your Capacity to Learn▶Beowulf

▶ Learns humility and the need to obtain help from others at the end; cannot take it all on himself

▶Candide▶ Has much drive and purpose and leads his group, after he has learned much, to be satisfied with the simple life

▶King Shahryār▶ Learns from Scheherazade about patience, tolerance, and avoidance of over-generalization

▶ Okonkwo▶ Rigid adherence to tradition leads to disaster, exile, and death.

Ezinma, who is flexible and adaptable, proves successful in life

Polonius gives advice to his son, Laertes, upon his embarking

to France in Hamlet

Take each man’s censure [opinion], but

reserve thy judgement. … This above all: to

thine own self be true.

Leading the Self

▶ Managing yourself

▶ Increasing self-awareness

▶ Developing adaptability and resilience

Managing Yourself

▶Creon▶ Learns to be flexible because being inflexible causes great loss

▶ Galadriel▶ Understands that her desire for the

power of The Ring will undo her and turn her to evil. She chooses exile and loss of her kingdom instead.

▶ “I pass the test. I will diminish,

and go into the West and remain

Galadriel.”

Increasing Self-awareness▶Hamlet▶ Engages in a great amount of

self-reflection, which causes him to uncover much about himself and those around him

▶Gilgamesh▶ Becomes wiser through his

struggles▶ Ceases to oppress his people

▶Gandalf▶ Knows his limitations and

knows when he needs help▶ Refuses the ring, even though

he could really use it

"No!," cried Gandalf, springing to his

feet. "With that power I should have

power too great and terrible. And over

me the Ring would gain a power still

greater and more deadly." His eyes

flashed and his face was lit as by a fire

within. "Do not tempt me! For I do not

wish to become like the Dark Lord

himself.”

Developing Adaptability and Resilience

▶Penelope▶ Adapts to life without Odysseus

for 20 years and manages lands on her own

▶Robinson Crusoe▶ Adapts to life on the island and

survives

▶Odysseus▶ Adapts to life away from home and learns humility from facing great trials

King Hrothgar to Beowulf after his speech in the Hall

The Lord in his wisdom sent you those words

and they came from the heart. I have never

heard so young a man make truer observations.

You are strong in body and mature in mind,

impressive in speech

Leading Others

▶ Communicating

effectively

▶ Developing and

empowering others

▶ Valuing diversity and

difference

▶ Building and

maintaining

relationships

▶ Managing effective

teams and work groups

Communicating Effectively

▶Fairy Mistress in “Lanval”▶ Comes to Lanval’s rescue,

speaking truth to power (to

Arthur and his knights)

▶Beowulf▶ Uses boasting to

communicate values

▶Jesus▶ Parables: simple stories

with deep significance

Developing and Empowering Others

▶Beowulf▶ Elevates Wiglaf so that he

may achieve success as his heir

and as a warrior who helped

defeat the dragon

▶Gandalf▶ Encourages others and gives

advice and guidance

▶Confucius▶ Teaches and develops ethical

codes through dialogues with

disciples

Valuing Diversity and Difference

▶Elrond▶ Builds the Fellowship of

the Ring from all four races,

knowing that in diversity

there is strength

▶Wizard of Oz▶ Uses each character’s

skills to aid in progress in

journey

Building and Maintaining Relationships▶Achilles

▶ Builds strong relationships with

comrades and fights fiercely

alongside them as an effective

team

▶Mohammed▶ Unites Arabia and builds

communities

▶Candide▶ Gets everyone to “work

without arguing,” even entitled

people used to laziness and luxury

Managing Effective Teams and Work

Groups

▶Spartacus▶ Built an effective and coherent

army out of a disparate group of

escaped slaves

▶Bilbo Baggins▶ Transformed himself from a

reluctant (and despised) tagalong

into the group leader who brought

about Smaug’s defeat and the

restoration of the Kingdoms of

Erebor and Dale

▶ Saves the day, despite opposition

from within and without

Already they had come

to respect little Bilbo.

Now he had become the

real leader in their

adventure. He had

begun to have ideas and

plans of his own.

--The Hobbit

Group Work!▶ Discuss in groups of three, what lessons about leadership you have learned

today or in your own reading? How do these lessons inform your specific leadership practices?

▶ What other examples from world literature can you think of that would be helpful to a new leader? A seasoned leader?

▶ Can some dreams seem realistic to some individuals but illusions of realities to others? How could this impact leadership and the relationships between leaders and followers within an organization?

▶ How do the relationships built at a young age impact a leader’s moral code? Do some types of relationships affect the ability to develop good moral code more than others?

▶ Since it largely requires hindsight and reflection to gauge if an individual is ready for responsibilities, how can a leader utilize relationships established within an organization to provide aid when challenges arise?

▶ What are the hidden hazards of success as an educator and leader?

▶ Is reflection an independent undertaking or can it be collaborative?

Whole Session Conclusion

▶ What were the most pertinent concepts,

ideas, or strategies you learned during this

session?

▶ What was the most interesting thing you

learned from the group work?

▶ What is something you learned today that

you will share with a colleague at your

home institution?

Questions?

References▶ Leadership competencies. (2008). Society for Human Resource Management.

Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-

topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-and-

navigation/pages/leadershipcompetencies.aspx

▶ Simon, P. (Ed.). (2012). The Norton anthology of world literature (Vols. A-F).

New York, NY: W. W. Norton.