The 8 Best Leadership Lessons From 'Game Of Thrones'

In some respects, Westeros is nothing like the real world: there are no dragons, no white walkers, no faceless people, wargs and political rivals are mysteriously murdered far less frequently. In Westeros there are no cell phones or cable television where in the real world, people watch the most popular and successful show on HBO, Game of Thrones. It's the relationships: the familial loyalty, love, secrets, betrayal, revenge, friendship, camaraderie and politics that transcend the fantasy. The game of thrones in Westeros is much bloodier than the real world, where corporate competition lies mainly in outmaneuvering opponents for promotions, discrediting their input and decreasing their influence. The competition is just as ruthless, if not as deadly. And just like in Westeros, attaining power is hard, but maintaining power is twice as hard, and different characters take vastly different approaches.

This post is for those who are familiar with the books and the show, if you have not watched the first six seasons of the show and do not want them spoiled for you, I suggest you stop reading now. 

Here are a few of the leadership lessons from Game of Thrones: 

1. Listen To Advisers 

In the second episode of the fourth season, Tywin Lannister speaks to the next in line to the Iron Throne, his grandson Tommen Baratheon, over the corpse of To

mmen's older brother, the recently murdered King Joffrey, about what it means to be a good king.

Tywin: What kind of king do you think you'll be?

Tommen: A good king?

Tywin: I think you will too. You have the temperament for it. But what makes a good king? Hmm? What is a good king's single most important quality?

Tommen: Holiness?

Tywin: Hmmm..Baelor the Blessed was holy. And pious. He built this sept. He also named a six-year-old boy high septon because he thought the boy could work miracles. He ended up fasting himself into an early grave because food was of this world and this world was sinful.

Tommen: Justice.

Tywin: A good king must be just. Orys I was just. Everyone applauded his reforms. Nobles and commoners alike. But he wasn’t just for long. He was murdered in his sleep after less than a year by his own brother. Was that truly just of him? To abandon his subjects to an evil that he was too gullible to recognize?

Tommen: No

 Tywin: No 

Tommen: What about strength?

Tywin: Hmmmm...strength. King Robert was strong. He won the rebellion and crushed the Targaryen dynasty. And he attended [only] three small council meetings in 17 years. He spent his time whoring and hunting and drinking until the last two killed him. So, we have a man who starves himself to death, a man who lets his own brother murder him, and a man who thinks that winning and ruling are the same thing. What do they all lack?

Tommen: Wisdom.

Tywin: Yes! But what is wisdom? Hmm? A house with great wealth and fertile lands asks you for your protection against another house with a strong navy that could one day oppose you. How do you know which choice is wise and which isn’t? You’ve any experience of treasuries and granaries or shipyards and soldiers?

Tommen:  No.

Twyin: No. Of course not. A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn’t. You’re young. A wise young king listens to his counselors and heeds their advice until he comes of age. And the wisest kings continue to listen to them long afterwards. 

It is of course a manipulation for power, but there are worse people who could be in power than Tywin Lannister, and no one knew that better than Tywin Lannister. It is a theme in The Game of Thrones that advisers are often wiser than the rulers: Ned Stark is wiser than Robert Baratheon, Davos is wiser than Stannis, Samwell Tarly and Maester Aemon are wiser than Jon Snow, Tyrion and Jorah are wiser than Daenerys. But they don't have the vision or the charisma of their leaders (or the family name or fortune), so they lend their wisdom to those who do. The best leaders, whether the CEO of a company or the King of Westeros, surround themselves with people wiser than they are, and listen to them.

2. Know Your Weaknesses 

In season three episode four, Cersei visits her father to ask if they're doing everything they can to retrieve her twin brother, Jamie Lannister. But she also comes to state her case for her father's trust and confidence- that she, not her brothers, has more to contribute. Tywin ultimately responds, "I don't distrust you because you're a woman. I distrust you because you're not as smart as you think you are."As Tywin tells Tommen in the fourth season, "A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn’t." Cersei never learns this.  Cersei trusts no one, is unable to delegate and does not inspire people to follow her, but fear her. She illustrates her disdain for advice during a small council meeting in season five episode four, when she ships off the blubbering Mace Tyrell, the new Master of Coin, to Bravos to negotiate payment terms with the Iron Bank. Grand Maester Pycelle notes, "The small council grows smaller and smaller." Cersei responds, "Not small enough," and strolls away assuredly. 

It's not until it's too late that Cersei understands her errors in judgment: having an incestuous relationship with her twin brother, killing her husband, indulging her son Joffrey to the point she can't control him, letting Joffrey kill Ned Stark, letting Arya escape, not listening to her brother Tyrion about Joffrey or the Night's Watch or anything else, restoring the faith militant and committing mass murder by burning the Sept of Baelor. Most of these errors were made accomplishing a short term goal (often eliminating an enemy), without understanding the long term effects. A good leader knows you can turn weaknesses into strengths by acknowledging and addressing them, but you must know they exist in the first place.  

3. Know When To Manage Your Enemies 

Unlike Ned Stark and Jon Arryn, Tyrion Lannister relished "playing the game" as Varys and Littlefinger call it. One of the reasons Tyrion was an excellent hand was because he made it his business to know exactly where allegiances lie, and weed out his enemies as soon as possible. After two hands of the king dying subsequently, Tyrion wasn't taking chances. In the second episode of season two, Tyrion ships off the Commander of the City Watch, Lord Janos Slynt, who turned on Ned Stark and slaughtered his men to the wall to join the Night's Watch, and named his sell sword, Bronn, the new Commander of the City Watch, who is loyal to him. Then Tyrion brilliantly set a trap for the members of the small council, telling Varys, Littlefinger and the Grand Maester each a different suitor he planned to marry to Cersei's daughter, Princess Marcella, with the instruction, "The Queen mustn't know." When Cersei was waiting for him in his chambers, screaming at him as soon as he entered about shipping Marcella off to Dorne, he knew his traitor in the small council- Grand Maester Pycell. And had him thrown in prison.

Tyrion has a gift for channeling peoples' talents and putting them to the use of the greater good. After he knows he can trust Littlefinger, he puts him to work. He immediately sends Littlefinger to negotiate the release of his brother with Catelyn Stark. That way he feels empowered, and has less time to scheme and cause trouble.

4. Know When To Eliminate Enemies  

In the fifth episode of the first season, Varys visits Ned Stark in the tower of the hand to tell him Robert Baratheon is a fool and in danger, destined for the same fate as Jon Arryn if Ned does not save him. Later on in the same episode, a small council meeting is called to discuss assassinating the recently pregnant Daenerys Targaryen, Stark refuses to condone killing her and her child because it's not honorable. Robert, drunk and blustering, calls Ned an"honorable fool," then instructs his council to counsel his hand. Varys says, "I understand your misgivings my lord, truly, I do. It is a terrible thing we must consider, a vile thing. Yet we who presume to rule must sometimes do vile things for the good of the realm. Should the gods grant Daenerys a son, the realm will bleed."

When Ned Stark is in prison officially because his wife seized Tyrion Lannister (believing he pushed their son Bran off the tower) but unofficially because he threatened to expose Cersei and Jaime Lannister's incestuous secret, Varys comes to visit him again.

Varys: What madness led you to tell the queen you've learned the truth about Joffrey's birth?

Ned Stark: The madness of mercy, that she might save her children.

Varys: Ah, the children. It's always the innocents who suffer. It wasn't the wine that killed Robert, nor the boar. The wine slowed him down and the boar ripped him open, But it was your mercy that killed the king. I trust you know you're a dead man, Lord Eddard.

From the moment Varys knew he could trust Ned Stark, he tried to explain to him that sometimes terrible things need to be done for the greater good, but Stark didn't buy that argument. He was too naive to abandon his principles when it served himself, his family and the good of the realm, despite begging and pleading from Varys, and guidance from Littlefinger. It was a painful lesson for the Stark children- honor and principles are well and good, but abandon them if it serves of the greater good.

 

 5. Lead By Example 

Jon Snow is constantly trying to prove he is more than a bastard, and like his father (but really uncle) Ned Stark, he is a hero to a fault- he would lead the charge to his own death. Jon persuades Tormund Giantsbane, the new Wildling leader after Mance Rayder's death, to convince his people that living within the wall and making peace with the Night's Watch is the only way they'll survive. They both know they're risking their lives trying to persuade the Wildlings of this, but it's their only chance to save their people. Jon Snow and Tourmund Giantsbane give moving speeches, and the majority of the Wildlings agree to journey to the Wall and walk through the gates. As the people are attempting to organize and board boats, the Night King and his army surprise the massive group of Wildlings and Jon Snow, and the people are massacred outside of around 100 or so that managed to board the boats. As Jon Snow looked back onshore from the boat, he watched the Night King raise his arms, and with them the dead, transformed into White Walkers. In that moment Jon Snow's greatest fears were realized. The Wildlings who survived the harrowing attack walked through the gates, led by a devastated Jon Snow, and greeted by the embittered brothers of the Night's Watch. Alliser Thorne whispered in Jon Snow's ear, "You have a good heart Jon Snow, but you're going to get us all killed."

Jon Snow knew this was a dangerous decision, he knew there would be blowback form his brothers, but he made it anyway because it was the right decision. It's what makes Jon Snow a great leader and a great man, and why so many people gravitate to him and are willing to follow him.

6. Prejudice Is A Weakness 

Tywin Lannister was one of the smartest and savviest men in Westeros, not to mention the richest- but his downfall, and his true blindspot was not appreciating the brilliance of his youngest son, Tyrion Lannister, simply because he is a little person whose mother died giving birth to him. He blamed his youngest son for something he couldn't control. The best way to manage people is to put their talents to the best use, and Tyrion and Westeros were at their strongest when Tyrion was the acting hand of the king. Tyrion saved King's Landing during the Battle of Blackwater, but Tywin took the credit for it. It was Tyrion who could control and discipline Joffrey, not Cersei. It was Tyrion who negotiated Jamie Lannister's release. Tywin's hatred and resentment of Tyrion for being a little person outweighed all of his accomplishments and talent. He took every opportunity to kill Tyrion naturally, from putting him on the front lines to fight with the hill tribes in the Battle of Green Fork and the Whispering Wood, and ordered a trial that sentenced him to death for poisoning King Joffrey, a crime Tywin knew Tyrion did not commit.

Tywin's inability to put aside his pride and accept Tyrion, and value his talents ultimately cost him his life and his legacy, which he held so dear. His treatment of Tyrion was inherited by Cersei, who also abused Tyrion and underestimated his talents. Cersei has made several significant errors, but undermining Tyrion might cost her her life, just like her father. Now he is indispensable to Daenerys.

7. Inclusion Is An Advantage  

Daenerys' advisers range from the leader of the unsullied army to a former slave to the little person Tyrion Lannister. No other conquerer in Westeros has turned others' blindspots and prejudices into assets like Daenerys- it is her shrewdest and most brilliant instinct, not to judge people by their birth but by their talent.

One of the most moving scenes in the whole series is during the season six finale, when Daenerys names Tyrion hand of the queen. Daenerys ends her relationship with Daario Naharis, knowing it would be a liability in King's Landing. Tyrion commends her for the sacrifice, stating it's those sorts of sacrifices that make for a good ruler."For what it's worth, I've been a cynic for as long as I can remember. Everyone's always asking me to believe in things: family, gods, kings, myself. It was often tempting, until I saw where belief got people. So I said, 'no thank you,' to belief. And yet here I am. I believe in you," he said. "It's embarrassing, really. I'd swear you my sword, but, I don't actually own a sword." Daenerys assures him that it's his counsel that she needs, and Tyrion responds that it's hers, always. When she presents him with the pin of the hand of the queen, it's the first time we see Tyrion's eyes well with happiness. To be so instantly recognized by this extraordinary queen, after a lifetime of discrimination and abuse, is the validation Tyrion has been searching for his whole life.

Because Daenerys keeps an open mind, she's has the best council of anyone vying for the Iron Throne. She has a long road ahead of her to conquer Westeros, but the odds are in her favor with her excellent advisers- but the dragons help too.

8. Great Leadership Requires Great Sacrifice 

Game of Thrones, more than anything else, is about the price of power. When Robert Baratheon asks Ned Stark to be his hand, Stark knows it will put his life in danger and separate his family, but he does it for the king, to the agony and frustration of his wife. When Jon Snow is captured by the Wildlings, and seizes his first opportunity to escape, he leaves behind the Wildling girl he fell in love with, Ygritte, to stay loyal to the Night's Watch. Daenerys ends her relationship with Daarhio Naharis because he would be a liability in King's Landing. Cersei finally got her hearts desire, the Iron Throne, but not before all her children died- some as a direct result of her actions or inactions. Rob Stark did not keep to his word to marry one of Walder Frey's daughters, so Frey betrayed him by allying with the Lannisters and killing him. Great power is a brutal business and charges a high price. The show illustrates over and over again that those willing to make great personal sacrifices make the best leaders, and those who don't fail.