An effective leader is one who is selfless, tactical, and charismatic. A leader like Odysseus lets his human flaws get the better of him. They have no control over their people and make everything worse rather than better. In, Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an inadequate leader of his men, as he leaves them to die and puts them in more danger than before.
Odysseus’ trait of curiosity makes him an incompetent leader. When he raids the Cyclops’ food stash, he decides to stay against his better judgment: “Ah,\how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished\ to see the cave man, what he had to offer-\ no pretty sight, it turned out for my friends.”(171-173). He dooms some of his friends by staying to see the Cyclops causing Odysseus to also to end …show more content…
When he goes to the Land of the Dead, he sees his former comrade, Elpenor, who no one knew died: “One shade came first- Elpenor of our company who lay unburied still on the wide earth\ as we left him- dead in Circe’s hall,\ untouched, unmourned, when other cares compelled us.”(578-581). It illustrates that Odysseus was too self-absorbed and preoccupied with Circe, that he didn’t even realize his crewmate died. Adding to that is that, Elpenor did not receive a proper burial, which is of high importance in Ancient Greece. Not only was he a poor leader, but also someone who does not uphold Greek values.
Even after warnings, Odysseus’ men still eat Helios’ cattle, showing that Odysseus is not charismatic, nor an influential leader. His crew reasons that, “You’ve gone through everything; listen to what I say.\ All deaths are hateful to us, mortal wretches, but famine is the most pitiful, the worst\end that a man could come to.”(864-847). They were driven to the point where the most important Greek value, loyalty, was no longer being maintained. Odysseus did not help them forget about their starvation, and ultimately led to the crew being insubordinate to Odysseus’ words.
Odysseus is not a strong leader because he too self-absorbed and uninspiring. His human flaws make him a bad leader. He does what he wants instead of what is right or for the best. Most good leaders put their duty and people first rather than themselves, those who do not, like Odysseus, are ineffective