17/06/2025
I was talking to my husband this morning about some recent events, and he came up with an analogy that really got me thinking… GLADIATORS Not in the Hollywood, slow-motion battle kind of way—but in the sense of people being paraded around as powerful, when in fact, they’re trapped in a system themselves. It hit a nerve.
Some organisations mistake aggression for strength. The CEO storms around like a corporate gladiator—loud, bullish, full of bravado. You know the type. I call it c**k waggling. They believe fear is a leadership tool, not a red flag.
And guess what? That energy trickles down. Managers beneath them learn to copy and paste the same behaviour—treating Karen from reception like she started the fall of Rome. They see staff as worker ants: easily replaced, rarely respected, never heard. The culture becomes one of survival, not growth. People leave, morale drops, innovation dies—but hey, as long as the numbers look good on paper, right?
But here’s the twist: these so-called gladiators, pounding their chests in meetings, aren’t free either.
They’ve mistaken brutality for leadership, and no one’s told them they’re in a gilded cage.
A cage built from big salaries, golden handcuffs, and the gnawing fear that they wouldn’t survive outside it.
It’s a kind of imposter syndrome dressed up as dominance.
Loud on the outside. Quietly panicked within.
True leadership doesn’t roar. It listens. It builds. It empowers.
It understands that people aren’t dispensable—they’re the whole damn business.
So if you find yourself in an organisation where hierarchy is weaponised and respect is optional… remember: even gladiators bled.
And remember this:
You have transferable skills.
You are valuable.
You are worthy.
Either work for yourself or go and find a company that knows how to treat its most valuable commodity: you.
I’ve been incredibly lucky in that I work for some phenomenally supportive companies and it means I can easily distance myself from those whose behaviour is more aligned with Ancient Rome. For that, I’m very grateful.