World Monitor Magazine, Economy WM_April 2019 web version (2) | Page 71

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Bolton, Theon Greyjoy, and Tywin Lannister. But there are
a number of ultimately heroic leaders in Westeros: people
like Daenerys Targaryen, Samwell Tarly, Davos Seaworth,
Lord Varys, Tyrion Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Brienne of
Tarth, Jorah Mormont, and the surviving Stark siblings:
Sansa, Bran, and Arya. The leaders in Game of Thrones are
compelling examples because they are imperfect, under
enormous stress, and dedicated to delivering results beyond
their own individual betterment. Each, in his or her own way,
is driven to improve the world.
Leadership — for them, and for true leaders in our world
— isn’t about winning, about having followers, or about
fulfilling our wants and desires. It is about service. It
involves the ability to dance in different roles, delivering
what is needed. It also involves the ability to live out a
story that others will tell, and to inspire transformation in
people’s lives.
The leaders in Game of
Thrones are compelling
examples because they are
imperfect, under enormous
stress, and dedicated to
delivering results beyond
their own individual
betterment
Daenerys Targaryen is perhaps the most compelling
example of such a leader. She is the exiled daughter of
royalty. Her life since childhood has been a path of tragic
episodes and constant threat. She has confronted these
challenges by leading herself to discover and pursue her
purpose and develop her leadership skills accordingly. These
skills include managing a large and contentious group of
advisors and soldiers, and (as the “mother of dragons”)
learning to tame and ride the once-mythical creatures that
she has raised from their eggs. She must also continuously
learn to tame her own impulses. Her values hierarchy, from
strongest to weakest, includes freedom, power, courage,
responsibility, and equality. These values compel her not
just to assemble and lead a conquering army, but to change
the world for the better: to bring improvement to the lives
of the poor, the vulnerable, and the disenfranchised. She
famously says that her goal is to “break the wheel”: to stop
the cycle of wealthy families that fight their way to the top
and crush those beneath them in the process.
Toward the end of the series, as Daenerys gets closer
to attaining the iron throne (on which the royal leader of
Westeros sits), she learns about a greater challenge to
the vulnerable: the “Night King” in the North and his army
of wights. How will the mother of dragons lead as winter
arrives in Westeros? She and her allies — a team that has
slowly and painfully come together — do not face an easy
path or simple decisions. Yet this team seems to offer
the only chance for humanity to survive. In other words,
everything depends on their ability to muster effective,
courageous leadership — and Daenerys’s ability to lead
the leaders. What can we learn from their challenges and
opportunities?
The Song of Ice and Fire narrative isn’t quite over, so
we can’t say for sure. But there is one lesson to take to
heart. If you must face a difficult challenge — your own
equivalent to White Walkers and wights — then accept
that challenge and face it. You will make mistakes. You
will stumble. Fear will overwhelm you. But this is your
chance to commit to what is important and pursue what
matters. Dedicate yourself to seeking what you can bring
back to your community.
Those of us who aspire to be better leaders tend to
reach a moment when we understand our presence more
completely. There is no time that is better or more pure.
We are free. We have made mistakes and bad decisions.
We have felt regret and remorse. But we can remember
the moment when Tyrion Lannister protests that the
murders he has committed — of his lover and his father
— should disqualify him as a compassionate leader.
Replies Lord Varys: “I never said you were perfect.” We
can’t expect perfection, but we can expect adventure…in a
form that meets and matches our commitment.
Author Profile:
• Bruce Craven is the director of Columbia Business School’s
Advanced Management Program, where he also teaches the popular
elective Leadership Through Fiction. He has taught workshops on
resilience and flexible thinking for organizations in the United
States and Europe.
• Also contributing to this article was strategy+business contributing
editor Juliette Powell.
• Adapted from Win or Die: Leadership Secrets from Game of
Thrones, by Bruce Craven. Copyright © 2019 by the author and
reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press.
by Strategy+Business
supported by EUROBAK
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