Lead Like a Viking
Raid your Leadership Habits
“Better to fight and fall than to live without hope.”
- Viking Proverb
Lead Like a Viking
This week I had the good fortune to travel to Trondheim, Norway, to help coach the Norwegian national baseball team in the Nordic Championships. My family has Norwegian roots and a best friend from high school and college now lives there, heavily involved in Norwegian baseball.
We visited the towering Nidaros Cathedral, standing where Viking-turned-Norwegian-king Olaf Tryggvason, Trondheim's founder, was once buried. Trondheim—Norway's oldest city still in existence—was the capital during the Viking Age until 1217. The city is thick with beauty and history.
Within that history, I discovered how, long ago, the Vikings had figured out a few things about leadership that we can benefit from. Most people know Vikings as fierce warriors, and without doubt, they were. What most people don’t know is that they also had one of the world's earliest democratic systems called the “Thing” (pronounced ting). The Things were public assemblies where free men gathered to settle disputes, make laws, and choose their leaders.
Right there in Trondheim, at the ancient Øreting assembly site beneath the modern streets, this tradition thrived. Things lasted several days with a festival atmosphere—traders brought goods, marriages were arranged, and alliances forged. The Vikings knew good decisions come from good process, and good process requires time and connection.
The Vikings were anything but all talk. An oath meant something to them. That's where the concept of “Heitstrenging” comes in. This is the ancient practice of making solemn, binding oaths. Once spoken, it wasn't just your promise anymore. It belonged to the whole group. Breaking it would stain your honor and trust forever. The word Heitstrenging literally means “to string” or “fasten” a vow—these were binding commitments with the gods themselves as witnesses.
What if teams and leaders were to follow these two, simple practices: everyone has a voice in the process, and your word is golden? The best decisions would emerge (the Thing), and a team would commit to seeing them through (Heitstrenging).
Today, it’s all too common to see half-Viking leadership . . . either endless democratic processes without committing to action (Thing without Heitstrenging), or bold commitments without seeking input (Heitstrenging without Thing). Perhaps worst of all, bold commitments without input OR action!
The Vikings understood both were essential.
Create your own Heitstrenging moments—publicly declare the commitments you're making. Not just “We'll do our best,” but specific promises. “I will communicate relentlessly,” or “I will hold everyone accountable to our standards.” Create a Thing culture where everyone's perspective is valued before final decisions are made and where disagreements sharpen decisions.
Trondheim was built on Viking principles centuries ago. Commit to your word and create space for every voice. These traditions built the trust and strength that allowed Vikings to explore, trade, and thrive. They can still build something just as enduring for our teams today.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but action in spite of it.”
- Mark Twain (attributed to Twain and others)
Connecting this quote to the story. It takes courage to make your commitments public knowing you'll be held accountable, and courage to truly listen to every voice, even when you might not like what you hear.
This week’s Chasing Influence tip: The best teams have a "Thing" culture—open discussion followed by unified action.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
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©Troy Urdahl, 2025