Lessons from the Viking Way
In every age, leadership has been tested in the fire of uncertainty. Today it happens in boardrooms, not battlefields, yet the stakes remain the same: survival, loyalty, and shared purpose.
History has shown us that fear can control people, but only trust can unite them.
And perhaps no culture understood that balance better than the Vikings.
The Battlefield of Leadership
The Vikings were more than fierce warriors; they were visionaries who built tribes bound by honour and a shared purpose. They lived and died by the strength of their leadership. When a Viking chieftain raised his sword, his men didn’t follow because they were afraid; they followed because they trusted him to lead from the front.
That image of a leader standing shoulder to shoulder with his people remains a timeless portrait of what true leadership means.
In modern business, the battlefield looks different, but the principles remain the same. The storms we face are economic downturns, market disruptions, and internal culture clashes. The weapons we carry are strategy, communication, and courage.
Yet even today, the question echoes through time: Will your team follow you if they had a choice?
Trust as the Ultimate Currency
For the Vikings, trust was not a slogan printed on banners it was the difference between life and death. A crew that didn’t trust its leader wouldn’t survive the sea. A warrior who didn’t trust the man beside him wouldn’t last a battle.
Viking leaders built that trust through action. They didn’t give orders from safety; they stood in the same storms, ate the same rations, and shared the same victories. Leadership was service before authority.
They understood that loyalty can’t be demanded; it must be earned through consistency, fairness, and courage.
In today’s organisations, the same truth applies. Teams don’t trust a leader because of their title; they trust them because of their example. When a leader rolls up their sleeves and faces challenges alongside their people, trust becomes the invisible bond that holds a company together.
Fear may push people to meet a deadline. But trust inspires them to give their best long after the deadline has passed.
Fear Creates Compliance, Trust Creates Commitment
Fear-based leadership has deep roots in corporate culture. For decades, many organisations believed that pressure produced results that fear kept people sharp, disciplined, and driven. But the truth is simple: fear may force action, but it kills passion.
In the Viking world, a leader who ruled through fear faced mutiny. A leader who inspired through courage built a legacy. Their followers didn’t fight for survival alone; they fought for purpose, for their tribe, for each other.
Today’s teams are no different. Employees don’t commit to companies; they commit to leaders they trust. When people feel safe to speak up, to share ideas, to make mistakes, they perform at their peak. Trust creates psychological safety the quiet confidence that says, “I can give my best without fear of judgment.”
As a leader, your job isn’t to control your people; it’s to free their potential. And that only happens when fear is replaced by trust.
Purpose Beyond Profit
Every Viking ship that set sail did so with a clear purpose. Some voyaged to explore, others to trade, and some to conquer. But behind every mission was a reason that united the crew beyond the individual. They didn’t fight for one man’s gain; they fought for the tribe’s survival and the glory of their shared story.
In business, purpose is the modern compass. It tells people why they’re fighting, not just what they’re fighting for. When a leader defines a clear, human-centred mission, work becomes more than a paycheque; it becomes a pursuit of impact.
Cobus Visser often reminds teams that “purpose builds fire.” When your people know the why behind their work, they bring energy, creativity, and ownership to every task. And when purpose aligns with trust, a team becomes unstoppable, not because they have to show up, but because they want to.
The Fire in the Leader’s Eyes
Imagine standing before a Viking crew at dawn, before a voyage into unknown waters. The leader doesn’t speak from behind them; he stands among them, locking eyes with each warrior. That look steady, fearless, human says more than any speech could. It says, “We are in this together.”
That is the same look every great leader should carry into the boardroom. Presence matters. Transparency matters. People don’t need perfect leaders; they need honest ones. When you show up fully, not hiding behind your title or ego, you invite your team to do the same.
Trust begins where pretence ends.
Every time you look your team in the eye and say, “I don’t have all the answers, but I believe in what we’re building,” you ignite a shared courage that no incentive plan can buy. Fear isolates leaders; trust unites them with their people.
Bringing Viking Principles into the Boardroom
So, what does lead like a Viking look like in today’s organisations?
It starts with redefining leadership as a partnership, not a position.
Just as Viking leaders built tribes through shared responsibility, modern leaders build cultures by aligning vision with values.
Lead besides, not above. Be the leader who joins the team in the trenches. Show that no task is beneath you.
Serve before you command. The greatest leaders understand that authority is borrowed, not owned. Serve your people’s growth, and they’ll serve your mission.
Earn trust daily. Trust isn’t a contract; it’s a conversation repeated in every action, every decision, and every promise kept.
Make purpose the banner you fight under. When everyone knows the why, even the hardest battles feel worthwhile.
These principles transform workplaces into tribes not of hierarchy, but of unity. When teams see their leaders fighting with them, not for themselves, they give more, stay longer, and grow stronger.
Legacy Through Trust
In the end, the Vikings weren’t just conquerors of land, they were builders of legacy. Their influence spread because their tribes believed in something greater than any single leader.
The same is true for modern organisations.
When fear fades and trust takes root, creativity flourishes. Innovation grows. People rise beyond their roles to protect and strengthen the mission.
Every leader has a choice: to build walls of authority or bridges of trust. One isolates; the other multiplies.
When you lead with trust, your people don’t just follow orders, they follow vision. They become warriors for the culture you’ve created.
When your team looks at you, do they see someone who hides behind authority, or someone who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them?
Would they follow you into the unknown not because they must, but because they believe?
True leaders, like the Vikings, fight beside their people, not above them. They earn loyalty not through fear, but through courage, service, and shared purpose.
That kind of leadership doesn’t just win battles, it builds empires that last.
