ICLD 3.11 Cyrus on Leadership: Discussion Board

Instructor: Dr. Mitch
Replies
12
Voices
8
Instructions:  
  1. Post a new discussion related to the topics covered in this module.  Your post needs to provide specific lessons learned with examples from this module helping you enhance your leadership capacity at work.
  2. After posting your discussion, review posts provided by other students in the class and reply to at least one of them. 

12 Comments

  • Cyrus the Great leadership examples still are great for today’s leaders. A great leader earns respect and loyalty. They don’t have to use their power and title to get it. Great leaders can treat people with respect and built trust. They will unite rather than divide. He did all these things by being a great communicator which is very import for success as a leader.

  • Cyrus the Great was a great leader because he combined strength with fairness. He didn’t just take over lands, he treated the people he ruled with respect and let them keep their own customs and religions. This earned him loyalty and trust instead of fear and helped his empire stay strong and united. His approach still matters today because good leadership isn’t just about power, it’s about doing what’s right. Leaders who are fair, ethical, and open to different ideas build trust, inspire people, and create teams and communities that work better together. Cyrus’s example reminds us that principled leadership makes people want to follow, not because they have to, but because they believe in the leader.

  • Cyrus the Great’s leadership principles still hold strong relevance today. His generosity and humility fostered trust, reminding us that respect is earned not through authority alone, but through how we treat those we lead. Cyrus also understood that cooperation was the foundation of peace and safety, something modern agencies can embrace through community partnerships and interdepartmental collaboration.
    He believed in setting the example and maintaining loyalty to his people. His decisions and actions built trust, enhanced morale, and created an environment where his culture could thrive. For modern public safety leaders, adopting Cyrus’s principles means balancing credibility with humility, authority with compassion, and actions with integrity, ensuring leadership that protects and empowers others.

    • I absolutely agree, Cyrus’s leadership offers timeless lessons. His focus on respect, trust, and cooperation shows that strong leaders succeed not by demanding obedience, but by earning loyalty and fostering collaboration. Today’s leaders, especially in public safety, can take inspiration from his example by combining authority with empathy and leading with integrity to create teams and communities that feel valued, secure, and motivated.

      • Today’s law enforcement officers feeling valued is huge. They feel like they are empowered and part of the team and not micromanaged.

  • He sounds like some of the bosses i have had in the past. If trying to become a great leader read his book and check the boxes, he seemingly has everything you would want in a leader. I think in my opinion the most important is good character, a lot of things you can fake hiding your true self but if you don’t have good character the truth will come out eventually.

    • I say something similar like that all the time. You can only fake it for so long. But your true character will always either shine through or seep through. Being police officers, we are trained to spot lies, deception, or fakes. When you observe someone for long enough, there is no getting around it, and you will build a reputation based on your character.

  • Many of the leadership principles of Cyrus the Great are still very relevant today. His skills enabled him to lead his people with confidence and inspire loyalty among his troops. I think what made him so great was also his philosophy of tolerance toward the people that he conquered, demonstrating mercy and tolerance towards people and their cultures which inspired loyalty even from the people they defeated. I’ve always liked the concept of leading from the front, which Cyrus knew was important. As a police supervisor sometimes it is important to stand back and let your people work, however still the principle of leading from the front gets lost on some police supervisors. Cyrus knew that his soldiers would gain confidence from seeing their leader lead the way and he also knew that being in the front gave him a clear perspective of what was in front of him to help him maneuver. You can’t see what’s in front of you if you are hiding behind your people.

  • I find Cyrus the Great to be a fascinating leader from ancient times. His leadership principles are still relevant today. I was surprised to learn how many align with what we’ve been studying in this course. One of the things that stood out to me was Cyrus’s belief that true leaders lead from the front and set high standards for their troops to follow. It’s inspiring to see how he was genuinely concerned with the welfare of his troops and did everything in his power to take care of his people. This reminds me of the importance of servant leadership and putting others before oneself for the greater good. Cyrus’s emphasis on ethical leadership, high integrity, and bravery to be credible also resonated with me. Finally, his points about being a great communicator and having brevity and decisiveness are crucial skills for any leader. Overall, there’s a lot we can learn from Cyrus the Great’s leadership style, even thousands of years later.

  • I had never heard of Cyrus the Great prior to this lesson. This was an interesting summary of the book and his leadership principles. I feel a lot of the things we’ve covered so far is this course are similar to his leadership style. Cyrus believed true leaders lead from the front and set high standards that his troops would want to follow. Cyrus was genuinely concerned with the welfare of his troops and did everything he could do take care of his people. He expressed gratitude often and provided necessary equipment and training which increased motivation and productivity. Cyrus reiterated often that one cannot let their own ego get in the way. They must lead with a servant style and put others before themselves for the greater good. Cyrus also explained that leaders must be ethical, have high integrity, and be brave to be credible. He also reiterated the importance of being a great communicator and elaborated that brevity and decisiveness were important characteristics.

    • I agree that Cyrus the Great was a remarkable leader, and his principles are still relevant today. His “servant leadership” style is an excellent example for anyone in a leadership position. It’s interesting to see how many of the same principles we have covered in this course align with Cyrus’s leadership style. His emphasis on putting others before oneself, being ethical, having integrity, and being a great communicator are all essential qualities for a successful leader. Thank you for sharing your insights!

    • I hadn’t heard of him either, but after going through this lesson I ordered the book on Amazon. A lot of the principles covered in the lecture are still relevant today, it’s amazing to me how little these leadership principles have changed over time. The content and specific challenges have changed but the essence of effective leadership remains.

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