Everyone has a different opinion on what it means to be an effective leader. Warren Bennis says that “leadership is the ability to translate vision into reality.” John C. Maxwell states that “a leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Before arguing whether or not Odysseus is effective, one needs to know what an effective leader really is. Vocabulary.com defines a leader as “the one in the charge, the person who convinces other people to follow. A great leader inspires confidence in other people and moves them to action.” Many say that Odysseus isn’t a great leader because of his rash decisions and disconnect from his crewmates, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t effective. As defined by Oxford Languages, effective means “successful in producing a desired or intended result.” This means that an efficient leader is one who is in charge and is successful in producing the desired result. In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, on Odysseus’ return home from Troy with his crewmates, Odysseus consistently …show more content…
Despite taking seventeen years to return home, he completes his journey, therefore, he can be considered effective. When Odysseus and his crew are at Circe’s island, she provides them with meat and wine to fulfill their needs forevermore. Due to the fact Odysseus wants to go home as soon as possible, Odysseus holds Circe to her promise: “‘Circe, now make good a promise you gave me once–/ it’s time to help me home. My heart longs to be home,/ my comrades’ hearts as well’” (10. 532-533). Even though Circe offers Odysseus good food and shelter, he still insists that he return home, for he has a mission to complete. As it was mentioned before, effective leaders take charge and produce a desired result. In this scene, Odysseus does both. He confronts Circe and tells her that he needs to return home, and he also tells her so he can achieve the desired result: returning to