Julius Caesar: What Makes A Good Leader?

Being a good leader is a trait ideal to most people in today’s society. We see leaders everywhere -- whether they are good or bad. Every leader out there probably thinks their leadership skills are on point, but that isn’t always the case. In a William Shakespeare's classic, Julius Caesar, there are many prominent leaders; and not all of them had ideal qualities one with that role needs. In the present day, there are people who are competing for an ultimate leading role: President of the United States. Vastly different candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are prime examples of what makes a good leader, and a leader who falsely self-proclaims the title. To correctly understand what it means to be a good leader, we can compare the very
real leaders of today, with the fictional leaders of the past. But first, we need to establish a baseline of what leadership actually is, and what qualities are in a good leader. The definition of leadership is “a process of social influence which maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good” (entrepreneur). Someone who is a leader has a goal set, or something they want to accomplish. A good leader’s goal will be something that will benefit people, rather than just themselves. Another key to understanding leadership is knowing that “leadership has nothing to do with titles” (entrepreneur). Just because one person is ranked socially, or professionally, higher than another, doesn’t necessarily mean they should be looked at more as a leader. Anyone with the right strengths and focuses could be a great leader, titles aren’t always a factor. Harvard Business School professor Nitin Nohria says “communication is the real work of leadership” (HBS). The whole point of leadership is to get something done. If someone can efficiently communicate what needs to be done, then they have a pretty clear idea of what it means to be a leader. As previously stated, we can use these principles to compare leaders of today with the fictional leaders from Julius Caesar. A leader from today that has done a great job at showing everyone what not to do would be Donald Trump.
Trump has said some offensive things about the very people he’s trying to get to vote in his favor, which is “going off script” (forbes). As someone who is trying to be the leader of the free world, Trump has done a poor job at communicating realistic goals that will benefit the entirety of the country. The whole point of leadership is to bring people together to work towards the achievement of the greater good, and favoring one group of people more than the other, as Trump has done, will not do that. Another leadership mistake Trump has made is “letting [his] ego take over” (forbes). With all the offensive remarks he has made, Trump has put himself above apologizing for them, which would benefit his running for president. A good leader cannot let their social or economical levels sway them to believe they are superior to others. One character in Julius Caesar, Cassius, showed poor leadership skills by killing himself before battle against Antony began (Shakespeare). The whole reason Cassius died was because of a lack of communication between him and Trebonius. Killing himself resulted in the eventual death of the others in his group, which obviously lead to their failure. Knowing what makes a bad leader is useful in deciding what makes a great
leader. Now, after talking about what not to do as a leader, it’s time to shift focus onto a leader with the right mindset: Bernie Sanders. Sanders emulates many of the traits needed in a good leader, such as maturity “you simply cannot boast your way through negotiations and bring the hammer down on all of your problems” (dailykos). Referring back to the previous paragraphs, levels have nothing to do with being a great leader. Bernie doesn’t let his higher status inflate his ego, instead he uses it to give a voice to those who don’t have one. Also, “Bernie Sanders has a clear vision and a plan for a better tomorrow” (dailykos). During his campaign, Sanders has made it clear to the public what he wants to do to fix this country as president. As a leader, one of the most important things to do is have a goal that benefits the greater good. There were many great leaders in Julius Caesar, but one that deserves special recognition is none other than Mark Antony. In the beginning, not much was expected from him, but by the end, Antony led an army to victory all while showing respect to the opposing side. Not only did Antony come up with and execute a successful battle strategy, he also delegated well with his team. Even after defeating his opponents, Antony showed a level of maturity needed in a great leader and payed respect to his main opposer, Brutus. Looking at successful leaders also helps us in becoming better leaders ourselves. Being able to compare leaders from the past and present show that good leadership skills are timeless. There are many ways to become a good leader, like learning what leadership is and then using that knowledge to look at different examples of leaders. Much like the times of Shakespeare, there are good and bad leaders in today’s society we can view and learn from. While there is much more to the equation of success than just having a good leader, it is incredibly helpful to know how to spot a good leader, as well as knowing how to be one yourself.