7 Leadership Lessons I learnt from Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is a hot favourite right now for all TV buffs. Many claim that its popularity is because of the high drama, violence and sex depicted in the series. The serial does indeed have a high dose of fantasy (with dragons, warlords and wights thrown in for good measure).  But I believe that the one big reason many of us are quite addicted to the show is because of the strong characters that most of us can identify with. There is the noble bastard, Jon Snow, who rises to a high position inspite of his background or the witty dwarf Tyrion Lannister who is one of the strongest characters in the show inspite of his looks or the lack of support of his family. Then there is Jamie the King Slayer, who shows two sides of his character, first by pushing an 8 year old child off a high tower and in another scene returns to rescue his friend Breine of Tarth. And then there is the strong Danarys Stromborm, Mother of dragons, who grew from a  timid girl to a queen on-screen, who rules savages and believes in non-violence. Perhaps we feel a strong connect with Game of Thrones because we see bits of ourselves in each of these characters.

With all the chaos, deceit, power struggles and wars that Game of Thrones brings us, I have also found some very useful leadership lessons in the narrative

1. “Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?””That is the only time a man can be brave” : Fear is not a sign of weakness but of intelligence. Only a fool would be unafraid in the face of something that scares him. Bravery is to take on something that intimidates and frightens you and still do it. Doing something that doesn’t push you beyond your comfort zone is easy and anyone can do it. Leadership requires you to push beyond your boundaries even when you are afraid.
2. “I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one.” : Often people assume that growing to a leadership position takes a lot of work. This is indeed true. But the amount of work it takes to sustain a leadership role successfully is way tougher than just getting there. This is made even harder by the fact that leadership failure has huge repercussions for the individual, team, customer and organisation.
3. “When you play a game of thrones you win or you die.”- Leadership is not a place to aim for a second place. Businesses either flourish or they die. Being constantly vigilant and mindful of your next step and having a strong strategy is key to effective leadership
4. “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” – Focussing on your strengths is important but knowing your weaknesses is even more so. Even if you do not know your own blind spots your competitors will know for sure and will be constantly looking to build their bridge to success over them. When you acknowledge and address your weaknesses you grow stronger.
5. “A very small man can cast a very large shadow” –: The power of an individual is huge and anyone can make a difference. It is not who you are but who you see yourself as, that determines your outcomes. To be a leader it is first important to see yourself as one. The actions will follow.
6. “Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king” – : Leadership is not the same as having a title. Titles give you opportunity but leadership skills will help you retain the title. Lack of leadership will at the same time not let you stay a leader. A leader needs a team following him. People do not follow titles. They follow leaders.
7. “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” — Leadership is about building something beautiful out of nothing. It is about putting order to confusion, developing and growing people and business and reaching new milestones. Every hurdle then is an opportunity to do so. Lesser individuals panic when things go wrong. Leaders on the other hand flourish.