An assessment of Genghis Khan's leadership lessons for military leaders

Genghis Khan: Background
Genghis Khan (nee Temujin) was born around the year 1162 on what is now the border between Mongolia and Siberia (“Genghis Khan,” n.d.). At the time Temujin was born, the Mongols were far from being the mighty empire history would remember them for. On the contrary, the Mongols were a collection of nomadic tribes that warred with each other frequently. Temujin was himself witness to the wanton violence and aggression of patriarchal clan leaders, one of which was his own father. His father had kidnapped his mother, forced her into marriage, only before being poisoned himself by another enemy clan (“Genghis Khan,” n.d.). After his father’s death, Temujin’s family was kicked out of their own clan and forced to fend for itself. Unlike his peers, Temujin cultivated a desire to create major changes in Mongol society. Temujin married Borte in 1178, and started to forge strategic alliances with clan leaders throughout the Mongolian steppe. Little by little Genghis Khan built himself a reputation as an effective leader. His goal was to unite the warring Mongol tribes and effectively conquer the world. By 1205, Temujin assumed the title Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, meaning “Universal Ruler” after he united disparate nomadic tribes and established a unified kingdom. From there, Genghis Khan continued to expand his territories, stepping across Asia and into Europe. At the time, the Mongol empire was the largest in the world.
Personality Analysis
One of Genghis Khan’s most immediately salient and remarkable personality traits is egalitarianism. Genghis Khan did not play favorites or use nepotism, as his forebears did. His followers were not just Mongols but also Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists; kinship ties, ethnicity, ancestry, and religion were irrelevant to Genghis Khan, who as ruler “abolished inherited aristocratic titles,” (“Genghis Khan,” n.d., p. 1). This allowed him to gain the trust of those who worked hard and demonstrated loyalty and competence. For instance, when he first embarked on the campaign to unite the Mongol tribes, Temujin “put competent allies rather than relatives in key positions,” (“Genghis Khan,” n.d., p. 1).
Part of his worldview stems from the norms and values of Mongol society: “the Mongol society didn’t really differentiate between a civilian tribal member and a soldier,” (Mandal, 2016, p. 1). In fact, Genghis Khan has even been quoted to reveal his view on gender equity in the military, as he presumably stated, “women could form a large unit within the army,” (Alvarez, 2014). His views coincide with the Mongol view that being a citizen was akin to being a soldier; each person in Mongolian society would have been trained from the time they were children in the core aspects of military arts: such as horse riding and archery. “There was no such thing as a civilian population in Mongolia,” (“Mongol Army: Tactics, Weapons, Revenge, and Terror,” n.d., p. 1). As his kingdom grew to encompass diverse groups of people, he banned slavery and “allowed freedom of religion well before that idea caught on elsewhere,” (“Genghis Khan,” n.d., p. 1). Egalitarianism was the personality trait that helped Genghis secure the admiration and respect even of those who he had conquered.
Another personality trait that enhanced Genghis Khan’s military prowess and ensured his long-term success was his penchant for strategy and his organizational skills. As a warrior, Genghis did not just rely on brute force. Instead, Genghis carefully honed his military tactics through deft organization of resources. Genghis Khan reportedly spent “months before an attack scouting defenses, mapping roads and escape routes, noting supply sources, and gathering intelligence on local defense and infrastructure,” (“Battle Tactics,” n.d.). He devised several different strategic maneuvers he could use to inculcate in his troops the situational awareness they needed to respond to the unexpected like surprise attacks or betrayals. Genghis Khan also understood the importance of capitalizing on a diverse military, with each division dedicated to a specialized task like espionage or communications (“Battle Tactics,” n.d.). At its peak, the Mongol army was about 100,000 strong; by some estimates there were 129,000 Mongol cavalrymen alone (Alvarez, 2014). A diverse and scattered group of nomads fighting in unity depended on a strong and organized leader. Genghis Khan embarked on every military campaign with methodic precision, rarely acting rashly but instead considering the strengths, weaknesses, and traits of his opponents and planning appropriate strategies to defeat them. Finally, although it would seem contrary to the personality of a fierce and often ruthless leader, Genghis Khan was noted for his kindness in the way he treated others, especially his most loyal soldiers. He is quoted as saying, “I want to feed them with juicy meat, let them live in beautiful yurts, and let them pasture their livestock on rich soil,” (Alvarez, 2014, p. 1).
Leadership Style
Genghis Khan’s personality traits, such as egalitarianism and organization, helped him to become a remarkably effective leader. The primary leadership styles that Genghis Khan demonstrated included both visionary and transformational leadership. Genghis Khan was certainly a visionary, being the first person to unite the nomadic Mongol tribes under a common rubric. As a proud Mongol, Genghis Khan inspired the same in his people, switching their worldview from one that viewed their neighboring tribes as enemies and instead seeking to find strength in unity. Genghis Khan also cultivated a strong vision of the future: one in which the Mongols would prove their merits against other cultures and kingdoms. It was not just that Genghis Khan wanted to engage in colonization; for in allowing freedom of religion and promoting tolerance and diversity this was not part of his strategy. Genghis’s vision was to etch forever in history the greatness of his people—and he succeeded.
As a transformational leader, Genghis Khan was noted for his ability to empower leaders through a clearly defined chain of command (“Mongol Army: Tactics, Weapons, Revenge, and Terror,” n.d.). A sample chart of the Mongol chain of command is as follows:

[Image Credit: http://www.camrea.org/2016/12/09/the-mongol-military-part-ii/]
Transformational leaders also work hard to inspire others to buy into their vision, then allowing each person the freedom to pursue the situational strategies necessary to achieve the desired outcome. Genghis Khan had to do this regularly because his conquests had become too extensive to count on regular centralized meetings. Granted, sometimes Genghis Khan used harsh disciplinary tactics against military leaders who were weak or untrustworthy, with the death sentence not uncommon (Mandal, 2016). Thus, Genghis Khan understandably demonstrated a bit of autocratic leadership in addition to his being mainly a visionary and transformational leader.
Furthermore, a transformational leader engenders intrinsic motivation among their team members. The soldiers in the Mongol army were paid in booty, and were not salaried, professional troops. In fact, they even had to pay tribute (qubchur) to their commanding officers (Mandal, 2016). The tribute system was designed to prove their loyalty and trustworthiness when it came to pooling the booty stolen from the conquered, as the loot was summarily distributed among the soldiers.
The Battle of Yehuling (???): Analysis
In 1211, Genghis Khan and the Mongol Army invaded the Jin Dynasty at Yehuling. For centuries, the Jin had tried “divide and conquer” strategies to attempt to rule over the Mongol people (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). After the Mongol unification, Genghis Khan turned the tables on the Jin. The year prior, Genghis Khan and the Mongols achieved a tremendous victory at the Battle of Wusha Fortress, defeating an army over 750,000 strong with far fewer troops than that, and killing the Emperor himself (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). Their victory at the Battle of Wusha Fortress emboldened the Mongols and allowed them to press on to Yehuling and the seat of the new Jin Emperor Wanyan Chengyu.
Several notable things happened during the Battle of Yehuling that highlight the core components of Genghis Khan’s military strategies. One is his tactic of trying to turn opponents into spies. As he developed a cohesive strategy for Yehuling, Genghis Khan managed to seduce several Jin messengers and officials, which became instrumental in providing the Mongols with intelligence (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). Second, even though the Jin far outnumbered the Mongols, Genghis Khan was able to secure victory by capitalizing on Jin weaknesses. The Jin spread their army too thin, making it difficult for various units to communicate with one another and coordinate attacks seamlessly. They understandably tried to prevent the Mongols from relying on their core strength, cavalry, by stationing Jin troops in mountainous areas (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). The Jin strategy worked only in so far as it did force the Mongols to fight on foot: not their prime position. Yet the Mongols opted to concentrate their efforts on one geographic point rather than fall into the trap of spreading themselves out across the vast mountainous terrain without horses. Doing so led to the defeat of one Jin camp, which led to a domino effect of loss of morale, communication breakdowns, and eventually what would become one of the most decisive battles in Mongol history (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). After the Battle of Yehuling, Genghis Khan formed a strategic alliance with the Southern Song dynasty and together they defeated the Jin in 1234 (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). The alliance with the Southern Song represents perhaps one of the most important lessons of the Battle Yehuling: the necessity of political allies in military campaigns.

(image credit: Google Images)
Therefore, the Battle of Yehuling was fought in stages. After the initial victory at Wusha Fortress and the destruction of key Jin strongholds at Yehuling and Huan'erzui, Genghis Khan pressed onto Huihe Fortress, a battle that lasted for three days and secured an unequivocal victory (“Battle of Yehuling,” n.d.). Yet for Genghis Khan, the Battle of Yehuling was only part of a broader military campaign to defeat their arch-nemesis China. Genghis and the Mongols boldly moved into the Chinese capital Zhongdu, modern-day Beijing. As per Genghis Khan’s typical protocols in treating the vanquished, he did not install his own colonial government but continued to allow Jin rule and simply enforced strict tribute. In addition to teaching the importance of political alliances, the Battle of Yehuling also demonstrates the importance of persistence and perseverance; of resisting complacency. Genghis could have stopped to savor the relatively meaningful victories the Mongols enjoyed at each stage of the Battle of Yehuling but instead, Genghis opted to push their boundaries more and more until they won the ultimate prize: the capital.
War Fighting Lessons for Military Leaders
Genghis Khan demonstrated judicious leadership, through both visionary and transformational methods of inspiring his followers to believe in him and their shared goals. His methods included inculcating a sense of unity amid diversity, also displaying remarkable and consistent ethical values in terms of domestic policies. Yet Genghis Khan also has much to teach modern military leaders, even those who may believe their superior technologies and weaponry preclude the need for medieval military strategy. Actually, Genghis Khan remains one of the world’s best teachers of war, with the two main lessons for military leaders being related to situational awareness.
Attack Coordination
One of the primary lessons of Genghis Khan is how to carefully coordinate attacks. Some of Genghis Khan’s coordination methods include the ambush, hit-and-run, and wave attacks,” (“Battle Tactics,” n.d.). The wave attacks, also known as Ocean Wave Attacks, involved an initially strategic placement of numerous small groups of as few as three to five soldiers (Alvarez, 2014). Then, the leader would use a signal cry to rally all the different groups in a coordinated wave that seemed to “appear suddenly, like something dropping from the sky, and disappear like lightning,” (Alvarez, 2014, p. 1). The wave attack still remains useful for ground offences in modern warfare. When the attacks could not be synchronized in waves due to their being too widely dispersed, asymmetric attacks were still highly coordinated, based on foreknowledge of each strategic point (Mandal, 2016). Other methods Genghis Khan used to coordinate attacks included luring the enemy into an ambush, and using an arc formation (Alvarez, 2014). Genghis was, however, most renowned for his deft use of the “feigned retreat,” in which the military leader would pretend to retreat, causing the enemy to let down its guard. Then, Genghis would return in full force in a surprise attack.
Research, Information, and Intelligence
The modern military leader relies more than ever before on intelligence, information, and research. Genghis was no different. Although he lacked the digital tools available now that make intelligence and information gathering and sharing quicker, Genghis planned carefully each attack by learning about his opponents. He would research their culture, values, history, and worldviews to understand how the enemy might respond to different types of political or military tactics, also researching important issues like the nature of the geography and terrain. Genghis would spend months prior to each campaign preparing, which paid off in victories (“Battle Tactics,” n.d.). He and his advisors “built up an exceptional understanding of the economic, military, and political conditions of the countries they wanted to attack,” and used that information on the diplomatic and military fronts (Alvarez, 2014).






References
Alvarez, S. (2014). The art of war under Chinggis Qahan (Genghis Khan). De Re Military. http://deremilitari.org/2014/06/the-art-of-war-under-chinggis-qahan-genghis-khan/
“Battle Tactics,” (n.d.). Behind the scenes: Establishing an empire. http://genghiskhan.fieldmuseum.org/behind-the-scenes/establishing-an-empire/battle-tactics
“Battle of Yehuling,” (n.d.). https://redrosebrothers.wordpress.com/tag/battle-of-yehuling/
“Genghis Khan,” (n.d.). History. https://www.history.com/topics/genghis-khan
Mandal, D. (2016). 10 surprising things you should know about the Mongol soldier. Realm of History. https://www.realmofhistory.com/2016/02/10/10-facts-you-should-know-about-the-mongol-soldier/
“Mongol Army: Tactics, Weapons, Revenge, and Terror,” (n.d.). http://factsanddetails.com/asian/cat65/sub423/item2696.html
“What Made the Mongol Army So Successful?” (n.d.). https://www.historyonthenet.com/what-made-the-mongol-army-so-successful/