Most of what we know today, apply today, was known by the Greeks, including these lessons †
- Lead from the front ‒ According to ancient Greeks, if you want your team members to give their 100%, then you will have to follow “First to rise, last to bed” approach.
- Communicate as a personal level ‒ In ancient times, when there were no means of communications, the Greeks used to write letters to communicate at a personal level.
- Stay focused and never give up ‒ Instead of focusing on too many things at a time, they narrowed it down to a couple of things. Moreover, their never say die attitude helped them to overcome obstacles that came in their way.
- Set a good example ‒ Leonidas, the commander in chief of the Greek army, picked up a boulder and marched to a spot. There he set the stone in place. He lifted a second and placed it beside the first. The men looked on dumbly as their commander in chief, whom all could see was well past sixty, stooped to seize the third boulder.
- Stay calm under pressure ‒ Whether it is poor planning and communication, inexperienced project managers, time or budget overruns, stay calm and work together to resolve the problem rather than showing signs of panic.
- Hire young people and train them ‒ Ancient Greeks preferred hiring young and energetic men and transformed them into leaders.
- Mind your manners ‒ ethics was a habit and an important component of their daily lives. In fact, the word used for ethics in ancient Greek language was the same as the habit.
- Make your team rise to the occasion ‒ Greeks always believed on the philosophy that you should assign goals, not the means. Do not micromanage your team members and let them handle it themselves.
- Manage Risks ‒ Minotaur, half-man, and half bull is a famous character of Greek mythology who lived in a complex maze structure. When Theseus came to slay Minotaur in Labyrinth, he overcame the risk of getting lost in the maze by tying the thread to the door.
- Have fun and be happy ‒ Soldiers in the Greek army used humor to keep their fellow soldiers motivated.
† “10 Lessons Project Managers Can Learn From Greeks Mythology,” Sarmad Hasan TaskVue, 31 Jan 2017.