Do the Machiavelli!

In Machiavelli’s The Prince, a great deal of leadership and responsibility is discussed and how one should lead if she/he wants to succeed. He touches on many points such as whether it is better to be loved or feared and how to be respected but not hated. He also mentions in the beginning how there were many before him who has had the same idea as him to write a book about the dos and don’ts of leadership, but he writes from experience and result rather than the “dream prince” and how one imagines it should be done. Using many different examples from the past, Machiavelli talks about the difference of being loved and feared and how in an ideal world it is best to be both. However, when push comes to shove, fear should be the ultimate winner between the two for it is the psychology and natural man of the people to take advantage of the ones that are loved and the leader who is loved feels obligated to sweep everything under the rug. So, if it is better to be feared in this case then how do we keep things within the people to respect the leader than to hate? Machiavelli goes on to how to keep your word as a leader and on avoiding of being despised and hated. In this section my favorite line he mentions is “What makes him despised is being considered changeable, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, irresolute… if he is properly organized and… does not lose control of himself, he will always be able to withstand every attack…” There were many points that he addressed that could definitely be used by many leaders, whether they be world leaders or high school teachers, around the world and can be of great use to them.

Two leaders whom I have associate with have had their fair share of strengths and weaknesses as they try to create a wholesome environment for all. The first one is my high school band/music teacher Mr. Don Christensen. When I first met him my freshman year, I was terrified of him. I did not know what to think of him just because I did not much time interacting with him unlike all the upperclassmen who have told me how he is the best teacher ever. I only ever met with him in my band techniques class, and that class was intense because of all the practicing that had to be done in order to get a decent grade and on top of that, he never gave perfect scores which obviously means he has high expectations. He also went over some rules of the music institute (I went to a performing arts school where you had to audition to get in so it makes sense why there were high expectations from the students) and I thought that they were too detail oriented and unnecessary, however as time moved forward and I got to my sophomore year where I was able to have him as a teacher for two other classes, I came to my senses of loving, yet fearing and respecting the man. He had a passion for music that exerts from his teaching methods, and he knew how to interact with the students which was to be straight up honest and blunt, almost like a roast, and we all did not mind that. Of course, he gave us compliments on our music abilities here and there, but we had to earn it and when we heard it from him, we knew that he meant it and it was almost like a treat. Another leader that I have had much interaction with was an old boss from work, we will call him Bill. Bill had a great vision for our team and wanted to accomplish our goals each day with success. However, even though he said many great things that got us motivated, the objective hardly ever fell through, and we were always missing things. Bill wanted to show his employers that he cared for us and that we can trust him so during work he would come up to us, and help us with our projects too, and sometimes the conversations would last 20-30 minutes, way longer than it should have been. I see and get his intentions but there are boundaries when it comes to employees and their bosses.