The Machiavellian Management Style

I've had numerous jobs over the course of my short life. Until a few years ago, I hadn't found my purpose in life: nursing. Prior to nursing, I sold siding and windows, insurance, worked as an illegal dumping investigator and had a short jaunt with the U.S. Border Patrol. I've witnessed all different kinds of management styles, ranging from bureaucratic to laissez-faire. It doesn't defy common sense to understand that different types of work benefit from different types of management styles. However, out of all of them, the one style which just doesn't seem to work at all, or at least I've never had a good experience with, is what I call the Machiavellian management style.

If you're not familiar with Niccolo Machiavelli's masterpiece, The Prince, I highly recommend reading it. I admit, it isn't the most entertaining read in the world, but it isn't as dry as reading about chemistry either. Yet, you don't need to read it to understand the main tenet of his treatise on political power, i.e. it's better to be feared than loved. I can't speak for everyone, but I've had a few bosses whom have tried, terribly I might add, to be more feared than loved. Unless you're a Mafia boss or run a business organization outside the confines of the law, I don't recommend the Machiavellian management style, as it generally doesn't work, at least in the long-term. Sure, you might get someone to do something because you've got them by the proverbial short hairs, but people, as we all know, seldom forget such slights. And as soon as your employee has another opportunity come their way, they will bail out, jump ship, and leave you high and dry, not caring about you, your business, or your customers.

I'm not sure why some managers choose to pursue the Machiavellian management style. It doesn't do anything but lower the morale of their employees, decrease employee motivation, and increase employee turnover, costing their organization money and time. Most managers, I believe, who choose the Machiavellian management style over another style is because, simply, they don't know any other way to manage. It is, in a way, their default setting, never having learned other ways to successfully lead their employees. If a business manager lacks leadership skills and the social nuance needed to motivate members of an organization without hanging the sword of Damocles over their heads, they're more of a liability than an asset. If you're an administrator, maybe it's time to review the leadership skills, or lack thereof for that matter, of your organizations management team. Maybe, hopefully, you'll be able educate them; teach them a way to motivate their employees without using fear as the primary motivator. After all, who wants to live in fear? I certainly don't, and I refuse to let management increase my blood pressure. In my opinion, my job as a manager is to make the work of those I directly supervise less arduous. I think happy employees make happy clients which make happy managers.