Question

When you hear the name Machiavelli, what do you think of? Ruthlessness? Deception? Certainly, the scholarly author believed in success by any means. However, he also argued that the skill of an individual leader is the key factor in determining the success of a state or enterprise.   

Do you believe in success by any means necessary? Are there skills you need to hone before taking the next step? Please share any personal accounts with your classmates.

Answer 1

Personally speaking, when I hear the name of Machiavelli, it is often associated with deception. Machiavelli described immoral behaviour, dishonesty, deceit and deviousness in his writing in the context of politics.

Do you believe in success by any means necessary?

Absolutely. Success is what any individual expects in each step. Success is achieving or accomplishing a specific objective or goal. Psychologically, an individual would expect to be successful both in personal and professional life. An unsuccessful life leads to more stress and depression while a successful life leads to more cheerful mind and Euphoria (a state of mental well-being). I personally believe that I should have success by any means. However, I do not prefer success in a wrong way. I would acquire all the skills pertinent to achieve success.

Are there skills you need to hone before taking the next step?

The skill for a successful life is being affirmative. Affirmative behaviour towards success helps an individual to stay positive and focused on what he/she does. A negative mind-set can be changed to a positive mind-set by changing the way you speak and perceive. Faith and believing in you are of paramount importance to achieve success. Some of the other skills required for achieving success are:

• Self confidence
• Risk-taking
• Desire to learn
• Emotional intelligence
• Ethical
• Adaptability
• Assertiveness
• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Crisis management
• Presentation skills
• Public speaking
• Listening skills

Personal account- I was appointed as a Team Lead for a committee called ‘Rewards and Recognition’ committee to identify talented and high performing employees every quarter. However, the committee was perceived by employees as being biased. The voting was very less and there was less acceptability of the committee and its members by the entire department. In order to be successful and bring about successful changes in the committee, I need to acquire skills to bring this great change. I acquired more of the following skills:

• Listening skills- why the employees do not accept the committee and the decisions.
• Self- confidence – I did not waver by any of the negative criticisms I received.
• Attention to detail- Considered all the inputs by the employees and developed more sophisticated selection criteria by paying attention to all the details.
• Presentation skills- I presented the improved methodology to the employees who readily accepted my recommendations for the committee.

Result- The committee was widely accepted by the employees who were initially resisted. The success was so great that the new system was implemented in other departments as well. Finally, I was awarded as a best team player and appreciated by the Head of the Department (HOD).