Thucydides: On Leadership (Alcibiades) 8/14/17

Alcibiades: bold warrior, brilliant naval leader, ambitious politician, turncoat.* The seminal book by Thucydides on the Peloponnesian war, 431-404 BCE, teaches about leadership through his history of the war. In the last few weeks we looked at Brasidas, Cleon, Pericles and King Archidamus. Today we consider Alcibiades. Alcibiades was a brilliant tactician and scholar but was also an unscrupulous egomaniac. Though brought up by his guardian Pericles and tutored by Socrates he rejected the integrity of these two men. He became a leader in the national assembly and was responsible for leading Athens into the ill-fated decision to open a second front in their conflict with Sparta. The new front in Sicily, boldly planned by Alcibiades but poorly executed by Nicias, turned into a disaster. Alcibiades, who had connections with Sparta, defected when the campaign went poorly and he was condemned to death. He defected and became an advisor to the Spartans, helping ensure Athens defeat. While in Sparta Alcibiades also found time to seduce the wife of the king who was away with his army. The Spartans now turned against Alcibiades as he stirred up an attempted coup in Athens with the assistance of Persia. However, Alcibiades ended on the winning side and was then asked to lead the Athenian fleet. He led Athens to a stunning victory over Sparta at the Hellespont but eventually his political enemies had him banished. His political maneuvering finally caught up with him after the destruction of the Athenian fleet, which he warned against, yet even in exile he had a disturbing impact on politics so the Spartans paid the Persians to have him murdered. Of the leaders found in Thucydides history, Alcibiades is arguably the most appalling. Though he was the most admired and gifted of his generation he was also the most vain, deceitful and utterly ruthless both in his personal and professional life. His brilliance and charisma led to dazzling exploits, but his narcissism and malevolence created enemies who were bent on his destruction. The story of Alcibiades is a reminder that brilliance alone does not guarantee success and that vanity and pride are often the enemies of self-awareness and relationship management (two pillars of emotional intelligence).** Army Leadership Doctrine: Humility and self-awareness are important keys to effective leadership. The latest draft of ADRP 6-22, 4-10 (Feb 2017) warns against the danger between lack of confidence or, the other extreme, overconfidence. "Even the most humble can experience an increase in feelings of self-importance when exposed to extra attention and special opportunities." 4-10 also adds the line, "An attitude of humility is a metering process to check overconfidence and arrogance." The story of Alcibiades teaches of the danger of an extremely talented person who, indulged by parental figures (Pericles) and teachers (Socrates), became a dangerous person whose talents served only himself and the plaudits of others. *This reflection is based on my own personal reading of Thucydides, see The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, by Robert B. Strassler ed. or The Peloponnesian War: Oxford World's Classics, Rhodes and Hammon Trans., or The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan; or The Great Courses, Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers by Andrew R. Wilson, lecture 2 and 3. Much more about Alcibides is also found in the book by Plutarch by the same title. ** For a religious thought consider Phillippians 2:1-11. From a human and spiritual perspective (non-theistic) consider the Dali Lama: "How to See Yourself as You Really Are" which captures the Buddhist concept of compassion to guard against the misguided thinking of desire and competitiveness.