Leadership Lessons from Genghis Khan

The Mongol Army Won More Battles and Helped Create the Largest Land Empire in History by Being Smart Leaders

Under Genghis Khan in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongol Empire stretched through most of Asia, the Middle East and large parts of eastern and central Europe.

More importantly, Khan managed to keep his vast territory unified through the enforcement of several smart ideas. Many of his principles can still be applied to doing business today.

Khan Mastered the Art of Delegation

The Mongol fighting force was often pitted against an enemy of a larger size. Efficiency among the ranks of the Mongol army was crucial. They had to get the most out of what they had.

For this reason, every soldier in Khan’s army was responsible for his own weapons, tools, and up to five horses. When military campaigns called for soldiers to travel long distances, they were allowed to bring their families along. This kept morale high.

Khan forbade soldiers from transferring to other units to maintain consistency and accountability. Over time, tight-knit units would develop their own dynamics and methods that suited their unique strengths.

The military leaders of each unit were given rare flexibility to interpret Khan’s orders in the manner that best fit their unit’s way of working. In other words, Khan trusted his supervisors enough to give them flexibility in making decisions about how plans were executed–as long as every unit worked towards the main goal.

This method is the opposite of micromanagement–which seeks control at the sacrifice of creativity.

Distinguishing between actions that must be followed verbatim and actions where freedom of expression is beneficial is the mark of a masterful leader.

Genghis Khan

The fluid form of delegation Khan’s army practiced, enabled them to be unified yet unpredictable at the same time. The enemy never knew exactly how they were going to be attacked. It may be en masse one day, or by several small units seemingly working independently the next. Mongols were notorious for faking retreats to draw the enemy out into the open. At other times, they would drag branches behind their horses to kick up huge amounts of dust–appearing to be a much larger force than they actually were.

These crafty tactics, along with each soldier’s use of 3–4 horses to be able to travel long distances without stopping, made planning for a Mongol attack almost impossible.

Instead of viewing delegation of duties as a watering down of his methods, Khan used it as a huge tactical advantage.

His actions inspired loyalty from lower-level soldiers. His actions inspired creativity from higher-ranking officers.

Mobility and Swift Execution Kept Them Ahead of the Competition

Every Mongol soldier traveled light and kept 3–5 horses ready at all times. As soon as one got tired, he would switch to the next to keep going without stopping. This enabled Mongols to cover up to 100 miles a day. An impressive feat for an era that predates modern forms of transportation.

Because the Mongols were nomadic peoples, their herds traveled with them. This meant that soldiers had meat and milk to sustain them wherever they were.

Even Mongol horses were taught to forage for grass and twigs, rather than expect a daily handout of grain. As a last resort, a soldier could live for an entire month of a mixture of mare’s milk and blood. There was no chance of winning a war of attrition with Mongols. Self-sufficiency was a way of life.

All soldiers were trained in scouting and intelligence gathering. Mongols quickly learned that the most successful ways to strike an enemy were not always the most comfortable ways for them. Some of their best invasions took place after crossing frozen rivers or enduring intense Winter storms to reach the enemy camp. The element of surprise at the point of attack was worth the temporary discomfort of getting there.

Supply trains and messaging systems were constantly re-organized and streamlined for better efficiency. The Mongols maintained the only empire-wide mail service since the Roman Empire. During battles, signal flags and horns were used to make instant adjustments. Genghis Khan understood that breakdowns in communication–not lack of training–were often the downfall of large armies.

Today, communication efficiency can have a direct result in profitability. Businesses that can streamline their supply chains, implement change management policies quickly and cut down on time-wasters like unnecessary meetings and over-dependence on internal emails can position themselves to conquer more and more of the market.

Recruitment and Promotion were Based on Merit

In the middle ages, the common practice for conquering nations was to execute the enemies army and spare the enemy royalty–if they pledged loyalty to their new overlords.

Khan flipped this notion on its head. He would get rid of the opposing ruler and their family but retain and recruit the best enemy soldiers to his side by granting them amnesty. Over time, foreign soldiers could even be promoted if they performed well in battle, since rising in the ranks of Khan’s army was always based on performance and never on birth.

He kept soldiers loyal by allowing them to bring their families along and also set up a profit-sharing system from his ever-growing war chest that even included payouts to families of fallen soldiers.

His organization and consideration of everyone regardless of their rank meant that he didn’t have to worry about betrayal from inside his massive army–something that his successors dropped the ball on and suffered the consequences.

Losing high-performing employees to the competition should be one of the biggest risks a business plans to avoid.

Company culture has to go beyond catchy buzzwords. Every worker in the organization should be able to communicate the company’s values and what the company culture literally looks like in day-to-day terms.

The Mongol Empire at its peak

Adaptability was Favored Over an Invention

One of the reasons the impressive Mongol empire still takes a backseat in the annals of history is because their culture didn’t really invent anything new.

They were a nomadic herding society that developed a fearsome army through great leadership and the constant practice of horsemanship, archery, and military tactics.

Where their brilliance can’t be underestimated, is in the open-minded way they learned from and adapted the inventions and tools of the nations they conquered for their own success.

Khan had siege machines and catapults built in the style of the ones used by medieval European armies. He also used Chinese gunpowder in battle and relied on their development of firepower to build his own canons.

Having the humility to learn what they could from weaker opponents ensured that the Mongol empire always had the newest strategies and technology at their disposal. Not every business can be the best at innovation, but they can learn to maximize “best practice” to get the best results.

Mongols used stirrups on horses to be able to shoot in every direction

It is foolish to dismiss the Mongols as a bloodthirsty barbarian horde. They were strategic and creative in battle, organized in their communication, and principled in their dealings with allies and enemies.

While I don’t celebrate their violence. There are timeless reasons why their invasions were so successful.

There are plenty more lessons to be learned from Genghis Khan’s empire. Check out these good books to dive deeper:

Business is Warfare and The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading!