Mary Mondanaro

January 29th, 2014

English 9 Honors
Mr. Hartwig
Leadership in Homer's The Odyssey
"'Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the
day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or
concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership,'" (Colin Powell). In the article
"23 Traits of a Good Leader" the author, Rachel Farrell speaks about different types of leaders,
how every leader is different, and reveals the twenty-three traits of a good leader. In the article
"Seven Personal Characteristics of a Good Leader", the author, Barbara White informs the reader
on the seven qualities of a good leader and explains each characteristic in detail. In Homer's The
Odyssey, the main character Odysseus displays many leadership traits, one of these traits being
courage when he encounters the alluring Sirens in the book of "The Sirens". The second
characteristic of a leader that Odysseus exhibits in The Odyssey is fearlessness, when he
confronts the Cyclops who is a lot more preponderant than himself. The third and final
leadership quality that Odysseus presents in The Odyssey is staying calm in times of crisis,
because he remains calm when the crew confront Scylla and Charybdis when the rest of his crew
is frightened and panicking. In the epic The Odyssey, Odysseus displays the qualities of a good
leader.
"In order to lead and set direction a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in
the leadership role," (Barbara White, author of "Seven Personal Characteristics of a Good
Leader"). In Homer's The Odyssey, Odysseus shows confidence, which according to Barbara
White is an essential characteristic of a good leader. In The Odyssey, Odysseus shows
confidence in many ways, shapes, and forms. One of the most prominent forms of confidence is
shown in the story of "The Sirens". In this story, Odysseus shows the confidence by insisting on
hearing the Siren's call, even though to do so, he must be strapped to the mast of his ship. This
act shows confidence because even though most (if not all) men respond to the Siren's call,
Odysseus has the confidence to listen to the call anyways, having knowledge that he will not
respond.
Secondly, Odysseus shows the characteristic of fearlessness throughout Homer's The
Odyssey. Odysseus is fearless when every other man is fearful, take the book of "The Cyclops"
for example. In this story, Odysseus devises a cunning plan to escape the Cyclops's cave while
keeping all of his men alive in the process. Odysseus stands up to the Cyclops even though the
Cyclops is a lot bigger than him. Odysseus then stabs the drunk Cyclops in the eye, despite
risking his life in the process. Lastly, Odysseus tricks the Cyclops by riding out of the cave on
the underside of his sheep, which could not have been a successful procedure. As one can see, to
carry out this plan, Odysseus must have been a fearless leader. In CNN's 23 Traits of Good
Leaders, writer Rachel Farrell asserts that, "True leaders are not afraid to take risks or make
mistakes, true leaders make mistakes born from risk," (Farrell, 3).
Lastly, Odysseus portrays the characteristic of remaining calm in times of crisis.
According to Barbra White, author of "Seven Personal Characteristics of a Good Leader", "Good
leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose
[]," (White, 1). In Homer's, The Odyssey, Odysseus remains calm when him and his crew pass
through the strait of Scylla and Charybdis when all of his men are fearful, and want to give up.
Odysseus assures them that he will get them through the tough situation and remains focused on
the main purpose... to get himself and his men out of the strait alive and unharmed.
In Homer's The Odyssey, Odysseus displays courage when he faces the evil Sirens in the
tale of "The Sirens". Odysseus also reveals the characteristic of fearlessness when he confronts
the ginormous Cyclops in the tale of "The Cyclops". Lastly, Odysseus displays the feature of
remaining calm when him and his crew confronted the man eating monsters, Scylla and
Charybdis. Odysseus displays qualities that are crucial to being a great leader. Therefore, in
Homer's epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus displays the qualities of a good leader.


Works Cited
Farrell, Rachel. "23 Traits of Good Leaders." CNN 3 Aug. 2011: 1-5. Print.

White, Barbara. "Seven Personal Characteristics of a Good Leader." Ezine Articles. N.p., n.d.
Web. 23 Jan. 2014.