The Turkish TV series Dirilis Ertugrul hooked over 52 million viewers in Pakistan in the last two months. Although the series was released in 2014, but due to the pandemic and words of Imran Khan, Ertugrul Pakistan has gained the popularity for all the right reasons. If you pay close attention to the nitty-gritty and see it to learn things, you’ll see that the series has noteworthy lessons.
Starting from the power of unity, brotherhood, small acts of kindness to the importance of nikah, the series has everything to glue the viewers to the screens.
But let’s forget all the lessons, and keep the Ertugrul leadership in front. You’ll see that from day one he knew the purpose of his life, the difference between the good and bad, honesty, and the ability to stand strong to his words.
Considering this, I have summarized the best 10 leadership lessons from Ertugrul which I’d love to share with you.
10 Leadership Lessons from Ertugrul
Strong Vision
The purpose of our life is driven by Why. Why do we exist? Why do we build our business? The Why is called the vision which drives our future goals. If the vision doesn’t exist then it’s easy to get distracted by the small obstacles coming in between the journey. That’s why you would see successful leaders have a strong vision which makes their small actions meaningful and drive a purpose in their life.
Now, if you see Ertugrul, you’ll note that his vision is crystal clear which makes him not to settle for anything less. His vision is to save Ummat e Muslimeen from enemies and keep them together under the teachings of Islam so that Muslim brothers don’t fear their own blood. He wants Islam to live forever and for this, he won’t let anyone come in between his way even his own blood. Undoubtedly, he started his journey with a vision which let him continue the path later.
So, the lesson#1 is if you want to be a great leader, know your vision which will help you to make decisions and lead your life with a purpose.
“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”
— Ralph Lauren
Passionate
Passion is a positive feeling that keeps you committed with your vision with all the excitement and happiness to fulfil it. A passionate leader will never get tired no matter how many roads he travels. Our leader Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) also carried the passion to enlighten people with Islam and he keeps that going till his last breath.
Similarly, Etrugrul is also a passionate leader who is still on his journey and no matter what the people say, he doesn’t give up. The people who joined his mission become his real friends and the discouragement doesn’t matter to him as long as he’s on the right path. He can dedicate his days and nights and even his life with the passion inside. And he never gets tired of it.
Lesson#2: If you feel the passion inside, chase it and choose the right path. It will lead to your destination making you a leader to follow.
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
– Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Believe in Yourself
When you’re committed to doing something meaningful in your life, you grow a strong belief on yourself and your leadership. If you believe you can become a leader, you will make it true one day. The belief is important to pursue your dream. A leader without belief cannot turn people to his words. So, being a leader, a strong belief on yourself is important which helps to ease your path.
In Dirilis Etrugrul you’ll see that Etrugrul has a robust belief on his words and all his actions connect him with his mission. There was a time when his mother and brother turned against him, but the belief in his vision keeps him still. Every big change starts with a small belief on yourself which later evolve you into an unforgettable leader.
Lesson#3: If you believe something, make it true and don’t give up till you achieve it.
“If you don’t give up on something you truly believe in, you will find a way.”
― Roy T. Bennett
Lead from the Front
Nowadays, you must have seen the great public and political figures who let their army follow their orders while keeping themselves in the comfort zone. Political leaders who give their speeches from a bulletproof stage and keep the people in the open air is the example of how these people fear death. A good leader is the one who clears the path for his team and never put their lives in danger.
One of the Etrugrul lessons is that you will see that being a leader, he always leads his alps and if there’s any danger ahead, he’s the one to get into first. Secondly, you’ll never see him attacking his enemies from the back. He always attacks from the front and often goes to his enemies by informing them first.
Lesson#4: Always show your followers the right path and if there’s an any alarming situation ahead don’t risk their lives. Care for your team and you’ll get loyal followers in return.
“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
–Nelson Mandela
Inspirational
The leadership traits in Ertugrul Bey has inspired Muslims all over the world. An outstanding leader always possesses an inspiring personality which let other people take actions. It’s because people always follow the one whose actions inspire them to live and chase their passion.
One of the reasons of Ertugrul popularity is his influential personality. He inspired not only his tribe people but also his alps and even his enemies. Templars, Mongols and Byzantine all feared him so much that they want him to be killed because his survival means the death of the enemies.
So, the lesson#5 is to be strong in your actions that you inspire others to follow you. And there’s no need left to force people to follow your path.
“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” —Orrin Woodward
Don’t Get into the Blame Games
If you look at all the successful leaders in history, you’d see that they fail many times but they learn from it and grow. They hadn’t blame anyone of their failures but instead, they took their mistakes as their teachers. That’s one of the best traits of successful leadership.
Ertugrul also failed many times, he was also unable to identify his real enemies. At some points, his alps also put his mission into danger. But he doesn’t blame anyone and tried his best to reach the root of the evil. He also never pointed anyone of their crime unless he found enough pieces of evidence against the person.
Lesson#6: When you’re in the frontline people can try to fool you with words but what you have to do is to investigate the matter and be on the right side. That’s one of the important leadership lessons from Ertugrul you need to note in your diary.
“The dream doesn’t lie in victimization or blame; it lies in hard work, determination and a good education.” Alphonso Jackson
Team Building
Do you think your job is done when you have trained your team to do the work? No!
In this way, your team will stick with you with their own purpose. And when their purpose is achieved, they’ll leave you. That’s not how you build a team. You do it by sharing your belief, by staying together in good and bad times and teaching them the value of your mission.
In Ertugrul, you’ll see how he keep his team united, trained them not only with weapons but also with the mindset. He knows the strength and weaknesses of his team and assigns them task according to their abilities.
Lesson#7: That’s how team-building works. You should train your team in a way that they feel connected with you with your vision, not by purpose.
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.”
– Andrew Carnegie
Empathy
Outstanding leaders are the one who help their team to grow, who takes less credit but always do more. The one who stands behind the team and show that he cares for his team.
If you have noted, it was difficult for Ertugrul to sit back and relax knowing that his team and alps were in danger. So, he never wasted time and got on the roads to rescue his people. His love towards his alps and the army was a sign that he cares for those who were connected to him with the cause. Successful leaders are always emphatic like that.
The lesson is to don’t just connect with your team with work only. Share your vision and believe with them, help each others grow and you will create a team who’ll be with you in all the good and bad times.
“I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.”
Roger Ebert
Strategic Mindset
To make a dream come true, leaders should have a forward-thinking and strategic approach. There are always challenges in your journey if you don’t put your mind in the right place, you might lose the battle. So, a leader must know how to make it strategically to win with peace.
Etrugrul attacks his enemies from the front but he always has a strategic approach behind it. If his plan A fails, he knows how to make plan B into action. He researched the weak point of his enemies and work on them to attack. That’s why strategic mindset is a must-have in leadership qualities.
Take the lesson from Ertugrul here that strategic mindset is important in achieving your goal. So, always think with an open-mindset and innovative approach.
“Success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. You might know how to succeed, but more importantly, what’s your plan to succeed?”
Jim Rohn
Integrity
Integrity is the core of all leadership qualities. A leader succeeds when they do what they believe, stick to their words and never compromise on their values. If integrity is missing in a leader, success becomes impossible.
Ertugrul leadership has integrity. You’ll always find him doing the right thing even when no one is watching. If he has given someone his words, even to his enemies, he will act upon it.
Lesson#10: Integrity is one of the important leadership lessons learned from Ertugrul. Choose the right and stay with it despite all the obstacles of your life.
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
To Sum It Up
Apart from the leadership lessons, if you observe the other Etrugrul characters in-depth, you’ll come across more life lessons. The Etrugrul cast had done a splendid job to justify the characters. That’s one of the main reasons why Etrugrul news is all over our social media and televisions.
I can’t actually think of other show after coming across with this. It’s such a great source of enlightenment.
So, these were the 10 leadership lessons from Etrugrul I extracted after binge-watching. I’d love to know what you extracted from the series?
Leaving you with the best of Etrugrul phrases, Ae Vallah (thank you).
I prefer books and diaries more than phones and Facebook. Soulfully connected to Pakistan. And I passionately believe that I can change the world through blogging.
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