Cerny 1

Drew Cerny
Mr. Turakhia
Honors English 10
March 9th, 2015
Blinded by Ambition
What is the true definition of a leader? While the meaning remains
unclear to many people, the term can be put on many powerful figures
throughout history without much debate, but the true argument comes
when discussing whether or not a particular leader was one of quality or
not. One particular character who does not meet the expectations for a
good leader is Macbeth, a quintessential example of an inadequate leader.
The necessary qualities for someone to lead are to have a high level of selfawareness, good relationships with others, and to never have extreme
overconfidence. For Macbeth it was the lack of these qualities that are
obligatory for a leader that he failed to show, and it eventually led to his
demise.
Of all the compulsory morals and ethics that should be followed by all
good leaders, one that stands out is the ability to demonstrate a high level
of self-awareness. Self-awareness can be defined as the capability to
understand the emotions and drives that you have, as well as the possible
outcomes and consequences that they may have on others close to you. It is
defined by Daniel Goleman as having a deep understanding of ones
strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives (Goleman What 96). This is

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clearly not exhibited by Macbeth in his actions. He is not one to admit to
his failures, and he is often so blinded by his own ambitions, he cannot see
the world around him and react to situations that would cause problems for
himself. When presented with the idea of killing King Duncan so that he
could gain power, at first Macbeth is hesitant, his loyalty almost proving too
much for Lady Macbeth to sway. However, after some persuasion, Macbeth
is tempted to do it after Lady Macbeth tests his courage by saying But
screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail (Shakespeare
1.7.60.). If Macbeth had a higher sense of self-awareness, he would
recognize this attempt to beguile him into doing something that is not
morally right. Self aware people are said to know their limitations
(Goleman What 96), and judge the value of their intuition (Goleman
Focused 53). These qualities are explicitly not present in Macbeth,
exemplified by the fact that at first he did not want to kill Duncan, for whom
which he had a mutual respect for and a friendship with. It is only later in
the play that the reader gets to witness the first glimpse of any selfawareness in Macbeth. When the news is brought to Macbeth that Lady
Macbeth has killed herself, he states mournfully She should have died
hereafter. There would have been a time for such a word (5.5.17). From
this statement, readers can draw that there might have been a side of
Macbeth that was not completely blinded by ambition, but it was all too
late, as Macbeth is killed in battle shortly thereafter. Even though the
absence of self-awareness was a key contributor to the downfall of Macbeth,

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there were other important components to his mentality that he did not
have.
The way Macbeth interacted with those around him was very
detrimental to his case for being a good leader. He did not not have a great
reputation as the King of Scotland and he never sought to improve it at all.
People did not respect him as a leader and in one specific instance, Macbeth
is referred to as a tyrant (5.2.13). According to Machiavelli in The Prince
[a leader] his behavior must be tempered by his humanity and prudence so
that his overconfidence does not make him rash or excessive trust makes
him unbearable (Machiavelli 54). Machiavelli also makes it very clear in
his writing that it is never good to become hated amongst people in your
kingdom, saying I conclude that a prince should value the nobles, but not
make himself hated by the people (61). Clearly being called a tyrant is not
a good sign of this. Machiavelli stresses that it is vital to be respected by
your comrades but feared by your enemies. Macbeth does not have a good
balance of this as king by any means. Daniel Goleman has his own valuable
input on interacting with others, talking about social sensitivity and how it
is based off of cognitive and psychological ability. In Macbeths case, this
does not work out well due to the fact that he is mentally unstable. This is
proven when he hosts a dinner party after becoming the king and has
ghostly hallucinations of Banquo which might appall the devil (3.4.62.).
This was a point in the play in which the nobles at the party began to realize
something was wrong with Macbeth. Once people had a sense of disbelief

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in him, it only went downhill. Looking at Macbeth from a social aspect, it is
easy to see why the undesirable relationships with other people affected his
rule. Aside from human interactions, there were still more negative
qualities about Macbeth that made him such a bad leader.
The last major character trait that limits Macbeth is his extreme
overconfidence. Macbeth is confronted by three witches early in the play
who present him with a prophecy that eventually influences him to
overthrow Duncan. Later on, he seeks to find these witches again to find
out more about what the future holds for him. The witches show Macbeth
three apparitions, one of which tells Macbeth that The power of man, for
none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth (4.1.82). After hearing this,
Macbeth is so sure that he cannot be harmed, he overlooks a statement
from another apparition, which says Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be
until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him
(4.1.96), meaning Macbeth cannot be killed unless the Birnam wood moves.
At this point Macbeths overconfidence reaches an all time high. He says
What need I fear of thee [Macduff] (4.1.85). Overconfidence is not
necessarily a good trait to have in this predicament when all of your
enemies want you dead. Goleman expresses his ideas on how a leader
should remain focused and direct attention to what is important, rather than
become power hungry and overambitious like Macbeth does after hearing
the prophecy from the witches. Goleman talks about how the cognitive
perception of situations can be influence as people rise through the ranks

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and gain power (Goleman Focused 57). This can be directly related to
Macbeth, as he makes more and more rash decisions quicker than he did
before. An example of this is when Macbeth decides almost immediately to
have Macduffs family killed, considerably different from his earlier murder
of Duncan in which he was very hesitant and felt very guilty and remorseful
of afterwards. The longer Macbeth holds power as the King of Scotland, the
more bloodthirsty he becomes. No longer is he the loyal friend to Duncan
who would not dare harm a friend, he is now a killer, throwing caution to
the wind and murdering those who pose a threat to him.
The decline of Macbeths morals and virtues comes rapidly following
his killing of Duncan. The transition of virtuous man to cold blooded killer
stems directly from his greed for power. Macbeth lacks the necessary
qualities to be a good leader, which include but are not limited to the
scarcity of self-awareness, bad interactions and relationships with others,
and the extreme abundance of overconfidence. All three of these specific
traits fuel the fire that burns Macbeth to the ground. It is no wonder his
reign did not last long. Macbeth did not realize that he was blinded by his
own ambition and that the killing of those close to him would only lead to
him being a very inadequate leader.

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Bibliography
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Penguin, 2002.

Goleman, Daniel. The Focused Leader. Harvard Business Review 91.12

(2013): 50-60. Business Source Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

Goleman, Daniel. What Makes A Leader? Harvard Business Review 76.6

(1998): 93-102. Business Source Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

Machiavelli, Niccol. The Prince. Trans. George Bull. New York: Penguin,
2003. Print.

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