An Evaluation Of Machiavelli's 'The Prince'

Evaluation of Machiavelli Leadership is required in almost every walk of life, from sports to management or even a father being the leader of a household. Leadership is the courage to guide or inspire others to follow you by laying out a path for them or showing by example. Although people criticize Machiavelli for saying that the government should be brutal if necessary, he does have a lot of wise advice about leadership. Machiavelli wrote a book to a prince to advise him on how to be a good prince. It takes a leader to have the courage to write to a prince, telling him how to run his country. In the book The Prince, Machiavelli illustrates what a leader should be by stating they should put those below them in positions to succeed, the
In chapter six of The Prince, Machiavelli states “Without an opportunity, their abilities would have been wasted, and without their abilities, the opportunity would have arisen in vain.” Machiavelli advises that with the people you are leading, you should know what they are capable of, and give an equal opportunity to them so that you get their full potential when they succeed. Also in chapter six, Machiavelli states “Take aim much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach.” This can be applied to setting goals for your followers. A leader should set the bar high, so the workers rise to expectations that they never thought they could reach. These quotes illustrate Machiavelli’s understanding on how a leader should maximize his followers by allowing them to
He uses language that says a leader does not need to be virtuous, only thought of as one. In chapter 18 of The Prince, Machiavelli wrote “He never lets anything slip from his lips that is not replete with the above-named five qualities, that he may appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious.” Machiavelli means that a leader must watch what he says, and that anything said should appear honorable. This goes along with the stereotypical perception of Machiavellian leaders, that they must attempt to be loved as long as it does not stop them from being feared as well. Machiavelli states “It is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have mentioned, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.” The qualities he refers to are ones from the previous quote, merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. This proves that he believes a leader must only seem to be virtuous, but not necessarily be virtuous. This might not seem good, but a boss or coach is not always supposed to be your friend, they must be demanding to get desired results. Machiavelli thought people should view their leader as a virtuous person, so that the leader is