Modern-Day, Middle-Class, Machiavellism

I was asked to make my own philosophy regarding leadership, and to make it personal to me. As a slave to the supermarket machine for some time, I devised the way I would prefer to be dealt with by a manager, as opposed to the... ahem, substandard treatment that is received, and explain how that treatment would be more effective.

For those within the know of political philosophy, Machiavelli has been cited commonly as the most popular approach to political leadership. "The Prince" was certainly his philosophical gem. It can even be attributed to other forms of authority if his words are stretched to more broad senses. The thesis is simple: it is better to be feared than to be loved, but the fear should never approach hatred; a prince should shy away from being overtly generous to avoid greed by his people and ultimately straining his economy; one should only appear to have endearing qualities for image alone, but he must never truly embrace them out of the understanding that he may have to betray those ideals in an emergency; a leader must only employ those of honesty, not of flattery; and he must earn his respect and adoration from military conquests and defense strategies.

The flaw that lies within this document, though, lies in Machiavelli himself. When he wrote "The Prince", he did so to win favor from the Medicis, who were already in power at the time. Machiavelli wrote for their interests, as the dutiful servant he was. Where he fails is within those who are being lead. Especially within the modern day, the leader is not outrightly essential to the successful operation of a system. The livelihood of the system relies on those who are of lower caste, who are doing the dirty work. For instance, those within the realm of minimum wage in retail. The task of the prince, or in our contemporary example, the manager, is to be a strong example for his workers in one sense and to be a servant in another. This is all in the understanding that is is necessary to be respected as a leader if obedience and good work is expected. There are certain ways to gain this respect, and manager or prince alike should employ them.

A manager should always show his humanity, despite acting as an example for proper behavior. It is much easier for those within a lower position to respect a imperfect man than to respect a robot. With this respect will come the obedience needed, not from the fear of punishment. The employee will be happy, rather than obligated, to do what is asked. Similarly, when asking an employee to do a task, the request should be a question, not a command. After the task is complete, the manager should sincerely thank them, this of course stems from the understanding that any system would fail without the employee, regardless of how effective the leader might be.

If an employee makes a request, the manager should listen and be empathetic. He should update the employee personally how quickly he is able and when he actually does consider said request. If it cannot be fulfilled, a rational explanation should be given, along with a sincere apology. An employee cannot be betrayed if their cause was truly considered and appeased. In order to keep the employee informed, he should rarely be hidden; he should be within his employees' sights, helping them with their jobs, showing that he is well aware they are not beneath him, so they might have more pride in their work.

When punishing an employee, a manager should explain, first, the established protocol for punishment of the specific offense. They should then qualify that they will consider it as the unique case it is, and allow the employee full time to explain themselves. Whatever decision they make for the employee, it should be clearly explained to them why that decision was made in the first place, and then it should be kept diligently. An employee is not wrongly accused, nor convicted, if they are given a case. They will not feel wronged, and they will learn from their mistake.

Within the retail system's current state, the disenfranchised employees cannot demand the treatment a proper manager should give. The responsibility lies within the managers, who may still be awkward in their own leadership. In the realm of retail, perhaps a new form of leader is needed. One who will make the employee enjoy their workplace as well as the customers, allowing a more efficient job with pride, rather than disdain.