Marcus Porcius Cato has inspired countless leaders for over 2,000 years.
Figures like Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and George Washington all admired Cato the Younger. Much of his legacy was preserved through Joseph Addison’s 18th-century play Cato: A Tragedy. Washington was so moved by Cato’s example that he even had the play performed for American troops at Valley Forge.
Cato’s leadership style, which we might call Stoic leadership, was rooted in leading by example. He didn’t see himself as superior to his subordinates and upheld strict personal standards. While he spoke out on matters of principle, his true influence came through his actions rather than direct commands. As the hugely successful Italian football coach Carlo Ancelotti puts it in his book Quiet Leadership: “Influence, don’t command.”
John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Simon Sinek highlights this quote in Leaders Eat Last, emphasizing that true leaders prioritize their teams. Military leaders, for example, often let their troops eat first to show self-sacrifice. Cato followed this principle long before it became common practice.
As a military tribune and later a praetor, Cato could have indulged in wealth and privilege, but he remained incorruptible in an era full of bribery and political maneuvering. His discipline and rejection of luxury set him apart, much like former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, who donated 90% of his salary to charity and lived on a modest farm instead of the presidential mansion.
Though Cato was known for his stubbornness, his unwavering principles won him loyal followers. His example encouraged others to act with integrity. Similarly, after Carlo Ancelotti was unexpectedly fired from Chelsea FC in 2011 despite recent successes, his players took him out to dinner to show their appreciation—an unusual gesture in professional football.
Ancelotti’s popularity comes from more than just his coaching skills. As Quiet Leadership notes, his success is tied to his ability to treat everyone equally and care about his players as people. Cato shared this same philosophy of leadership.
Cato first took command in 67 BC as a military tribune in Macedonia. As described in Rome’s Last Citizen by Rob Goodman and Jimmy Soni:
What would the men of Cato’s legion have made of their new commander? He approached camp not on horseback, as expected, but on foot. This was not one of the social climbers whom they had come to expect as commander. Here, it seemed, was a man ready to live as hard as the common soldiers lived and to impose on himself the same discipline he imposed on them.
…For a senator-in-waiting, Cato’s unpretentious willingness to share hardship was mildly shocking. It won his men’s affection in a way that no Stoic lecture could have.
Even near the end of his life, leading republican forces against Caesar, Cato still put his men first. The Stoic poet Lucan captured his Stoic leadership beautifully:
Spare in his sleep, the last to sip the spring
When at some rivulet to quench their thirst
The eager ranks pressed onward, he alone
Until the humblest follower might drink
Stood motionless.
Great leaders don’t just eat last—they drink last, too.
Jose Mujica followed this ethos during his presidency, demonstrating Stoic values much like Cato. He famously said:
My definition of poor are those who need too much. Because those who need too much are never satisfied. I am frugal not poor.
This philosophy echoes Rudyard Kipling’s line from his poem If: “Walk with kings but never lose the common touch.” While few will live exactly like Cato or Mujica, their examples are still worth aspiring to.
You don’t need to give up wealth or live on a farm to lead with integrity. Small actions—like a football manager helping clean up or a billionaire eating in the company cafeteria—can make a difference.
Who would you rather follow? A distant executive in a closed office, or a leader who works alongside their team?
Even if you don’t hold a formal position of power, you can still be a leader in your family, workplace, and community. Cato set a gold standard, and while most may fall short, the value lies in striving to improve. Inspired by Stoic leadership.
If you do find yourself in power, you don’t have to give away your wealth or practice extreme frugality—but maybe you could let others eat and drink first now and then.
Again, from Rome’s Last Citizen:
Even in his failings, Cato remains indisputably great. He is the kind of man that every statesman aspires to be: physically tough, intellectually brave, unflinchingly principled, beloved despite his warts. In many ways, he is the model of what we say we want in a leader.