"Do I have to be better?"

As I have stated on a number of occasions in this blog, I have been enjoying reading about the Stoic philosophers lately.  I subscribe to a daily e-mail from Ryan Holiday ("The Daily Stoic") which I have really enjoyed.  Today's post included a quote from a book by Steven Pressfield's novel, The Tides of War (which I have not read, but I think it is about the Peloponnesian Wars). One of the characters in the book apparently claimed:


How does one lead free men?  By being better than they...By being better and thus commanding their emulation.


When I first read this quote, I had to ask myself - "Do I have to be better?  Do leaders have to be better than those who they lead?  And if so, better at what?"


I actually don't know the answer to my own question.  I think (though, I am not 100% sure) that when it comes to the military, the expectation is that the leaders in command are, in fact, better at being soldiers, sailors, airmen, or Marines than those who they lead.  Ponder this for a moment - there are myriad examples from Hollywood movies, books, and articles that strongly suggest that those in command have to lead by example.  Whether it is the wearing of the uniform, training at the rifle range, or participating in physical training (i.e., exercise), the leader is expected to look more polished, work longer and harder, and finish near the top compared to everyone else.  I can remember my own drill instructors telling us this when I was going through my own military training.


Okay, I get it.  Leaders in our military may actually need to be better than anyone else.  But what about in disciplines or fields outside the military?  What about, say, health care?  Do leaders in health care need to be better than everyone else?  I don't think so.  We, as leaders, absolutely have to set an example.  Leaders set the vision and drive the culture that achieves that vision.  Part of leading by example is working hard and showing the kind of dedication to your job that will help foster the right kind of culture.  But do leaders necessarily need to be better at everything?  In my opinion, absolutely not.  The teams we lead are better because they have members with different, diverse backgrounds and different areas of expertise.  We achieve more because we are diverse.  In other words, there is no way that a leader has to know absolutely everything that each and every member on the team knows.  By extension, there is no way that a leader has to be better at every part of the job that each and every member on the team has to do in order for the team, as a whole, to be successful.


I guess what I am trying to say is that we don't have to be "better" at all of the tasks and sets of skills that are required for the team to be successful.  However, when it comes to things like working hard, being optimistic, and putting your best foot forward, we as leaders absolutely need to be better than everyone else on the team - in other words, leaders have to be better at all the things that comprise leadership!