What Aesop’s Fables Teach Us About Leadership
Throughout this doctoral program, the famous fable about the tortoise and the hare has reminded me to persevere, tackling one assignment at a time, until the day I stand up on that stage and receive my diploma. To be clear, I imagine myself to be the tortoise, not the hare, as I plug along, slowly but consistently, all the way to the finish line.
For this reason, I chose to read Aesop’s Fables for the “read a book that has been in continuous print for over 300 years assignment.” I reasoned that if one tale had sustained me through two years of doctoral studies, the collection might offer additional words of wisdom as I approach my final year and prepare to assume a new pastoral leadership position in a different congregation.
Here is how some of the fables give some encouragement about what we’ve been learning in this doctoral program:
- Each of Aesop’s fables contain a moral lesson. Most of the moral lessons can be used to enhance one’s leadership. About Aesop’s fables, G.K. Chesterton writes, “There is every type and time of fable but there is only one moral to the fable because there is only one moral to everything.”[1] What he means by this is that all fables teach the same fundamental moral truths. There is a unifying, ethical core across fables. This has also been true of the books on leadership we have read over the last two years. While different books discuss the various elements of leadership, the unifying ethical core I have discovered is to lead from our attachment and belovedness to God.[2]
- The fable of, “The Crow and the Pitcher” offers a lesson in creativity and perseverance. In this tale a thirsty crow finds a pitcher with water too low to reach with her beak. Instead of giving up, this crow ingeniously drops stones into the pitcher, gradually raising the water level until she can drink. Necessity leads to innovation and persistence and together they lead to success. During our workshops last semester we engaged in activities that echoed the crow’s innovative spirit. Through brainstorming sessions, creative games and iterative prototyping, we honed our ability to generate and refine ideas allowing us to develop solutions that were innovative and practical to our NPOs. By encouraging those we lead to be creative, innovative and to persevere through obstacles, we can guide our teams to achieve goals.
- The fable of the North Wind and the Sun teaches that gentleness and slowness leads people to a goal better than sheer force. In this fable the North Wind and the Sun both want a man’s coat. The North Wind blows fiercely causing the man to wrap himself tighter in the coat wheras the sun warms him gently in the morning slowing heating him to the point where he takes off his coat and leaves it for the sun. In this book Leadership, Northouse defines leadership as a ““a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.”[3] Leadership is a process. There is not a shortcut that will get a group of individuals to a common goal. It takes time, planning, and bringing people along, like the sun did with the man with the coat.
- In the book, Canoeing the Mountains, Tom Bolsinger emphasizes the importance of staying calm amidst challenging circumstances, not allowing yourself to be swayed by the anxiety of others. He writes, “To stay calm is to be so aware of yourself that your response to the situation is not to the anxiety of the people around you but to the actual issue at hand.”[4] Edwin Friedman calls this being a “non-anxious presence.”[5] As the winds of change blow through the Church, and we find ourselves leading during a time of declining membership and political upheaval, the fable of, The Oak and the Reeds offers a valuable metaphor for adaptive leadership. In this tale, a mighty oak tree stands rigid against a fierce wind, ultimately succumbing to its force and falling to the ground. Meanwhile, the flexible reeds bend and sway with the wind, maintaining their rootedness while adapting to the changing conditions. This metaphor illustrates the importance of flexibility and resilience in leadership. Leaders must be able to remain firmly rooted in their values and mission while adapt to changing circumstances.
I could continue to describe Aesop’s fables and relate them to lessons I am learning about leadership, but I’ll stop here. What I found in reading these fables is that much like how Jesus would tell a parable about seeds or sheep and suddenly everyone would be nodding along and thinking, “Oh, that’s what he meant!” Aesop is doing the same thing but with hares and tortoises instead of lost coins and mustard seeds. These fables take the complicated truths about leading people and make them accessible stories.
So, the next time you’re stuck in a leadership conundrum, instead of reaching for the latest New York Times bestseller, maybe open up Aesop’s Fables. Who knows? The answer to your leadership problems might just come from a talking fox, a slow-moving tortoise, or a wise old owl!
[1] Aesop’s Fables translated by V.S. Vernon Jones, Harperperennial Classics, 23-24, Everand.
[2] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, Carlisle: Piquant Editions, 2007. 103.
[3] Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice (London: Sage Publications, 2010) 3.
[4] Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, InterVarsity Press, December 2015.
[5] Friedman, Edwin H., and Peter Steinke, A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. 10th Anniversary edition. New York: Church Publishing, 2017, 17.
About the Author
Kally Elliott
Mom of four. Wanna-be Broadway star. PC(USA) pastor. Wife. Friend. Sometimes a hot mess. Sometimes somewhat together. Is this supposed to be a professional bio?12 responses to “What Aesop’s Fables Teach Us About Leadership”
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Hi Kally,
This was a great read.
I had to google Aesop and found this.
Nel, Aiden. “Who Was Aesop? (5 Facts About the Greek Fablist)” TheCollector.com, January 6, 2023, https://www.thecollector.com/who-was-aesop/.
1. He Was Mute and Ugly. …
2. Aesop was a Slave. …
3. Was He of African Descent? …
4. Aesop Worked for King Croesus. …
5. He Died at Delphi.
Whether he existed or not, the fables you mentioned are amazing. These stories were told and the lessons learned definitely apply to leadership (if one is looking for leadership lessons).
Thanks for sharing this.
Shalom…
Hi Russell, thanks for reading and commenting. I too, found conflicting reports as to whether or not Aesop was a real person. Either way, I’ve heard his fables read ever since I was a child. In fact, I have some vague memory of a children’s book of fables that I would sit and read.
I was wondering if anyone would pick *Aesop’s Fables* for this assignment! My favorite one is *The Scorpion and the Frog*—it’s such a fascinating story about human nature and leadership. I love how you connected timeless lessons from Aesop to modern leadership challenges, especially how *The Crow and the Pitcher* resonates with creativity and perseverance. Great work!
I’ll have to go back and read the Scorpion and the Frog.
You can always count on me to pick the children’s book.
As I was reading your post, I was really hoping you would mention Edwin Friedman’s “non-anxious presence.”
And then you did!
That’s what I was thinking about as you waxed poetically about the fables and their connection to perseverance.
Another author’s masterpiece comes to mind…Eugene Peterson’s “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.”
You’re gonna finish. WE’RE gonna finish. Let’s keep encouraging one another along the way!
I have such great admiration for Eugene Peterson but I haven’t read the book you mentioned. I need to add that one to my list (of books I will read when I am DONE with this program.)
Also, I think I mention Edwin Friedman’s non-anxious presence in every single blog post I write. I have a handful of quotes/ideas that I keep at the ready and his is one of those.
Edwin Friedman’s description of a well-differentiated leader is one of the quotes I go back to, regularly. And with the help of your post, I’m now thinking how to reference the analogy you gave with The Oak and the Reeds, the next time I use the reference! I think the metaphor of the reed with its ability to bend and sway in the middle of the tension and anxieties swirling around is PERFECT, especially in 2024.
And I love the Crow and the Pitcher. That’s the perfect tale to use when reframing a problem, even a wicked problem.
Great post. And congrats on your new pastoral role!
Congrats Kally….you’ve got me interested in something I never thought I’d be curious about! Your description of the three fables and connection to our other reading was great. How many fables are in the collection?
Of the three you shared, the North Wind and the Sun one struck a nerve for me. How often do Pastors/leaders blow fiercely upon their team or church….impatient and wanting them to change faster (ultimately for their own personal contentment or ego), rather than gently and slowly inviting them receive and grow (from the Spirit first and foremost)? How often do I do that? The Reed and Oak tree was a close second…so clearly highlighting the importance of not only being rooted, but also know what to be flexible on while remaining true to your deepest convictions. So good! Thanks for your post.
GREAT. Two lines struck out to me:
1.” the unifying ethical core I have discovered is to lead from our attachment and belovedness to God”
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Honestly if we can get that down, we’ve ‘won’ this doctorate. 🙂
2. “ So, the next time you’re stuck in a leadership conundrum, instead of reaching for the latest New York Times bestseller, maybe open up Aesop’s Fables.”
This is the beauty of what we’ve learned in the last 2 years. We have been given both leadership books and non-leadership books but find leadership principles in all of it. I think Jason has been trying to help us see how to see in various disciplines so we can draw more meaningful maps that are not just ‘limited’ to leadership.
Kally, I love that you went with fables! Why didn’t I think of that? There are a lot of great stories out there for children with moral and ethical lessons. Thank you for your creativity! Do you have a favorite? Is it the tortoise and the hare?
Kally,
I love that you used the tortoise and the hare from Aesop’s Fables. It is often thought of as a children’s collection but the moral lessons are profound. So, as you reflected. . .”who knows? The answer to your leadership problems might just come from a talking fox, a slow-moving tortoise, or a wise old owl!”
Thank you for drawing out leadership lessons from Aesop’s Fables.
Hi Kally!
Your post is truly refreshing and enlightening! You have cleverly taken the virtues of a very famous old fairy tale (all over the world) and applied them to leadership values. My wife and I still read fairy tales to our children every night and always ask them what lessons they can learn from the story they have just heard. This method, and what you have conveyed in this post, is a creative way to help leaders learn virtues in a cheerful and joyful atmosphere.