How to Measure Gravitas in Leadership
Louise Mahler
Keynote Speaker of The Year | Gravitas and Executive Presence Expert | Speaker | Executive Coach | Media commentator | Adjunct Professor | Author
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106BC – 43BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar philosopher, writer and one of the greatest orators of all time. His works rank among the most influential in global culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.
Cicero’s father, however, was a semi-invalid and nothing is known of his mother other than his brother’s writing calling her a ‘thrifty housewife!’
The thing here is that Cicero had fairly humble beginnings. He was not born into riches or the upper echelons of Roman Society. Everything he did to get where he did, he did himself and this led to the title Novus Homo (new man), meaning someone who created themselves without advantage.
In our own time, it was recorded that thirty percent of women who had performance reviews in 2023 were told they needed more of what Cicero developed - gravitas. So how does one create one’s own status, like Cicero, as a Novus Homo?
Do you just yell? Do you stop laughing (as they suggest – not me – for Kamala Harris)? Do you thrust your chest forward and get aggressive?
The answer is, none of the above. The Ancient Romans had five canons into which they categorised their knowledge with very specific skills.
As John Farnham would say, “We have the chance to turn the pages over”, and the very start is to measure where you are at now.
These levels of competence are divided into the five categories of Roman society: Emperor, Senator, Equestrian, Plebian, and Slave.
Cicero was at the Emperor level. His father was an Equestrian. What are you?
Would you like to know your gravitas score? Start here.
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