Lincoln’s Qualities of Leadership
Abraham Lincoln was a multi-faceted and futuristic leader. He was not satisfied with the status quo and toiled toward bettering himself for the bettering of mankind despite the norms previous and current norms. He used his intellect to guide himself and others toward positive necessary change. He was strategic and restorative in working toward peace for others. He empathized with slaves and used persuasion and reason to work toward unifying the people of the country. He was perceived as radical which jeopardized his leadership credibility at the time, but nevertheless persisted toward the goal he believed was best for all. While leading, he exhibited careful analyzation and decision making coherent with a deliberative personality. He led by influence through persuasion based on rational thought.
Abraham Lincoln was a multi-faceted and futuristic leader. He was not satisfied with the status quo and toiled toward bettering himself for the bettering of mankind despite the norms previous and current norms. He used his intellect to guide himself and others toward positive necessary change. He was strategic and restorative in working toward peace for others. He empathized with slaves and used persuasion and reason to work toward unifying the people of the country. He was perceived as radical which jeopardized his leadership credibility at the time, but nevertheless persisted toward the goal he believed was best for all. While leading, he exhibited careful analyzation and decision making coherent with a deliberative personality. He led by influence through persuasion based on rational thought.
Lincoln’s life was quite vigorous, however, several pivotal moments contributed to his leadership success. Becoming a lawyer was a less recognized critical turning point in his life because it both culminated and commenced his passion for the practical application of sound judgment for all leading to another momentous event in his life. Conjointly the significance of losing campaign for senator resulted in exposure that led to perhaps his last great achievement of being elected as president of the United States.
Lincoln capitalized on that failure by extending his existing ideology and expanding the number of his followers. His resiliency was inspiring to people and his verbal and nonverbal positivity during exigency was captivating and salient. Lincoln learned once again that humility, paired with perseverance in the right thing will resonate. He learned, and subsequently exemplified, the proverbial turning lemons into lemonade. Therefore, he learned that remaining steadfast and committed to achieving equality through empathy in leading a nation toward unity.
Gini, A. (2009). Lincoln and Leadership. Illinois Library Association Reporter, 27, 18-19.
Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.
Schneider, T. E. (2007). Lincoln and Leadership. Perspectives on Political Science, 36, 69-72.
Vickerey, B. R. (2000). Lessons in Leadership from Lincoln the Lawyer. South Dakota Law Review, 45, 334-344.
I really agree with your consideration for Lincoln's resiliency. Based upon the world he lived in it would have been easy after losing the election to retreat from public life. He could have made a good living and chose to live a quiet existence. Instead, because of many of the qualities you identified including his futuristic vision he changed the course of our history and in doing saying made the ultimate sacrifice.
ReplyDeleteAs you have mentioned he was steadfast and stayed the course. I believe in many things but I am honestly not sure that I would have his ability to work to the his ends and be as diligent as he was. These are important considerations because without his beliefs he would not have been successful. As I looked at your references I was thinking of how valuable the article entitled "Lessons in Leadership from Lincoln the Lawyer" must have been. Most people look at Lincoln from solely the presidential point of view. This lens provides new perspectives. I hope Lincoln as a leader helps you continue your own path of loeadership.