If you are in business, especially in the startup universe, you are on a path to lead people and change the world.
You might or might not think of your work in these terms, but whether you’re an entrepreneur launching a new tech product, or a sales executive leading a small army of reps, or even a tech lead managing a dev team, you are a leader of people and you will make an impact on this world.
It might be small, limited to a few clients.
It might be big and transform the future for 100s or even 1000s of people, but what is certain, is that you are on a mission to make this impact — and to be successful at this, you will need the support of your team.
Leadership, as a skill, is the capacity to lead people.
Leadership is that quality of character, personality and skill-set that gives a person the ability to gain the confidence of and lead others.
Whether you are already leader in any formal capacity or not, this skill-set is one you just can’t do away with if you are to have an impact on the world around you.
If you want to launch a new business of any sort or have an impact through the one you work for, you just can’t achieve much without the help of others. Actually, even if you want to persuade your friends to go to that new restaurant you wanted to check out, you’ll need to lead them. That’s why you should care about honing your leadership skills.
Whom best to learn leadership from, then, than the man who led an army of over 60,000 people to conquer an area as big as modern France? The man who rose to become Rome’s most famous general and, later, the absolute leader of the Roman state?
If you’re not overly familiar with Roman history, you might think that Caesar was a bloody dictator and a tyrant from a bygone era. However, that’s not how Caesar rose to power and the relevance of his tactics to today’s business times might be hardly overstated:
- Caesar was beloved by his own team and supported by the common people— from the last of his soldiers to the poor masses in Rome, it was the so-called ‘plebs’ who backed Caesar’s raise to power.
- Caesar had to rebuild his wealth and connections from scratch — despite being part of the noble class, his father died when he was 16 and his family was dragged into a political feud that stripped him of his inheritance and social position; it was left to Caesar’s brain to orchestrate a comeback that took over 3 decades to fully pay off.
- Caesar pioneered the use of marketing and ‘direct blogging’ techniques— His book the ‘Gallic War’ was written not so much to please historians and definitely not as a ‘single book’, but as a series of ‘Commentaries’ that were regularly published and could cut through the veil of political elitism. It was this ‘blog-style’ writing that helped Caesar connect regularly with the people in Rome to let them ‘join into’ his battlefront struggles and victories.
Below I extracted 8 Golden Tips on Leadership from his Commentaries on the Gallic War for you, here is the list:
- Praise your team — the whole team
- Master the art of Patience
- Show optimism and confidence — especially when your team is down
- Know your shit
- Stay true to your word
- Lead by example— Even if it means getting out of your comfort zone and taking some risks
- Hope for the best, plan for the worst
- Don’t sell yourself — Sell your team’s achievements
Praise your team — all your team
Caesar had a big army, and he was from noble descent. You’d probably expect him to rule his soldiers from a golden tent through his commanders. You might even expect him to be a harsh elitist pushing his soldiers on with the constant threat of punishment.
That was not the way he led though.
His commentaries are full of praise for his soldiers, often mentioning heroic gestures from unknown legionaries without a title. These men he calls by name and constantly congratulates for their courage.
It’s not a coincidence that Dale Carnegie, in his seminal book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, listed amongst the principles that a successful person should follow: to be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.
Being appreciated is one of the strongest needs in a human being. Being appreciated makes one feel accepted.
I don’t know if Carnegie read Caesar’s work, however his book is pretty much a description of Caesar’s style of command. Carnegie in particular drives home the point that to win people over, you should not criticise, condemn, or complain, and instead you should always be ready to give honest and sincere appreciation. He stresses that you should remember people’s name and call them by that, as well as give others a fine reputation to live up to. This is literally all Caesar does throughout his campaigns, addressing all his people with respect: from the veterans to the last of the centurions and legionaries.
Even in his writings, he often spends time describing brave acts by people in his army, naming his lieutenants, commanders but also military tribunes, centurions and occasionally legionaries (that is low rank officers and even privates).
In short, if you want to lead like Caesar, you should remember to praise your team — all the people in your team. This will give them positive feedback and a reputation to live up to. When they make a mistake, point that out as something easy to correct: you should not dwell on these and, instead, continue to show appreciation for what they do right and encourage them to be the best they can be.
If there is a single thing only you take away from this article on leadership — this should be it.
Master the art of Patience
Caesar was a master of the art of patience. He beat his enemies, both in politics and on the battlefield, by playing the long-term game.
When his soldiers could win at the cost of too many deaths, he often chose to delay.
When his enemies tempted him to rush in headlong, he paused and reflected.
Caesar was never in any particular rush. Yet he decisively stroke whenever a suitable opportunity had arisen, and used to work really hard to prepare for these moments.
During the campaigns in Gaul, Caesar had ups and downs. Sometimes fortune favoured him. Sometimes it did not. His leadership skills proved decisive when he prevented his soldiers from being over-excited in seemingly favourable circumstances, and encouraged them to keep calm during the hard times. This approach ensured he avoided enemies’ traps and resisted the urge to give up just before a turn of events could give him the upper hand.
Patience and steadfast preparation work meant that Caesar often preferred to build siege engines and bridges, rather than rushing into battle and then being forced to retreat.
He took his time to advance and confront the enemy. He remained with his men on the font-line enduring cold winters and lack of food to push his soldiers to maintain a calm mind and not to lose patience.
All this patient preparation and tenacity paid off eventually, for no tribe could resist the patient and steady advance of Caesar’s army.
Show optimism and confidence — especially when your team is down
Keep Calm and Carry On was a famous World War II UK slogan to encourage citizens to endure the German bombing and believe in the ultimate victory for the Allies.
Keeping calm in the face of adversity, though, is not always easy — and Caesar knew that.
As a leader, he often played the part of the supportive coach with his troops. He knew optimism and confidence were contagious and never allowed himself to blame the circumstances or panic or despair.
Instead, when his soldiers’s morale was down, he reminded them of past victories, of the previous times when victory followed hardship, of the glory and riches that would surely follow if they kept going.
It is very likely that in private he would have his doubts and moments of anger, stress and lack of self-confidence. Yet he knew that his men would look up to him for inspiration, so whenever he played to role of the leader, he reminded himself (and his troops) that by keeping up the hard work and by not giving up, eventually the final victory would be theirs.
In Gaul it took them 8 years.
As per Caesar’s raise to power after being cast out by the enemies of his family, it was a journey of over 3 decades.
Had he let doubt and self-defeatism grow too big and take the best of him, he would have probably achieved none.
Ultimately, a good leader, to borrow a line from Queen’s song “The Show Must Go On” always reminds him or her-self that:
My makeup may be flaking
But my smile still stays on
In short: do leaders doubt? Yes. Can they let doubts spread to their team? No: just like a good coach, you must show undying faith in your players and your ultimate victory.
Know your shit
This may seem common sense, but at a time of social media and fast gratification, we might be excused to think people can just ‘sell oil snake’ and gain a quick reward by ‘posing’ as an expert.
Caesar thought differently.
He just knew his shit.
Throughout the Commentaries, and in other writings of his or about him, we know he was possibly one of the most expert generals of his times.
As if that was not already something, he thought it would be better to become a skilled public speaker and orator too, to know how to speak not just Latin, but also Greek and possibly some rudiments of barbaric tongues, as well as be versed in mathematics, engineering, and (whether formally or not) human psychology.
From his writings, it’s clear he preferred to battle (literally as well as on the political battle ground) only if he could see for himself some tactical advantages. He would not let disadvantageous situations freeze him, though. Instead, he would painstakingly build up his positions by either superior knowledge or astute manoeuvres.
When it came to leading people, he would be eager to surround himself with experts and to train loyal people himself.
He would not let others ‘run his business’, though.
When in Gaul leading troops, he would make sure to have fighting skills honed just like a common soldier, battlefield knowledge to be able to direct officers, and tactical expertise to play his real role better than anyone else: that of the general.
When playing the politician, he would make sure to know the ins and outs of the republic and to carefully prepare any political fight in advance.
In a nutshell, Caesar knew that a great speech or the final blow to an opponent was just the final act of a much longer, steady preparation.
Stay true to your word
OK, you might be forgiven for raising an eyebrow here. Caesar played politics and, when he needed to, not exactly the most morally impeccable kind of politics.
Yet, contrarily to what we might assume, as far as his troops and close allies were concerned, Caesar would be ‘someone you can always count on’.
In his Commentaries on the Gallic War, for example, he would go almost to any extent to honour promises to allies and to his loyal soldiers.
He would make sure to give none a reason to doubt about the strength of Caesar’s word.
To achieve this, he would also sacrifice his own personal wealth, sometimes even take some extra risks in war.
That paid off: big time.
By the time he left Gaul, he had inspired so much gratitude, loyalty and trustworthiness in the right political allies, as well as in his own troops, that he was ultimately able to execute a successful coup d’état. Because people trusted him more than they trusted the institutions. If this sounds like a populist plot or a mafia-like system… It’s because, in way, it was!
Caesar’s allies, his troops, and a large part of the people of Rome ‘felt’ they could trust him above anyone else. That feeling got to a point where, at a time of political uncertainty and widespread corruption, Caesar was able to cross the infamous Rubicon and declare war on the Roman state… And win that war amongst the cheers of his army and most of the population.
During the Gallic wars, that meant obtaining a reputation as someone people should put faith in.
Casear, ultimately, anticipated psychologist Robert Cialdini and his book on Influence by a couple of millennia, by understanding that people feel under the obligation to repay favours received and like to ‘do business’ with people they can trust.
Equally, Caesar would honour his word in terms of self-commitment. Whenever he had set his mind onto something and pledged to do it, there would be no length of preparation time, no obstacle and no failure that could be so big that he would desist.
If you are set on becoming a leader, know that your word should be equally sacred. Both the word you give people and the word you give yourself.
If your team and the people you want to do business with feel they can trust you, they will follow you and not jump ship when the first difficulty arises.
Equally, if you promise yourself to get somewhere, the only way to get there is by not quitting along the way.
Lead by example — Even if it means getting out of your comfort zone and taking some risks
If you think that being a leader means telling people what to do: think again.
Leading means guiding people.
Yes, in practice that will involve a great deal of instructions to be given and, sometimes, the circumstances will require giving orders and being fast. Caesar knew this as war is arguably one of those circumstances. Yet even in war he did not expect people to do something just because he told them so.
He rode with them, slept with them, even fought with them when the situation was critical. In the rain, in the mud, in winter and in summer. He shared corn and forage with them and suffered equally when this was cut off by the enemy.
In those circumstances, when many an army would have betrayed their general and given up on fighting or marching for days without a break, Caesar’s troops kept loyal and committed.
Throughout the Gallic Wars, there are countless episodes where this single factor, alone, made Caesar victorious against countless odds.
In a couple of battles, Caesar even plays this card openly as a military strategy. He lets the enemy takes comfort in having large numbers and a seemingly advantageous situation, only to then play psychological warfare with their troops by forcing both sides to endure extreme conditions. The result? Confusion and betrayal amongst the opponents that served victory to Caesar and a handful of veterans who had fought with him countless battles before.
In other circumstances, troops were even eager to sacrifice themselves for their general and the Roman cause.
Why?
Because, as a general, Caesar never gave his troops a reason to believe he was NOT one of them. On the contrary, they saw him as an inspiring guide, an authority who gained his respect by being the best general they could ever dream to have and by looking after their collective interest. They actually felt indebted to him, especially the veterans, who had fought many battles under his lead and who had earned their fair share of booty thanks to his generosity.
This did not mean that Caesar would actually risk his life in each and every battle on the very front line, of course. He had to lead the entire campaign after all.
There is a difference between micro-managing and leading by example.
Caesar knew that.
He also knew that if he were to gain power in Rome and leave a lasting mark on history, he needed the favour of the army. He needed money too.
To achieve both, he sought assignments to hard-to-control provinces along the borders of the republic, such as Spain or Gaul. He willingly decided to go where no other political figure wanted to. Once there, he took initiatives and risks to subdue and loot foreign tribes and to pacify or even extend the Roman borders. He did so right there, on the ground, with his troops.
Had he not done that, today, we would probably not be talking about him as the man who conquered the entire ancient Gaul and took charge of the Roman state.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst
If you read the Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, you’ll be spared no detail when it comes to preparation.
As mentioned before, Caesar was a master of the art of patience. He liked to give battle only after building up tactical advantages. In many cases, even building complex siege-works, bridges, or tunnels.
He would not let ‘perfectionism’ get in the way, though. He would often take bold decisions and attempt feats no other man ever attempted before (e.g. invading Britain by crossing the English Channel).
Ultimately, a recurrent theme throughout his war diaries is precisely this balanced attitude: Marrying bold moves, to open up possibilities for higher upsides, with a steady preparation, to minimise the potential risks.
Don’t sell yourself — Sell your team’s achievements
When Julius Caesar set out to conquer and change the state of affairs in Rome, he encountered a problem facing any executive launching a new business: how to promote oneself effectively and build a recognisable brand (including personal brand) from a position obscurity or semi-obscurity.
This is perhaps one of the most relevant lessons you can learn from Caesar’s war diaries, since you could regard them effectively as one of the first “blogging” exercise in history.
As the operations in Gaul raged on, Caesar fell victim to a great deal of criticism from Rome. His commentaries on the Gallic War was a response to these criticisms, and a way for Caesar to tell “his story”.
It should be noted that in Roman historiography, commentaries were considered simply raw accounts of events not intended for publication. They were not considered traditional “history” because they lacked the necessary speeches and flourishes thought necessary to flesh out true literature. Caesar, however, chose this style on purpose and did publish them. Raw. Fast. In fact, he wrote them as if he were a columnist reporting “live” on his own campaigns: Caesar could not care less about writing history eloquently for a few elitists to debate in libraries. He wrote for the Senate as much as for the people by mass-publishing his writings.
He wrote to build his personal brand by sharing his military successes, his war strategies and his vision on how to “make Rome great again”.
If you read his writings, though, you might notice something unusual for someone looking to share his vision, create a personal brand and gather followers.
He pretty much never claims any achievement for himself.
This is perhaps one of the greatest lessons modern leaders and aspiring leaders can learn from his style.
In today’s world of personal blogging, micro-blogging, social media and guest articles crowdsourced by famous publications, most of us in business attempt to “write our own stories”.
In doing so, it is easy to fall into the ego trap of self-aggrandising. Many attempt to mask this by adding some “humbling beginning” or “I-had-to-struggle-first” contextualisation. Yet, the substance does not change: just scroll through your LinkedIn or Twitter feed to see countless examples of posts about “I’m so happy I was awarded…”, “I failed…Then I won”, “Thanks to my team… I achieved…”, “I’m thrilled to say I did…”, “I…”, “I…”, “I…”.
Caesar, some two thousand years ago, realised did was a sub-optimal way of portraying one’s achievements.
Why?
Two main reasons in my view: (1) because people in general don’t really about you, and (2) because no matter how great a feat you have accomplished, people can always find a way to read it under the wrong light.
If we keep these two assumptions in mind, it makes total sense what Caesar did: remember lesson n#1 above? “Praise your team”.
Caesar writes about the war giving all the praise to the Roman spirit, the success of the Roman strategies, and maintaining a fact-based narrative free of much “fluff”.
It makes sense, right? Think about today’s business world: Those CVs and Resumes that list factual highlights and numbers have more chances to sway the hiring person than those full of fancy opinion sentences. By the same token, a factual narrative has more chances to be taken seriously and at face value.
Besides, by shifting the focus from himself to his army as a whole, the threat posed by barbarian chiefs, and the specific battlefield episodes, he was able to create a bond with his readers. They should care about what is being written not because they should care about Caesar, but because they should care about their own country, their brothers on the battlefield, and because they can feel part of that “Roman spirit” those soldiers seem to display on the front line.
Like the very top bloggers today would recommend: don’t write to proclaim your own achievement, write to tell people about information they care about and/or can relate to.
In the end, this approach paid off. By the time the war was over, Caesar was such a beloved populist figure that many of his political opponents feared to speak up against him. They feared speaking up against such a renown military hero but also against all those heroes he had created by selling his team’s achievements so high. Caesar’s army was not anymore just a bunch of soldiers and officers, but a team of heroes with first names and clans’ names. The People in Rome had learned to love them, and in doing so to love Caesar even more.
With the confidence of his military power and such a growing support, Caesar was finally in a position to ask for ultimate power in Rome. When his opponents rallied behind Pompey to prevent this, Rome descended into a civil war. During this time, once again, Caesar kept writing commentaries and publishing them. The Civil War (lat. Commentarii De Bello Civilis) was born – and with it a new leader of the Roman state.
So, next time you are about to write a post, a blog, or even the intro section to your CV/Resume, pause to think: is this about me bragging on? Or will readers be able to relate to factual data, useful information, and to other people who were involved in the events described?
Conclusion
There you have it. Eight leadership lessons from Julius Caesar himself, the man who singlehandedly conquered Gaul and climbed to the highest peak of power a man could yield in pre-imperial Rome.
Caesar’s writing is direct and essential: a fast read without too much fuss. If you’re considering finding out about his military tactics first hand, a good start would be to read his Gallic Wars diaries.
You could start by checking out Julius Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. Or his commentaries on the Civil War.
If you read them and found them insightful, feel free to comment below and share with the community the key lessons you got from it.
If you did not or disagree with the points above, then also let me know. Would love to hear your point of view!