bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Friday, July 01, 2005 ::

Lincoln's leadership
Like many Americans, I was programmed throughout my formative years to look upon Abraham Lincoln as the quintessential American leader. I still believe that, even though I view Lincoln through 21st-century eyes that have been fogged over by the many larger-than-life myths surrounding the man -- the idea of Lincoln as the dogged pursuer of a great vision, as the man who never quit, as the embodiment of the rags-to-greatness-if-not-riches American dream, as the Great Emancipator. In our American collective consciousness, Lincoln has become an archetype and an icon, more than a man. He has become part of the trinity of America's civic religion (George the Father, Abe the Son, and JFK the Spirit).

The latest issue of Time magazine focuses on the mystique surrounding our 16th president, and offers a broader view of the man. One of my favorite pieces from this issue is historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's essay about Lincoln's leadership style, The Master of the Game. I tend to study -- or at least occasionally read about -- the qualities of great leaders, most of the subjects being historical, as there are so few great leaders today. (Even those with some potential greatness, such as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who likens himself to Lincoln in another essay in this issue, comes off as yet another made-for-media pretty politician in need of a good dose of humility. Former Reagan/George Bush the First speechwriter Peggy Noonan takes Obama -- and much of the D.C. political establishment -- to task for their hubris in this recent op-ed, which is worth a read, not just for its blistering of Obama but for other reasons as well. But I digress.)

Goodwin notes that, although Lincoln arrived in Washington with few political connections, he built a strong leadership team by recruiting many of his political foes.

"To appreciate the magnitude of Lincoln's political success," Goodwin writes, "it helps to understand just how slight a figure he appeared to be when he arrived in Washington. 'Never did a President enter upon office with less means at his command,' Harvard professor James Russell Lowell wrote in 1863. 'All that was known of him was that he was a good stump-speaker, nominated for his availability--that is, because he had no history.' His entire national political experience consisted of a single term in Congress that had come to an end nearly a dozen years earlier and two failed Senate races. He had absolutely no administrative experience and only one year of formal schooling. Newspapers described him as 'a third-rate Western lawyer' and a 'fourth-rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar.'"

But Lincoln's "emotional intelligence" helped him to succeed in building a cabinet, Goodwin writes, and then lists several of his key leadership qualities.

One thing that has always struck me about Lincoln was his humility -- something that the current crop of political leaders in American so evidently lack. Coupled with that humility was a self-deprecating humor that is also in short supply these days.

Goodwin recounts a great story about Lincoln responding to criticisms regarding Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who -- like Lincoln himself -- had a string of failures as a leader before being called upon to assume command of the Union army. (Lincoln was quite a micromanager as far as the war was concerned, firing generals in quick succession before finally settling on Grant.)
Perhaps the most memorable instance of Lincoln's ability to yield lesser concerns for more important ones related to Grant, whose weakness for alcohol may have contributed to his resignation from the Army in the 1850s. His return to the Army during the war, however, had been marked by a string of great successes before rumors of drinking problems began once again to surface in early 1863. After dispatching an investigator to look into Grant's behavior in the field, Lincoln concluded that Grant's drinking did not affect his unmatched ability to plan, execute and win battles. When a delegation brought further complaints about Grant's drinking to the President, he told them that if he could find the brand of whiskey Grant used, he would distribute it at once to the rest of his generals.
The "ability to yield lesser concerns for more important ones" -- now that's an admirable train in any person, leader or not.

For much more about Lincoln, visit Time's special section. One piece I've yet to read but that sounds interesting: "Loathing Abe Lincoln", about how "a small band of college professors argues that the 16th President was the worst in U.S. history."

:: Andrew 07:07 + ::
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