--- title: 5 Leadership Lessons You Can Learn From Game of Thrones description: “Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king” canonical: https://time.com/3835039/game-of-thrones-leadership-lessons/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-07T22:12:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:24.461Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Leadership Lessons You Can Learn From 'Game of Thrones' og:description: “Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king” og:url: https://time.com/3835039/game-of-thrones-leadership-lessons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64cac4947d46042/6987ecd2a988ca06bd6b05e7/screen-shot-2015-04-24-at-3-04-55-pm.png?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in HBO's "Game of Thrones." og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Leadership Lessons You Can Learn From 'Game of Thrones' twitter:description: “Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64cac4947d46042/6987ecd2a988ca06bd6b05e7/screen-shot-2015-04-24-at-3-04-55-pm.png?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Leadership Lessons You Can Learn From _Game of Thrones_ by [Quora](https://time.com/author/quora/) ## Quora May 7, 2015 10:12 PM UTC  Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in HBO's "Game of Thrones." Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in HBO's "Game of Thrones."HBO by [Quora](https://time.com/author/quora/) ## Quora May 7, 2015 10:12 PM UTC [_Answer_](http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-leadership-lessons-you-can-learn-from-Game-of-Thrones/answer/Mira-Zaslove)_by_ [_Mira Zaslove_](http://www.quora.com/Mira-Zaslove)_on_ [_Quora_](http://www.quora.com/)_._ **1\. “** **_The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword._** **_”_** — Eddard Stark. Don’t shy away from making tough calls. And just as importantly, do the unpleasant work to follow through. As Ned reminds us, “He who hides behind executioners soon forgets what death is.” Leaders who spend time in the trenches, doing the tough work, will take making tough decisions more seriously. **2\.** **_“A Lannister always pays his debts.” —_** Tyrion Lannister In the workplace, the quickest way to lose respect, and power, is to promise things you can’t deliver. The surest way to get people to do things for you is for them to trust that you will do what you say you will in the future. Leaders follow through on their word. When they say they are going to do something, they do it. **3\.** **_“Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king.” —_** Tywin Lannister True power comes from where people believe it comes from. Not from where you say it comes from. The best leaders are followed based on the collective will, not because they say, “I am the boss.” Power and influence, often come from unexpected places. **4\.** **_“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” —_** Littlefinger Chaotic times reveal a leader’s strength. When times are good, it’s easy to be the leader. Only when chaos reigns, do many leaders rise. Effective leaders aren’t thwarted by challenges. They use challenges to foist them higher. As Littefinger, highlights: “Many who try to climb fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them.” Leaders are not broken. They continue to climb. **_5\. “Winter is coming.”_** **—** House Stark Leaders remain vigilant. The world is uncertain. The best leaders always innovate, stay strong, and plan for the future. Being prepared for the unexpected is essential. Embrace winter, especially when everyone else is distracted and basking in the sun. _This question originally appeared on_ [_Quora: What are the best leadership lessons you can learn from_ ](http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-leadership-lessons-you-can-learn-from-Game-of-Thrones)[Game of Thrones](http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-leadership-lessons-you-can-learn-from-Game-of-Thrones)[_?_](http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-leadership-lessons-you-can-learn-from-Game-of-Thrones) _More from Quora:_ * [What life lessons does _Game of Thrones_ teach us?](http://www.quora.com/What-life-lessons-does-Game-of-Thrones-teach-us) * [What should everyone know about negotiation?](http://www.quora.com/What-should-everyone-know-about-negotiation) * [What lesson can we learn from each character of _Game of Thrones_?](http://www.quora.com/What-lesson-can-we-learn-from-each-character-of-Game-of-Thrones) ### See Photos from Game of Thrones Season 5  Maisie Williams as Arya Stark. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton, Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton and Elizabeth Webster as Walda Frey. Helen Sloan—HBO  Conleth Hill as Varys and Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Helen Sloan—HBO  Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen. Helen Sloan—HBO  Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei and Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm. Helen Sloan—HBO  Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand and Deobia Opaeri as Areo Hotah. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark and Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger. Helen Sloan—HBO  Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon and Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth. Helen Sloan—HBO  Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. Helen Sloan—HBO  Alexander Siddig as Doran Martell. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Carice van Houten as Melisandre Helen Sloan—HBO  Kit Harington as Jon Snow. Helen Sloan—HBO  Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne and Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth. Helen Sloan—HBO  Dean-Charles Chapman as Tommen Baratheon and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane. Helen Sloan—HBO  Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister. Helen Sloan—HBO  Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Ian Beattie as Meryn Trant. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister. Helen Sloan—HBO  Kit Harington as Jon Snow and Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder. Helen Sloan—HBO  Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand. Macall B. Polay—HBO  Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand. Helen Sloan—HBO  Keisha Castle-Hughes. as Obara Sand. Helen Sloan—HBO  Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon and Toby Sebastian as Trystane Martell Macall B. Polay—HBO  Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon. Macall B. Polay—HBO ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3835039/game-of-thrones-leadership-lessons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3835039/game-of-thrones-leadership-lessons/"},"headline":"5 Leadership Lessons You Can Learn From Game of Thrones","datePublished":"2015-05-07T22:12:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:24.461Z","description":"“Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king”","url":"https://time.com/3835039/game-of-thrones-leadership-lessons/","keywords":["Culture","Careers & Workplace","Business topic","Leadership","Success topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64cac4947d46042/6987ecd2a988ca06bd6b05e7/screen-shot-2015-04-24-at-3-04-55-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Quora","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/quora/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64cac4947d46042/6987ecd2a988ca06bd6b05e7/screen-shot-2015-04-24-at-3-04-55-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in HBO's \"Game of Thrones.\"","caption":"Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister in HBO's \"Game of Thrones.\"","creditText":"HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/culture/","name":"Culture"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3835039/game-of-thrones-leadership-lessons/","name":"5 Leadership Lessons You Can Learn From Game of Thrones"}}]}] ```