Examples Of Leadership In Beowulf

Leadership

In the poem Beowulf, there are many questions that come to one’s mind about Beowulf’s skills he possesses within his leadership skills. The characters complete many different quests that risk lives, which show the audience how Beowulf contains many different skills of heroic leadership. “Schlesinger terms gefolgschaft which refers to “a relationship which is entered voluntarily based on loyalty and which obliges the man to counsel and military aid, the lord to protection and generosity” (Schlesinger, 1953), ("Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership").” This statement mentioned by Schlesinger shows that Beowulf includes many positive leadership skills within the poem. A few of many qualities of leadership from Beowulf are warriors

that volunteer to risk their lives to complete quests and possess qualities that show significant leadership skills.
In the poem, Beowulf, there are multiple epic filled quests.

For example, Beowulf volunteers to risk his life to save the village around him. His goal was to defeat Mother Grendel, yet he may have taken a group of warriors with him to the lair where she was hidden in, Beowulf went in alone to complete the quest like an epic hero. Beowulf shows qualities of a charismatic leader. Beowulf builds trust within the poem and thinks of new and unusual ways to achieve victory ("Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership"). A quality of a charismatic leader is having a vision formulation, which is a type of future goal a group of people have. An implementation is another quality of a charismatic leader. It is a leader that commits model-like acts that the people under authority view has a sacrifice or risk. In the poem, Beowulf is portrayed as a courageous and fearless warrior. In Hrothgar’s sermon it shows a few of the mutual characteristics in the relationship between the men and the lord which are loyalty, trust and respect (McArthur). Beowulf’s boast reveals to the villagers of his own confidence and in his fellow warriors abilities ("Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership"). He also is determined to finish and complete his epic quest to defeat Grendel, Mother

Grendel, and the dragon. Leadership in Beowulf is shown through Hrothgar’s sermon, when the thanes put their trust within the king, in return the king is responsible for looking after the welfare of his warriors (McArthur). This shows leadership because it shows that the villagers have trust and put their lives in danger, since they believe in their king, which is a quality of being an epic hero. In the poem, what our hero does that very night when the warriors were all in Heorot, killing the beast by ripping him apart shows important leadership skills (“Leadership Lessons From Beowulf”). “The monster’s whole/body was in pain, a tremendous wound/appeared on his shoulder. Sinews split and the bone-lappings burst, (McDonnell 27).” That statement shows how risky that quest was resulting in others thinking Beowulf contains an abundant amount of leadership skills. Napierkowski (2005) describes Beowulf as a “premier example of literature as a form of leadership instruction” (“Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership”).