Odysseus Failure Of Leadership In The Odyssey

Colin Powell’s “It Worked For Me in Life and Leadership” (2012) is a riveting book that discusses in great detail the simple but often-fundamental leadership principles that have been consigned to oblivion by most people and leaders. The evocative book provides a basis on which one can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in leadership in all dimensions, particularly at the work place and suggests other areas of improvement that the reader can asses to ensure proper development. Through careful, frequent and honest evaluations from both self and others, it is possible for a person to become the best version of himself or herself; in turn, this contributes to a well-rounded leader.

Odysseus does not tell his men many things and he keeps those secrets to himself. In one example of the Odyssey, Odysseus is given a gift from the god of the winds, Aiolos. The gift, a bag of winds, takes all the stormy winds and conceals them inside a cowskin bag. Odysseus’ crew, curious about what is in the bag, decides to open the bag and check what is inside. Thinking that there is gold and silver inside, they greedily open it emanating a windy gale. Odysseus describes the opening of the bag saying, ‘“A scandalous motion, but it was passed. They opened the bag, the winds leaped out; at once a gale caught them, and carried them off to sea tearing their hair as they left their native land behind.”’ (Homer 113). A very scandalous motion indeed for the island of Ithaca was visible to Odysseus and his me. Odysseus is punished for his poor leadership. He does not tell his crew that there are the stormy winds inside the bag, leaving his crew inquisitive. Odysseus also, “fell into a deep sleep…”(Homer 112) which gives the crew freedom because there is no supervision. This flaw gave Odysseus the wisdom of responsibility. Odysseus acts as the leader and tells his men what to do. Unfortunately, Odysseus’s men still disobey him on Thrinacia. The men take all of Helios’ cattle and they feast on them although Odysseus had already warned the men. Odysseus, having learned from poor leadership, said, “My friends, we have food and drink in the ship, so we must keep our hands off these cattle or we may suffer for it.” (Homer 144). Odysseus learns but his crew does not gain any wisdom. Odysseus tries to take leadership by warning his crew but they were all too greedy. Under the circumstances, Helios called upon Zeus and terror struck upon Odysseus men leaving only Odysseus alive. Odysseus gains the wisdom of responsibility after learning from his flaw of poor

In the novel, The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus is portrayed as a leader who must overcome a multitude of challenges. He is similar to Oprah Winfrey because of the struggles she had to overcome to get where she is today. Odysseus and Oprah share similar qualities as leaders, heroes and renown role models because of their strong desire to never give up. They are different because of their way of thinking and dealing with situations. Although people think Oprah is a more significant hero than Odysseus because of his flawed nature, Odysseus and Oprah are both brazen leaders because of their ability to use words and actions to empower the people around them.

Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey the main character of the story is regarded as a great hero. Although he is a great hero that does not mean he is an effective leader, here is evidence that Odysseus is not an effective leader for reasons such as recklessness, deceitfulness and a curse from the gods.

When Odysseus could, he made very brave decisions to get his men out of tough situations, but, what can be easily be over looked is that Odysseus got his men into most of the bad situations they came upon. For instance, an episode of this poor leadership is when Odysseus does not adequately warn his men about abstaining from eating the cattle on Helios's island. Yes, one could argue that Odysseus did in fact warn his men, but he really did not warn them as well as he could have. Odysseus didn't even tell the men that they would die if they ate the cattle, and so they were quickly tempted into Eurylochus's plan, "Listen to me. . . all ways of dying are hateful to us poor mortals. . . but to die of hunger, starve to death- that’s worst of all. . . let's drive

The traits of leadership are not evident in Odysseus during much of his journey home to Ithaca. However, during his journey, Odysseus becomes better at leading his crewmates and making choices that would hurry their journey home instead of delay it. Soon after Odysseus’s crewmates convince him to leave Circe and resume their journey home, they face an obstacle in Scylla and Charybdis. During this terrifying episode, Odysseus displays his leadership in a prominent way by taking control of the situation and saying “So now let us all agree to do exactly what I say. Oarsmen, stay at your oars, striking hard with your blades through the deep swell, in the hope that Zeus allows us to escape disaster and come out of this alive. Helmsman, your orders

The bad winds thus escape and blow the ship back to Aeolus’ Island” (Homer 386). During this event, Odysseus received a bag of wind, that was to be kept shut, for smooth sailing home. The men didn’t believe Odysseus was telling the truth of what is inside and opened the bag in hope of making it rich. Unfortunately, when they untied the bag and let the winds out, it blew them all the way back. As a result of the men not following directions, he is not an effective leader because he doesn’t take charge and warn them of the dangers of what is to come.

According to The Odyssey, “Within sight of home, and while Odysseus is sleeping, the men open the bag, thinking it contains gold and silver. The bad winds thus escape and blow the ships back to Aeolus’ island. The king refuses to help them again, believing now that their voyage has been cursed by the gods” (Hom. Od. 10). Odysseus is not a good leader because he does not manifest the traits of a good

In The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus performs many leadership acts that help him and his men get back home to Ithaca(TS). One example of his leaderships skills, is perseverance (SI1). When him and his men were sailing home to Ithaca and came upon Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus motivated the crew and overcame a difficult obstacle and decision, “‘Friends, have we never been in danger before this?”(E1). Odysseus had to decide whether he would risk going past Charybdis which he could have lost all of his men or he could have gone by Scylla, and no doubt lose six men; this kind of decision is called a ‘rock in a hard place’ meaning he had to make a decision and it was lose lose situation no matter what.(D1). Which leads to his quick problem solving,

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is an amazing leader. However, he wasn’t always a prodigious leader. He had to spend 20 years at sea and in unexplored lands. Because of his actions, he stirred up anger in Poseidon and in return, Poseidon cursed Odysseus and all that assist him. Though Odysseus is now a great leader, he wasn’t always the best he could be.

When it comes to a strong leader, Odysseus is not the best option. Not only did Odysseus fail to save any of his men, but his selfishness caused him and his crew to go on this journey in the first place. If Odysseus had not given his identity to the Polyphemus, then Polyphemus would not have told Poseidon to make Odysseus’ life miserable. This shows that he has poor leadership skills because an exceptional leader would have saved their crew rather than doom them. Another example of Odysseus’ lack of leadership skills is the fact that he did not have to be tied to the mass, he just wanted to hear the sirens song. Tiresias told Odysseus to make sure that he and his crew plugged their ears with wax when they were passing the sirens. Then out of

Odysseus was an ineffective leader earlier in the journey. Odysseus blames his men for tragic events “I urged to cut and run, set sail, but would they listen? Not those mutinous fools; there was too much wine to swill, too many sheep to slaughter down along the beach, and shambling longhorn cattle” (IX.49). Odysseus and his crew were partying at Cicones’ land at night he didn’t stop his men from drinking and fools because he was drunk too he didn’t step in as a

One of the most difficult aspects of leadership is making complicated decisions that literally mean life or death. Odysseus had make a hard decision in book twelve of The Odyssey, whether or not to tell his men Scylla, a six headed monster with twelve legs who feasted on human flesh. Based on the events that transpired through the story Odysseus did the right thing by not telling his men.

A good leader trait describes someone in a way that represent them as a leader. Some of these traits consist of someone who has emotional stability, dominance to get the job done, enthusiasm for the job; self- assuredness, maturity, empathy for one, responsibility, and the ability to be able to adapt in situations. As a good leader, being honest and strategic is crucial, someone who has a clear, courageous vision of their goal; Believing in the power of teamwork too. In The Odyssey, Odysseus doesn’t fit this topic, a good leader; although he may have been a hero to many people, he is not a good leader. Odysseus isn’t a good leader because of his strong arrogance; he manipulates his men and puts them

The book, Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell by Oren Harari provides an interesting overview of the leadership exhibited by one of the globally known bottom-line leaders in the United States. The exceptional perspective on the role leadership plays is provided in the book, using Powell as the case study. From the perspective provided by the author, the leader is revealed as one who was able to portray successful leadership within the military, although it is a place in which is hard to achieve side-by-side leadership. On the contrary, Powell is able to demonstrate that leadership is more about responsibility and accountability as opposed to privilege and rank. It is all about complete commitment towards a common mission, portraying audacity and determination, evaluation of standards of performance, attending to details, overcoming the status quo, and empowering followers.