Examples Of Odysseus Being A Good Leader

Odysseus may not have been the most admirable hero, but does that necessarily mean he was not a good leader to his men? Good leadership can often come at the cost of one’s humility due to the harsh situations a team may have to go through. Being a less than subpar hero does not always equate to being a bad leader, and that is exactly the situation Odysseus was in. Odysseus was a great strategist, but his ability to not let his men hold him back from his goals was quite impressive. With all of this in mind, Odysseus earned his status as a good leader that is recognized by some, albeit bitterly. To begin with, Odysseus was quite the clever fellow. His unique plans are often shoved under the rug, thanks to the multiple mistakes he has made as

These points may come off as bad traits as a person, but as a leader they got the job done. On a journey that was extremely dangerous and risky, his cold-heartedness came in handy. The death of the people on his crew was inevitable, and Odysseus was able to keep a level head throughout the continuous losses. He was not afraid to sacrifice some of his men in order to reach his goal, and that allowed for him to make more daring plans. When Odysseus had tied all of his men under different sheep, he made sure to save the largest sheep for himself. It was very risky because Polyphemus could have stopped any one of them, and they would have been goners. However, Odysseus wanted to keep himself the most protected. He thinks with the most logic, of course the leader would need to be the most protected. How else would a crew be guided through their treacherous journey? Afterwards, when he and his crew were sailing, he led his men right towards Scylla, who they did not know was there. This was to ensure that they did not get sucked into Charybdis’ whirlpool. His ultimate goal was achieved, but it was at the cost of multiple men on his crew. Odysseus was not so ignorant as to let his whole crew die, seeing as how that would be hurtful towards himself and his journey. He knew how to manage his men, and he did not let their deaths drag him

One characteristic that is beneficial towards leadership is considered a bad trait as a person, and that is what turns people off from listening to reason. It can be said that Odysseus had quite the enormous ego, and that ego eventually led to multiple dangerous situations for his men. One example of this is when Odysseus and his men were leaving the island of the Cyclopes, and he had made the decision that it would be a good idea to taunt Polyphemus one last time. That made him angry, and he threw a large piece of rock from a volcano at the ship Odysseus and his men were aboard. Odysseus was so confident and utterly blind to the fact that Polyphemus could still find a way to harm them that it almost got his crew killed. That argument is one that is easily understood, but there is also an upside to his attitude. His actions towards Polyphemus show that he is so sure of himself and his team, that of which is something upstanding for a leader to think. Odysseus also constantly tried to correct the mistakes that he created. A man with an ego would never let his mistakes go untouched. It is also argued that since Odysseus was very secretive towards his men, he caused a multitude of their deaths. Odysseus’ intention was not to get his men killed, but to keep them calm. It is learned that even after Odysseus opened up to them and gave them a warning, his men ignored him and got