MBA 560 – Ethical Leadership and Sustainable Organizations
Introduction Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian political philosopher, writer, and humanist who is recognized as the founder of modern political science and political ethics. Michaivelli was diplomat in Florence for 14 years but when the Medici family returned to power in 1512, Machiavelli was dismissed and briefly jailed. While in jail, he wrote a handbook called “The Prince”, which was a guide for politicians on how to rule. This book influenced the minds of other politicians, inspiring the term “Machiavellian” and establishing Machiavelli as the “father of modern political theory”. In “The Prince”, Machiavelli presented the question whether it is better to be loved or feared, which has been debated since the book came out.
Machiavelli Background Machiavelli was born on the May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy. The young Machiavelli always had the desire to occupy political office. In 1494 Machiavelli obtained a job as a diplomat after the Medici family was exiled from rule and held this post for 14 years. He also gave advice on military tactics, successfully organizing infantry forces in specific Italian campaigns and establishing a Florentine militia. Machiavelli was jailed in 1512 after unsuccessfully attempting to organize a Florentine militia against the Medici family, who had returned to power. While in jail, Machiavelli desperately wanted to return to politics and his goal was to win the favor of Lorenzo d’ Medici, the governor of Florence. Machiavelli hoped to land an advisory position within the Florentine government by writing a handbook called “The Prince”. In this book, Machiavelli stated, “A prudent ruler cannot and must not, honor his word when it places him at a disadvantage, because men are wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need not keep your word to them”. Machiavelli then recommended that one must know how to color ones action to be a great liar and a deceiver. Machiavelli explained that a prince who acted virtuously would quickly face his own self-destruction because people, who were not virtuous, would always ensure their demise. Hence a successful political statesmen must learn how and when to act in a dishonest and immoral way, and must be much better at acting dishonorably than those around him. Machiavelli acknowledged that it would be much better for society as a whole if everyone acted virtuously but it is not possible to guarantee this form of action from all citizens. Machiavelli believed that the princely statesman must use guile and cunningness in order to achieve success and prosperity in his kingdom. Machiavelli warned future political rulers by characterizing men as ‘ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers’ who shunned danger and were greedy for profits. He believed men would risk their lives for a ruler when the perceived danger was imminent. This is when Machiavelli posed the question: “Is it better to be loved or feared?”. Machiavelli’s solution was for a ruler to make themselves feared so that there was always a psychological dread of punishment.
Joel’s View I believe it’s better to have a mix of both fear and love as a leadership quality, with love having the higher percentage. This helps in making a leader respectful and admired at the same time. A leader needs to show when they need to show love to his employees or when he has to be feared. This depends upon the situation. For example, when a task is given to an employee, a leader must motivate him through love and must give him a deadline to finish that task which is fear. This is a win-win situation for the employee and employer as the employee would finish the work on time and the employer would be happy with his productivity.
Peter’s View I believe it is better to be loved than feared. As a leader of an organization, it is very important for your employees to respect you. To gain this respect, I believe it is better to earn it through love instead of instilling fear in them. A Harvard paper on the topic, which discusses multiple research projects done on the subject, reinforces my beliefs that it is better to be loved than to be feared. The paper stated that when a leader instills fear in their employees, it undermines their leadership. When a foundation of trust is not established and fear is driven into an employee, they are less likely to conform to the organization’s values, culture, and mission in a lasting way. This creates and “every employee for himself” mentality. The employee will want to protect their self-interests. This fear will undermine the leader and employees will want to disengage from them. However, the paper and studies state when love is demonstrated towards employees, they feel trusted, which increases information sharing, openness, and cooperation. Employees that are shown love first build a trust in their leader and this garners respect. When an employee respects their leader, they are more likely to be productive and want to do a good job.
Conclusion We can conclude that Machiavelli prefers a feared leadership over a humanitarian form of leadership. Machiavelli wrote this book to give advice on how he believed a prince should be gaining power and authority over the masses. He believes in the rule of force over the law. It’s a classic study of power, its acquisition, expansion, and effective use. Machiavelli believed humans to be “wretched creatures” and the only way to get them to fall in line was through fear. However, Joel and I believe strictly fear is not the way to get the masses to follow your leadership. If a leader displays warmth and faith in an employee, they are more likely to respond in a positive way because they respect the leader’s direction. This will lead to better output and execution of tasks by the employees.
References: 1) "Niccolò Machiavelli." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/niccol%C3%B2-machiavelli-9392446>. 2) Barnett, Vincent. "Niccolo Machiavelli – the Cunning Critic of Political Reason." Niccolo Machiavelli – the Cunning Critic of Political Reason. History Today, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.historytoday.com/vincent-barnett/niccolo-machiavelli-%E2%80%93-cunning-critic-political-reason>. 3) Neffinger, John, Matthew Kohut, and Amy Cuddy. "Connect, Then Lead."Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review, 01 July 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <https://hbr.org/2013/07/connect-then-lead>. 4) "Danae Ringelmann Shares Why as a Leader It Is Better to Be Loved Than feared." Fortune. N.p., 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://fortune.com/answer/danae-ringelmann-shares-why-as-a-leader-it-is-better-to-be-loved-than-feared/>.
