Was Odysseus Really a Great Leader?

History remembers heroes. Organisations need leaders. The two are not always the same thing, and Homer's Odyssey offers an unexpected lesson for leadership development.

I went to see The Odyssey at the cinema this week.

Like many people, I’ve always thought of Odysseus as one of history’s great leaders.

Resourceful.

Intelligent.

Resilient.

Able to solve seemingly impossible problems.

But walking out of the cinema, I found myself asking a different question.

Was he actually a great leader?

Or was he simply a brilliant individual?

It’s an important distinction.

Because organisations make this mistake all the time.

We Often Confuse Capability with Leadership

Think about who gets promoted in many organisations.

The best salesperson becomes Sales Manager.

The strongest engineer becomes Head of Engineering.

The highest-performing consultant becomes Director.

Sometimes it works.

Often, it doesn’t.

Why?

Because being exceptional at doing the work isn’t the same as leading the people doing the work.

Leadership demands a different set of skills.

The Measure of Leadership

Odysseus left Ithaca with twelve ships and hundreds of men.

He returned alone.

Yes, Homer makes it clear that many events were outside his control.

The gods intervened.

His crew made poor decisions.

The world itself was unpredictable.

But leadership isn’t judged solely by intentions.

It’s judged by outcomes.

Not simply:

“Did the leader survive?”

But:

“Did the people they led thrive?”

That’s a very different question.

Heroes and Leaders Are Not Always the Same

One of the reasons we admire Odysseus is because he continually solves problems.

He outwits the Cyclops.

He escapes impossible situations.

He survives.

He’s incredibly capable.

But leadership isn’t just about your own capability.

It’s about creating the conditions for others to succeed.

That’s where organisations sometimes confuse heroics with leadership.

The leader who always rescues the project.

The manager who solves every problem personally.

The expert who has all the answers.

These people are incredibly valuable.

But they can also create dependence rather than capability.

Leadership Is Measured by What Remains

One line has stayed with me since leaving the cinema.

Perhaps the real measure of a leader isn’t whether they make it to the finish.

It’s what remains because they led.

When they leave…

Does the team continue to perform?

Have people grown?

Have future leaders been developed?

Is the culture stronger?

Or has success depended entirely on one exceptional individual?

Great leadership creates something that lasts beyond the leader.

What This Means for Learning and Development

One of the biggest shifts happening in leadership development is moving away from developing heroic leaders.

Instead, organisations are asking different questions.

Can leaders build trust?

Can they create psychological safety?

Can they coach rather than direct?

Can they adapt their communication?

Can they develop other people?

These skills rarely make dramatic stories.

But they create extraordinary teams.

The Best Leaders Make Themselves Less Essential

One of my favourite leadership questions is:

“If you disappeared for three months, what would happen?”

Would everything stop?

Or would the team continue to perform because you’ve developed their capability?

The best leaders don’t create dependency.

They create confidence.

They don’t need to be the smartest person in every room.

They create rooms where other people can do their best thinking.

Final Thought

Whether Odysseus was a great leader is probably something scholars will debate for centuries.

But the story raises a valuable question for all of us.

Are we developing leaders who become heroes?

Or leaders who help other people succeed?

Because organisations don’t need more legends.

They need more leaders who leave behind capable people, stronger teams and healthier cultures.

Perhaps that’s the leadership legacy worth striving for.