When do Ancient Greek Philosophers meet Business Leaders?

When do Ancient Greek Philosophers meet Business Leaders?

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The 21st century has given rise to great challenges in the social, political as well the business world. The role of #Ethics in #Business becomes more and more crucial, and forms an important element of managerial practice.

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The Mission of a business Leader includes?goals to be accomplished in four areas:

a.???Build a successful business in terms of profitability

b.???#Contribute to #society

c.???Be #responsible towards people

d.???Become a #role #model

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As a female #CEO communicates to be her personal mission:

?"To serve as a leader, live a balanced life, and apply ethical principles to make a significant difference."

DENISE MORRISON, CEO OF CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY

The issue that arises is how Ancient Greek Philosophy and its concepts can be applicable to modern business leadership models?

It is important for the leader in a company to be well connected with his/her team, partners or stakeholders, co-workers, as well to be sensitive towards society. More importantly, business leaders have to look deeper into their own beliefs and values, and most importantly into their character. This is in fact essential since, As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said 2.500 years ago, “Character is Fate”.

For an effective leader to be persuasive to his or her team, they should be characterized by:

-?????Integrity and Consistency,

-?????Emotional appeal, and

-?????“Reason why” to his or her message

?#Aristotle wisely describes all the above as Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.*

?Ethos (Credibility),?or?ethical appeal, refers to the ability of an authorto convince his or her readership through?character. Individuals tend to believe a person whom they respect and look upon. As an author, one faces the challenge in argumentation to create the impression to the audience of being someone worth reading and paying attention to. This implies that an author should be worthy of respect for their authority and expertise on the subject written or discussed, while at the same time being a person who is respected by others for character, integrity and authenticity.

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Pathos (Emotional)?enables an author to persuade readers by appealing to their emotions. Several texts, including classic treatises as well as modern advertisements,promote pathos and appeal to the emotions of diverse audiences with the aim to convince them of the validity of their message. The language and discourse that is chosen each time aims to influence the emotional response of the audience in an effort to engage them and reach the target of communication each time.

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Logos (Logical)?refers to the ability to persuade by the use of reasoning. This is an important technique which Aristotle particularly favoured. It includes deductive and inductive reasoning, and discusses what makes an effective, persuasive argument while, at the core of an argument, one can find the reasons provided to support it.

In his ethical theory, Aristotle wrote of?#eudaimonia, which can be considered a broader concept integratingEthos, Pathos and Logos. Eudaimonia, which is sometimes translated as happiness,running the risk of oversimplification, is a much more complex?concept?since it focuses, not on the emotional state of individuals, but on something deeper, which is the realization of human potential. The important thing is to live to one’s true nature, not with a passive attitude, but in a creative and meaningful way within a system which activates Ethos, Pathos and Logos. In the business world, leaders should pursue eudaimonia as a stance towards life in order to reach their potential and also to facilitate the people around them to have?achievements and personal growth.**

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The #virtues, or “arêtes”, are essential forthe Leaders who need, not only intellectual capacity and knowledge, but also wisdom to apply their vision for the common good.Aristotle defined #Phronisis, or #judgement, as “master virtue“which combines #Ethics and #Action. A large number of training courses on Leadership and Development?stress EQ, considered to a large extent as being?connected with, and could be compared to,Phronisis which is not only a rational virtue, but is linked to the senses.Leading with Phronisis is of vital importance.

Aristotle’s views and philosophical approach have dominated the intellectual thought in the Western World. Aristotle remains relevant because he is particularly interested in defining principles in terms of the ethics of leadership.He also raises a lot of useful questions about the distribution of rewards in organizations based on the ethical principle of rewarding people proportionately to their contribution.

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Nowadays, all the corporate world is talking about corporate social responsibility, corporate governance and sustainability. Companies spend big budgets on programs for?“change and values”or “implementing values in business strategies”. We can see also that big corporations have their own #CREDO that defines their corporate culture.

Johnson and Johnson for example communicates that <The values that guide our decision making are spelled out in Our Credo. Put simply, Our Credo challenges us to put the needs and well-being of the people we serve?first.>

I can see a lot in common with all the above. Don’t you? And such a Credo can only be effectively realized if it applied in line with the principles of Ethos, Pathos and Logos, virtues and values that do not lose their momentum and meaning over the centuries.

?How can we enhance our knowledge of such virtues and values while at the same time applying leadership?

?As a business professional but also a Greek,with love for discovery that gave rise to philosophy in my DNA, I strongly believe that the following question can lead us to an answer:

?"Am I behaving in a virtuous way?”

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*I have been inspired to write this article by my 25 years career in the Business world as manager and Entrepreneur but also my experience in attending courses in Plato Academy, an educational initiative taking place in Athens which has given me the opportunity to come into contact with ancient Greek philosophy and discover the eternal ideas and concepts it comprises that are now more relevant than ever.

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