Podcast Summary: Leadership Development Lessons From Julius Caesar

Excellent Executive Coaching Podcast, Episode 406
Host: Dr. Katrina Burrus, PhD, MCC
Guest: Dr. Paul Vanderbroeck
Release Date: November 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, Dr. Katrina Burrus interviews Dr. Paul Vanderbroeck, a historian and executive coach, about his new book and research on Julius Caesar as a model for leadership development. The discussion explores how Caesar’s life offers practical lessons—and cautionary tales—for today’s leaders and executive coaches, balancing a wealth of achievement with fatal shortcomings in emotional intelligence and feedback mechanisms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Julius Caesar? – Models for Leadership Analysis

[00:59]

• Paul chose Julius Caesar as a case study for his unique breadth of accomplishments—military, governance, innovation, and writing.
• Utilized three main leadership assessment models:
  • 12 Leadership Behaviors (used in 360-degree reviews)
  • A personality/motivation instrument
  • Career development trajectory models
• Quote:

  “Caesar would always end up in the top five, probably never as number one, but often as number two or three. But there’s no other leader that would always show up in the top five.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 02:15)

Caesar’s Leadership Trajectory – Lessons in Career Development

[03:16]

• Career advancement requires both performance and the building of a reputation or brand.
• Constructing a support network and managing competition is crucial.
• A leader must accept that the ‘race’ is rarely fair—managing both fair and unfair competition is essential.

Building the Caesar Brand – Values and Differentiation

[04:20]

• Caesar differentiated himself through:
  • Clemency: Forgiving adversaries, even conquered people
  • Populism: Advocating for everyday Roman citizens
• He ensured actions matched his messaging and communicated his values extensively to build a lasting brand.
• Quote:

  “He made sure that he stood out from others by being different... and he showed that in the way he dealt with adversaries, also with people he conquered.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 04:26)

Navigating Competition – The Cato Rivalry & Emotional Intelligence

[05:08]–[07:51]

• Caesar’s main competitor, Cato, excelled in understanding the personal interests and emotional climate within the Senate.
• Caesar succeeded, not by outmaneuvering Cato in emotional intelligence, but by shifting power from the Senate to the people, mobilizing popular support instead.
• Caesar’s weakness: insufficient emotional intelligence with groups—struggled to read, sway, or respond to group sentiment within the elite.
• Quote:

  “Caesar used generally very good rational arguments which were difficult to go against, but there were other underlying interests which he didn’t touch. And Cato was better at that than Caesar.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 06:59)

Blind Spots and Downfall – The Price of Feedback Failure

[08:31]–[10:19]

• Caesar’s ultimate downfall was failure to pick up on elite resentment and lack of sufficient feedback mechanisms.
• Lacked 'emotional sensors' especially at the highest levels where feedback is scarce.
• Quote:

  “He did not capture the frustration, the sentiment, the disappointment with a large group within the elite... and Caesar didn’t capture that also because he did not get the feedback he needed to capture that... and was not able to turn it into his favor.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 09:19)

Essential Takeaways for Modern Leaders

[10:28], [12:45]–[14:40]

• Self-awareness is non-negotiable—know your blind spots.
• Establish channels to receive feedback from all levels, especially from those who might disagree with you.
• Invite and be receptive to feedback, reducing blind spots to a minimum.
• Breadth of achievement and experience leads to a stronger leadership brand.
• Talent management—diversity, openness, and bench strength—was key to Caesar's power.
• Leverage your strengths but also learn to reshape circumstances to play to them.
• Influence of followers: Leaders are shaped by the climate and expectations of followers, often unconsciously.
• Quote:

  “...with Caesar I have realized that [emotional intelligence] goes beyond interactions with individuals. But there’s also a collective emotional intelligence or emotional intelligence towards groups which are very important.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 15:16)

The Cleopatra Factor – Image versus Reality

[11:10]–[12:16]

• Caesar’s public relationship with Cleopatra hurt his standing among Romans, mostly due to cultural expectations regarding private versus public conduct.
• Though it dented his reputation, career impact is unclear as his career was cut short soon after.
• Quote:

  “With Caesar, bringing her to Rome and hosting her in one of his houses did not go down very well. So it certainly affected his reputation, but ultimately it did not affect his career in the long term.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 11:56)

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On Breadth of Leadership:

  “It’s helpful to be active on a number of things. Not only focus on one thing, but to have a breadth of achievement and experience.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 12:45)

• On Modern CEO Lessons:

  “Politicians have their opinion polls. CEOs may have employee surveys and that’s important. Caesar didn’t have that... But you can, I think, go further than that to see what’s really going on so that you can capture discontent, mainly or misunderstandings, early on and deal with them.”
  (Vanderbroeck, 15:56)

• Host’s Recap:

  “So what are the takeaways for leaders today? That they should lobby, that they should get constant feedback from their stakeholders. What else?”
  (Burrus, 10:19)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:59] – Why Julius Caesar? Leadership models and uniqueness
• [03:16] – Career development lessons and managing competition
• [04:20] – Caesar’s brand: Values, populism, and differentiation
• [05:08] – Navigating rivalry with Cato and limits of emotional intelligence
• [08:31] – Caesar’s personality, legacy, and fatal flaws
• [10:19] – Modern leadership takeaways and feedback culture
• [11:10] – The impact of Cleopatra on Caesar’s reputation
• [12:45] – Key leadership takeaways from Caesar’s story
• [14:40] – Impacts on coaching practice; collective emotional intelligence
• [15:56] – Applicability for contemporary CEOs and leadership strategies

Final Thoughts

Paul Vanderbroeck expertly bridges ancient history with contemporary executive leadership, offering nuanced insights on performance, reputation-building, strategic use of strengths, and the fatal risks of ignoring group sentiment. Both coaches and leaders will find actionable ideas—from boosting feedback channels to understanding collective emotional intelligence—grounded in the extraordinary and ultimately tragic career of Julius Caesar.

Book Reference:
Lead Like Julius Caesar (find via Springer.com, code: SPROUT for a current discount)

For More:
Visit the podcast site or Dr. Paul Vanderbroeck’s publisher for resources, or check show notes for discount codes and further reading.