CLEAR CREEK BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE

ENGLISH COMPOSITION I ESSAY

A PAPER PRESENTED TO

MRS. KIMBERLY YATES

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION I

BY

MICHAEL DELAND

12/9/2014

A Leader Loved or Loathed

Is it better to be loved or feared as a leader? Niccolò Machiavelli pondered that timeless

conundrum 500 years ago and hedged his bets1. That is the question that is discussed in this

essay. I believe that it could be fair to say that a leader loved or feared can accomplish many

things. My objective is not to discuss whether both leaders can achieve goals, but rather which

can achieve them consistently long-term. I have been in a position of leadership for more than

20 years now. My leadership skills were initially birthed during my time in the military. Since

that time, I have been consistently in leadership while working in industrial facilities. I have also

been serving as a church pastor for the last 9 years. During my time in various leadership

positions, I have seen both types of leaders. I have seen where both were effective, but not

equally. I firmly believe that it is far better to be loved as a leader rather than feared. A leader

that desires to be loved should strive to have character, competence, and courage instead of

instilling fear in their team.

A leader that desires long term success should be a person of character. A person of

character will be trusted by their team. A leader that can develop trust is going to have a much

better chance of connecting with his or her team than a leader who is feared. When a leader is

feared, I have seen how it can become an obstacle to connecting with teammates, thus inhibiting

important lines of communication. When important lines of communication are disrupted, then

the team takes on a dysfunctional trait. A growing body of research suggests that the way to

influence—and to lead—is to begin with warmth Research by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman

drives this point home: In a study of 51,836 leaders, only 27 of them were rated in the bottom

quartile in terms of likability and in the top quartile in terms of overall leadership effectiveness—

1 Harvard Business Review, “Connect, Then Lead,” July 2013 Issue, 2013, https://hbr.org/2013/07/connect-then-lead/ar/ (accessed December 05, 2014).

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in other words, the chances that a manager who is strongly disliked will be considered a good

leader are only about one in 2,000.2

A leader that is loved instead of feared will be a leader that can demonstrate competence

to their team. A leader that is loved is more likely to be able to be involved with their team. A

leader that is feared will naturally be in a position that is distant. While he or she may very well

be competent, the acceptance of their abilities will be strained at best. When these vital

relationships are strained, the task of developing the team will become a struggle. Competence

alone can’t make a leader, but it can undo one. Organizational psychologists Andrea Abele, of

the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and Bogdan Wojciszke, of the University of Gdańsk,

have documented this phenomenon across a variety of settings. In one experiment, when asked to

choose between training programs focusing on competence-related skills (such as time

management) and warmth-related ones (providing social support, for instance), most participants

opted for competence-based training for themselves but soft-skills training for others. In another

experiment, in which participants were asked to describe an event that shaped their self-image,

most told stories about themselves that emphasized their own competence and self-determination

(“I passed my pilot’s license test on the first try”), whereas when they described a similar event

for someone else, they focused on that person’s warmth and generosity (“My friend tutored his

neighbor’s child in math and refused to accept any payment”).3

Lastly, a leader that is loved will have the courage to take moments of self-reflection. A

leader that instills fear into their subjects will naturally resist acknowledging an error, thus

distancing themselves from the team even further. A team will love a leader who is courageous

2 Harvard Business Review, “Connect, Then Lead,” July 2013 Issue, 2013, https://hbr.org/2013/07/connect-then-lead/ar/ (accessed December 05, 2014).

3 Leadership Now, “The Importance of Competence,” Leading Blog, 2007. http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2007/07/the_importance_of_competence.html (accessed 12/5/2014).

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enough to view their selves and make necessary adjustments when needed. This courage will

strengthen a team to become a single unit that flows coordinately to complete tasks and reach

key performance related goals. One outstanding example of this was seen in the leadership style

of the now deceased WWII veteran Major Dick Winters. Dick Winters was a decorated officer

known for his command style of Company “E”, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne

Division and eventually leading the entire 2nd Battalion during some of WWII’s most intense

fighting against Germany. He is also known as the pivotal figure in Steven Ambrose’s book

titled “Band of Brothers” that was featured on HBO. Major Winters often stated that a leader

should “Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask

yourself if you did your best.”4

Is it better to be a leader that is feared or loved? Niccolò Machiavelli stated “It may be

answered that one should wish to be both,” he acknowledged, “but because it is difficult to unite

them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved.5” Perhaps 500 years ago this could

have been true. I would like to think that the concept of teams have progressed significantly

since then. Today, the leader that is loved provides an atmosphere for which his or her team can

not only meet their potential, but excel at becoming potential leaders themselves because they

were mentored by a leader who loved them back.

4 Terry St. Marie – More Human Leadership, “10 Principles for the Selfless Leader (From an American Hero),” May 29, 2011, http://www.terrystarbucker.com/2011/05/29/10-principles-for-the-selfless-leader-from-an-american-hero/ (accessed 12/9/2014).

5 Harvard Business Review, “Connect, Then Lead,” July 2013 Issue, 2013, https://hbr.org/2013/07/connect-then-lead/ar/ (accessed December 05, 2014).

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Bibliography

Harvard Business Review. “Connect, Then Lead.” July 2013 Issue, 2013.

https://hbr.org/2013/07/connect-then-lead/ar/ (accessed December 05, 2014).

Leadership Now. “The Importance of Competence.” Leading Blog, 2007.

http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2007/07/the_importance_of_competence.html

(accessed 12/5/2014).

Terry St. Marie – More Human Leadership, “10 Principles for the Selfless Leader (From

an American Hero),” May 29, 2011, http://www.terrystarbucker.com/2011/05/29/10-principles-

for-the-selfless-leader-from-an-american-hero/ (accessed 12/9/2014).