Aristotle on Management

Did you study Greek Philosophy in school or university? If so, maybe you didn’t think it was something that had much relevance to your current life, or in particular, to how you manage your team or sell your products or services.?But I wanted to share a bit of the Greek philosophical legacy that I have found useful in shaping my own thoughts and behavior.

Aristotle was a master of?rhetoric. It’s not a subject we talk about much these days, although it is as important and central to social, civic and business life?as ever.?Rhetoric is the art of persuasion through either written or spoken language.?So every political candidate, advertiser, motivator, spouse or parent (and every one else) is using rhetorical means to persuade someone else to a point of view. And you are using rhetoric every day too.

We don’t call it rhetoric anymore. Instead, we call it influence. And whether you are a professional “influencer” flogging supplements on TikTok or a start-up founder pitching the VC community, being influential is critical to your goals. So, mastering the skills of rhetoric can up your game and improve how well you succeed in swaying others to your view or direction.

In Aristotle’s lexicon there are three essential components to rhetorical effectiveness:?Ethos,?Pathos?and?Logos. The closest translations are, roughly: Moral, Emotional and Logical.?

So, in order to be effective in persuading anyone to your point of view, you need first to have standing with them as someone who they see as believable — that is ethos at its most basic level. We think of that today as building credibility.

But it doesn’t mean just that one thing, it means many things. If you are a business owner, you may have that standing by virtue of simply being the boss. But you can deepen the credibility you have with your staff by learning to speak in ways that are familiar and comfortable to them.??

We are more open to someone who we feel understands us. One way we discern that is when we share common language and idiom. So take some time to consciously learn how your employees speak to each other. It may reveal something about how you can gain a stronger footing in Ethos with them.?

The deeper point about Ethos is that it provides an explanation for why people don’t trust those they perceive as hypocrites. You gain the deepest level of Ethos with your colleagues, employees and community by “walking the walk”. So, although we’re talking about communication when we say rhetoric it isn’t our words that deliver that message. It’s our way of being.

The second component of powerful persuasiveness, Pathos, is about emotional connection.

Stories are the most powerful conveyor of emotion. For those of us crippled with overly abstract thought processes (like me), it can be challenging to reframe your communication in narratives. But it’s worth it. Package your message as a story, or at least, precede your message with a story.

Telling stories is an age-old,?primitive, human behavior. We are the only species (as far as we know) that lives through narratives. We think of our own lives in the form of stories and we learn about others through their stories. If you want to be a strong leader, you must master the art of story-telling. And that is creating Pathos.

Finally, Logos. As a leader, you can always fall back on a command control model of management. Just give orders, and people will follow. Right? Well, sort of. The problem is, it will only get people doing what you tell them, not doing what needs to be done.

A more powerful approach is to provide your team with the logical structure underlying what you are requesting. When people know the why they can more effectively take the action. It is also a sign of respect when you provide your team, regardless of their seniority (or lack of it), with the reasoning you used to get to your decision. They are logical creatures just like you. And while you can manipulate with Ethos and Pathos, only when Logos is included are you truly empowering and including.

So next time you need to hold a team meeting, or coach an employee, or set-off in a new strategic direction, embrace the old, Greek philosopher’s?model and see how powerful it can be.

If you are trying to grow a team of entrepreneurial and autonomous leaders, consider offering them the benefit of executive coaching. Schedule a call with me to chat about it.