Leadership takes more than intelligence, business savvy and management skills. To really inspire people, writes Tony Golsby-Smith, CEO of Second Road, today's leaders could take a tip from the ancient Greeks and Romans. The ancients used three "languages" to motivate and inspire people.

The first language, "logos," embodies the agility to interpret a situation and learn from it quickly, Golsby-Smith writes in a post at Harvard Business Review. One example: "When we made this acquisition it seemed a good idea, but as I reflect on what has happened, three things are changing on us..."

"Ethos," the second language of ancient leadership, centers on authenticity. Leaders have to demonstrate through their words that they have strong values, big beliefs, dreams and hopes, because people want to follow those who appear to speak from the heart.

The third language, "pathos," is about empathy. Leaders are able to show that they care about people and have weaknesses of their own. This can be accomplished by chatting over the water cooler, listening carefully and offering helpful ideas. Pathos is also conveyed by sharing stories about how you learned to be more empathetic. Golsby-Smith shares this lesson from the leader of a large professional services firm:

"We employed a male receptionist for ten years. Every day he left work at 4:45 p.m. on the dot. When he retired, I asked him why he left so precisely every day. He explained that he was the conductor of our national opera orchestra, and he had to leave to go to practice. For ten years we never asked this guy what he did, and we had a genius under our noses."

For more:
- see Tony Golsby-Smith's post at Harvard Business Review

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