Wisdom From Three Stoics for Leaders
The Stoics are popular today because they believed in self-development, resilience, and focusing on things within your control.
Wisdom from the Stoics for Leaders:
The reason learning is hard:
Life is hard when you learn slowly.
âThrow out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.â Epictetus, Discourses, 2.17.1
That clicking sound you hear is the sound of everyoneâs brain turning off when you show up with all the answers.
You learn when you ask questions.
Application: Show up stupid.
Keep track of how many questions you ask in conversations. Set a goal to begin and end conversations with a question.
Begin conversations with, âWhat would you love to take away from our conversation?â End with, âWhatâs your takeaway from our conversation?â
Donât let brilliance prevent learning. Debono said it best, âThose who think they know, donât.â
The path to tranquility:
People who canât say no live frantic lives.
âIf you seek tranquility, do less. Or (more accurately) do whatâs essential.â Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.22.
High aspiration people squander their talent by doing too much.
Application: Help people identify essentials.
When people feel stressed ask, âWhat do you need to stop?â
Refocus on the big picture when people feel confused. âWhat are you trying to achieve?â
Help the overwhelmed by asking, âWhatâs one thing you can do today to move the agenda forward?â
The reluctance to confessing faults:
Denial and defensiveness indicate blind spots.
âWhy will no man confess his faults? Because he is still in their graspâŠâ Seneca, Letters from a Stoic, #LII.
Application: They might be right.
When someone hints you have a fault ask yourself, âHow might this be right?â Or âWhat am I doing that led someone to think this?â
Which bit of wisdom from the Stoics would you love leaders to embrace today?
Which bit of wisdom from the Stoics are you already practicing? How has it helped you?
Still curious:
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