Machiavelli's View Of Leadership

Machiavelli begins by stating that many people have written and contemplated this subject, the subject of leadership. In everyday life, leadership is practiced, tested, and sought out. When studying leaders and their purposes a few topics often arise; who are they inspired by, how did they get their success, how do they keep power, and what personality traits do they possess. Today, these topics are still questioned on the daily. Machiavelli discusses these matters in a way never thought of before. Machiavelli viewed leadership in an honest manner, almost brutally honest. In today’s society, his ideologies are more accurate than ever. The first question that arises when studying leadership is, first who the leader is, and who inspired them
He says that if you give someone something just out of generosity, the others who follow you will expect the same. A high school coach today cannot give an athlete playing time just because he/she was having a bad day, or the other players will expect the same treatment. Machiavelli makes it evident that if you re known for being generous, you will lose your power. No leader has the means to be generous without taking from the people below him/her. Generosity would generally be viewed as a great trait to possess, but not necessarily in a leadership position. A leader can give, but must not be known for giving. Other personality traits were also covered by Machiavelli, like love and fear. “A controversy has arisen about this: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or vice versa.” This controversy is responsible the cynical view of Machiavelli. He states, “My view is that it is desirable to be both loved and feared; but it is difficult to achieve both and, if one of them has to be lacking, it is much safer to be feared than loved.” (17) This concept is hard to comprehend, how can a leader maintain power longer by being evil and feared, than one who is loved. If you remove the humanity, as Machiavelli appears to have done, it makes sense that those who fear a leader are less likely to revolt against him, in fear of retaliation. As for leaders who are loved, they will be able to lead well, and keep the faith of those who follow him, but he cannot be loved by everyone, for it is impossible to please everyone, as a result they will lose power. For example, Donald Trump, clearly not loved by everyone, is feared by many, as a result he as obtained and maintained his power. “Since rulers cannot avoid being hated by some