Abstract

Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times is a book authored by Donald Philips in the year 1992. In the preface, he expresses how he felt surprised at the beginning of the research into the styles of leadership of the man that majority would confess as the greatest leader of the United States; he realized that no any other writer had examined that field. As a matter of fact, nobody had authored a book regarding Lincoln and leadership. Surprisingly, even in the Lincoln library where exhaustive inventory of the 16th president’s work are kept, there were only three articles of Lincoln and leadership. The inspiration of Philips came from the descriptions of how the president visited his generals when they were on the battlefield. The practices of the president seemed to negate with the principles that Phillips had learned in leadership and management, particularly the expression that it was good that leaders leave their luxurious offices and know their people. Philips felt that the articles written about Lincoln and leadership lacked evident examples from the great leader. Therefore, in his book, he presents tangible examples that are extracted from certain principles that can be applied by leaders when tough times counter, most of them from Lincoln’s statements.

Introduction

The book is divided into four segments, namely Character, Endeavor, People, and Communication. Every segment has approximately 3-5 chapters organized in titles that focus on the principles of leadership that guided the behavior of Lincoln, according to Philips. Apart from this organization, the book is also organized in a somewhat parallel structure and chronologically, an aspect that makes it enjoyable to read and hard to dip it. The author exposes how the impacts of the decisions made by Lincoln joined to create a pattern of excellent leadership. Philips makes the book easier for the people who do not know the basic story of American history by including Lincoln Principles in bullet form at the end of every chapter.

The author proposes at the introduction of the book that it is important to examine the life of the most inspiring and effective leaders if there is any hope of understanding how leadership works. The introductory part of the book also offers a comparison of traits between Lincoln and other renowned leaders. Again, the first pages cover the leadership qualities briefly. These are the natural leadership qualities of Lincoln that are shown such as empathy, extraordinary communication skills, devotion to personal rights, and honesty and integrity. The situation that faced Lincoln at the start of his first presidency term is also discussed. According to the book, Lincoln had close to no related experience, and he was to some extent a leader who had not yet been tested. Before he was elected as the president, he had never been in any position of executive leadership, had only been in the U.S House for one term, and had minimal military experience. There were actually little signs that Lincoln was capable of being a man who is almost acknowledged universally as the best definition of a leader.

The first part of the book is “People”. The chapter entitled “Get Out of the Office and Circulate Among the Troops” affirms that Lincoln managed his troops by walking around. Throughout his leadership, Lincoln was a great wanderer and he would allow almost all people the chance to access him in his office. As Hay and Nicolas, the personal secretaries in Lincoln’s office, confessed, 75% of Lincoln’s time was spent meeting with people. He used to meet his cabinet members frequently on an individual basis rather than waiting for the scheduled staff meetings on Tuesday and Friday. He left his office daily to pay a visit to the War Department and he became one among the few Presidents who ever attended a complete working session in the senate. In his tenure, Lincoln wanted to be the first to have the unfiltered and most current information to enable him act fast and make quick decisions, and he aimed at building strong alliances. There were many obstacles that Lincoln encountered when he went to Washington, some being rooted in his cabinet and party. He had requested Stanton and Seward, his former rivals, to be his secretaries in the War and State departments. He did this because he needed their expertise and experience, and he also wanted to show his leadership and abilities, to firmly establish himself as a leader in both words and actions. Seward often tried to violate the boundaries during Lincoln’s first year of his term by threatening war against Great Britain due to their collaboration with the South. Lincoln cautioned him by saying “One war at a time”. This is great advice that should be considered by every leader.

The third chapter of the first part states “Persuade Rather than Coerce”. This section outlines the main aspect of the leadership style that Lincoln used. He seldom gave his soldiers direct orders. He instead offered encouragement, advice, and suggestions. He used empowerment, coaching, and openness strategies to get the most from his people and he always aimed at bringing out the best his cabinet members and generals had. He realized that a personal conversation, together with a detailed letter, was the best method he could use to achieve the results he needed from his subordinates. According to the book, Lincoln mostly used honesty and integrity policies. He was always frank when talking to the Americans regarding the war. This character enabled him to sustain his credibility even when there were tough times, and more essentially, motivate his citizens to dedicate their efforts to the war. Lincoln was able to make his followers commit themselves to these principles by showing his commitment to liberty and equality in words and actions. He made these two principles shared values that were owned by the entire organization.

Need a complete copy of the "Lincoln on Leadership" Essay ? Get your copy below:

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
Lincoln on Leadership		231 kB