What does leadership and project management have in common with the values of Stoicism?
A lot, in fact.
Wisdom
The knowledge of what is good and what is bad, the disposition by which we judge what is to be done and what is not to be done.
Leading a complex project with multiple moving parts, against a backdrop of human behaviour and a shifting political landscape will test the wisdom of a project leader to know how to navigate through safely.
Justice
Or fairness: The principle that people receive what they deserve.
Business isn’t always fair; money and the commercial angle always seem to get in the way. But we can bring fairness and justice in our interactions with everyone around us – team members, clients, stakeholders.
Courage
To stick your neck out. To ‘persist and resist’, as Epictetus once said.
Courage to hold onto your principles, to speak your mind and insist on the truth.
As a PM, I never shame anyone with the courage to stand up to me.
Because awesome as I am, I still make mistakes 😁
Temperance
Virtue is the middle path between two extremes, excess and deficiency.
Between selfishness and selflessness.
Between sloth and extreme overworking.
Aristotle calls it the “golden mean”.
Many in the consulting industry burn out, because they aren’t able to moderate.
I’ve found Stoicism a very good match for the leadership values that are important in project management.
As well as for life.
#onthepeiroll
#leadership
#stoicism