5 Leadership Tenets From The Stoics You Should Apply To Your Career

Stoicism was an ancient school of philosophy that taught a particular way of living. Yet, for many, Stoicism remains misunderstood.

Most think of a stoic person as someone who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining. And while that’s partially true, there’s more to being a Stoic, including its principal focus on how to live a virtuous life to maximize happiness and reduce negative emotions.

Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of Stoic favorites Courage is Calling, Ego is the Enemy, and The Obstacle Is The Way and the founder of the Daily Stoic. He’s also arguably the modern-day champion of Stoicism, defining it as “a philosophy designed to make us more resilient, happier, more virtuous and more wise–and as a result, better people, better parents, and better professionals.”

As it turns out, the Stoics’ ancient wisdom is surprisingly relevant for the modern professional. Here are five Stoic leadership tenets you should apply to your career:

1. Memento mori - remember that you must die

At first glance, memento mori, Latin for “remember that you must die,” seems morbid. But for the Stoics, it was a rallying cry not to waste their days on trivial things and to treat time as a gift.

From a leadership perspective, practicing memento mori means protecting your time and prioritizing it for the things that matter most to create a life and career with purpose. Viewed through this lens, memento mori ensures we maintain a certain urgency in this pursuit and use intention and awareness to align with activities and people dedicated to making a meaningful impact.

This Stoic tenet reminds us that life is fleeting; make the most of it.

2. Amor fati - love of one’s fate

Imagine how your life might change if you viewed everything that happened in it— including loss and suffering—as good and necessary.

For the Stoics, this amor fati (“love of one’s fate”) mindset prevailed, allowing them to willingly welcome all life’s experiences, whether good or bad.

When applied to your career, amor fati means letting go of things you can’t control, reframing failures as learning experiences, and embracing uncertainty as a tool to become more adaptable.

3. Premeditatio malorum - the premeditation of evils

While practicing premeditatio malorum (“the premeditation of evils”) exercises, the Stoics imagined everything that could go wrong or be taken away from them as a way to prepare for life’s inevitable setbacks.

We don’t always get what we deserve or earn in business and our careers. Due to politics or forces beyond our control, things don’t go our way and may not be what they appear to be. By adopting this tenet’s teachings, leaders can prepare themselves for disappointment, and when it happens, draw on amor fati to view it as necessary, not negative.

4. Sympatheia - mutual interdependence

Sympatheia comes from Ancient Greece and means “affinity of parts to the organic whole” or “mutual interdependence.”

The Stoic Marcus famously said, “What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee.” So, rather than getting caught up in our own problems, the Stoics believed understanding how we are all connected and dependent on each other would prompt us to be good and do good for each other.

For leaders, Sympatheia is a wake-up call to drop their egos, remember that it’s not about them, and employ empathy to better understand those outside their usual circles. The great equalizer, Sympatheia helps leaders recognize that they’re not alone and part of something bigger than themselves, a greater good beyond their own selfish concerns.

5. Summum bonum - the highest good

To the Stoics, we should all aim for summum bonum, Latin for “the highest good.”

For them, that meant a life filled with virtue. They believed that if one acted virtuously, everything else important—happiness, success, meaning, reputation, honor, and love—would follow. But they also knew this wouldn’t be easy or appreciated by others, only that it was essential to the highest good. They also understood that those who foolishly chose to take shortcuts or were unethical or immoral in their actions would never attain summum bonum.

For leaders, aiming for summum bonum comes down to integrity and doing the right thing, even when it’s hard or no one is watching. When you’re a person whose word is gold and who keeps their promises, you’ll be viewed as a trusted leader who says what she means and means what she says, aspiring for the highest good.

By taking a cue from the Stoics and applying these five ancient tenets to your life, you’ll grow as a leader and a person.