Leadership lessons learned from Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is considered to be one of the greatest military commanders of all time. Although his brilliance as a general was essential to his numerous victories (he was undefeated in combat), his grand strategies would have come to naught if his generals, centurions and rank soldiers didn't trust him implicitly and execute his strategies. After all, you can have the most brilliant ideas in the world and yet, without a buy in from your key stakeholders - they are useless. In this post I will attempt to relate some of the leadership lessons I have learned from the great Julius Caesar's life.

1. Connecting with your team - It is rumored that Caesar knew the names of all the men who fought for him (something he learned from his great general uncle Gaius Marius). This personal connection Caesar had with his soldiers made them love him as they were used to their generals treating them as commodities.

You don't have to be your colleagues' best friend. However having a personal connection to the people you work with is always a good thing.

2. Presentation is key - In Colleen McCullough's excellent series on the late Roman Republic, you will note that she often mentions that great speakers such as Caesar and Cornelius Sulla dressed immaculately and are very mindful about their posture when delivering speeches. In the senate they adorned their togas immaculately and in front of his armies, Caesar and Sulla always delivered their speeches dressed in full military regalia. Caesar, in particular, was an ardent student of the ancient art of rhetoric despite already being considered an expert.

Understanding how to persuade and present your case to your colleagues and upper-management is key. Often people judge your capabilities based on your ability to present yourself. After all, everyone knows the importance of first impressions.

3. Lead from the front - Although Caesar was not known for actually fighting in battles as a general (he did win a civic crown for valor when he was young), he was always close to the front line constantly communicating and encouraging his troops. His troops knew that he was in as much danger as they were during a battle. This raised the morale as his troops as they knew that their performances were being evaluated directly by Caesar himself. More importantly, doing so allowed Caesar to identify vulnerabilities in his battle formations and take immediate decisions to correct them before the vulnerabilities became insurmountable problems.

If you want something done, make sure you are always leading/following the execution of the problem. It is not good enough just to define the problem and implementation process. You need to drive the process to completion as well.

4. Communication is key - It is said that one of the most important reasons for the Roman legions' unchallenged superiority in battle was that they were the most informed armies. Every centurion (man in charge of a unit of 100 soldiers) was rumored to know as much about the battle plan as the general himself. Caesar had learned from his uncle the great general Gauis Marius that battles were won by the centurions of the army - the men who make the important calls during the battle than the generals themselves.

The centurions of the Roman legions are comparable to the team leads and middle managers of today. If you want a grand strategy to work, make sure everyone understands what needs to be done and help them drive it like you would yourself. Everyone should know how and where they fit in.

5. Publicize your accomplishments to create a brand for yourself - The reason that Julius Caesar is remembered even today is because people knew what he accomplished. In addition to being a superb orator he was also a very good writer. Caesar penned thrilling accounts of his accomplishments (Commentarii de Bello Gallico; Commentarii de Bello Civis) that were widely read (they are still used to teach Latin nowadays). It is almost as if he anticipated a famous quote of Winston Churchill, "History will treat me very kindly because I intend to write it".

Unless you publicize your accomplishments no one will know what you are capable of. Conscious and smart self-marketing is an important component of success.


6. Do not expect others to do what you would not be willing to do - Roman legions were required to kill army deserters by publicly flogging and beheading them. It didn't matter if the deserter was a friend or relative - they had to be killed.  As you can imagine this was perhaps one of the most difficult tasks a soldier was required to do. Julius Caesar promised that he would personally kill every tenth deserter to be executed.

Julius Caesar did not consider himself to be above doing the dirty work he expected from his soldiers. He led from the front even when difficult tasks needed to be done.