On “How to Avoid Flatterers,” Machiavelli writes:
[T]here is no way to avoid flattery except by letting men know that they will not offend by telling the truth; yet if every man is free to tell you the truth, you will not receive due respect. Therefore a prudent prince will [choose] the wise men of his state and [grant] only to them the freedom to tell him truth, but only concerning those matters about which he asks, and no others. Yet he should question them about all matters, listen to their opinions, and then decide for himself as he wishes. He should treat these councils and the individual advisers in such a way as to make it more clear that there words will be the more welcome the more freely they are spoken. Except these men, he should listen to no one, but rather purse the course agreed upon and to do so resolutely. […] A prince, therefore, should always seek advice, but only when he, not someone else chooses. Indeed, he should discourage everyone from giving advice unless he has asked for it. In fact, if he should observe that someone is withholding the truth, he should show annoyance. (Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince, trans. Daniel Donno, New York: Random House, 1966).
Machievelli, here, astutely observes that, in order to preserve authority, traditional authoritarian leadership must limit the upward flow of information. However, this authority is bought at the cost of:
1. a broader awareness and understanding of organizational and environmental realities;
2. a more diverse range of options; and
3. full and accurate feedback on our strengths and weaknesses as leaders.
In upcoming posts, we’ll talk further about each of these costs, strategies to offset them, and how they may be more fully overcome in emerging models of leadership and organization…
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