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Niccolo Machiavelli's Theory Of Good Leadership

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Machiavelli’s Paper: Option 1 Niccolo Machiavelli was indeed the first person to adequately define leadership. Machiavelli set out the foundation of modern leadership theories. He defined leadership by outlining the five basic tenets of a good leader. These tenets are still relevant, if not relished, in today’s business and management studies. However, the writers of today shy away from referencing Machiavelli directly due to negative connotations that come with his basic premises. Some say the theory proposed by Machiavelli comes out as cunning, deceitful, self-serving or the more common term Machiavellian. Nonetheless, Machiavelli’s theory of good leadership asserts that a good leader should …show more content…

A rearrangement of associations and alliances within the business environment could be beneficial. It would be naïve to believe that the present-day man is benevolent and orderly; but, in fact, if they get a chance they would easily harm another. Machiavelli pointed out that a leader should always be on guard. Therefore, if the leader is to maintain their status, they must defend it by all means necessary either by being cruel, deceptive or applying force. This is somewhat the general idea behind Machiavelli’s leadership …show more content…

Machiavelli argued that the adopted principles of private morality would not be necessarily adopted by the leader’s followers. Ergo, it would be a disadvantage for the honorable person to pursue virtue, especially in real world situations. If the leader is, therefore, to be deemed successful, they must discern when and how to do what no other virtuous person would do. In the present day, private morality is of little consequence to the survivability and success of a leader. What really counts is how much blame or praise the leader receives from fellow individuals. As such, leaders must understand that certain situations would require them to maintain a stand-up reputation while doing some wrongs if the circumstances necessitate it (Machiavelli

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