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Odysseus Is A Bad Leader Essay

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A great leader views the world like he is looking through 3D glasses, always seeing the depth and vibrancy of the possibilities around him. A bad leader is like a cyclops wearing an eyepatch, never able to see his mighty hand in front of his own face. In The Odyssey, Homer illustrates the journey home to Ithaca taken by Odysseus and his men. Unfortunately, Odysseus makes poor choices throughout his travels and his actions often do more harm than good. Two character traits define Odysseus and shape his poor leadership style. The first trait is that he is a very arrogant person and this often puts him and his men in danger. Secondly, Odysseus can be deceitful and not fully communicate the facts of each situation. Odysseus was a weak leader and his lack of vision in not seeing the strength and possibilities in his men combined with his inability to effectively communicate to those around him ultimately led to his failure of not being able to safely deliver his men back to Ithaca. The story of the Cyclops in Homer 's The Odyssey illustrated how Odysseus ' …show more content…

In this tale, the witch, Circe, tells Odysseus he has a choice between letting the six headed monster Scylla swallow six of his shipmates or he can risk it all by going against the whirlpool Charybdis. Instead of being honest and upfront with his men, Odysseus keeps this knowledge for himself. A great leader would have communicated the facts and rallied the troops, seeking insight and ideas so that all may survive. Odysseus looked to increase the odds of his own survival by cowardly choosing to battle Scylla knowing he would probably not be one of the six to get eaten. Dwight Eisenhower once said, "The supreme quality of leadership is integrity." Odysseus displayed a lack of integrity and poor leadership by not fully communicating all the facts of the situation

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