ABSTRACT
Roughly half-way through The Prince, Machiavelli reminds readers of his purpose: “[s]ince my intention is to say something that will prove of practical use to the inquirer, I have thought it proper to represent things as they are in real truth, rather than as they are imagined.”6 Machiavelli prided himself on being willing to tell the “real truth” about leadership, and for the five hundred years since the publication of The Prince many readers have agreed, finding it one of the most clear-eyed and realistic descriptions of the requirements of leadership ever written. Our goal in analyzing this text, that is perhaps familiar to you, is to create a basis for understanding the nature of the leader’s role and what it requires – a foundation you will build on to construct your view of what moral leadership consists in.
