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Lincoln
- 1. LINCOLN ON LEADERSHIP Strategies for Our Times Leading the Business of Healthcare
- 2. So You Think We Have It Rough? • Ten days before he took office: – 7 states had seceded – Buchanan: “I am the last president of the US” – House passed resolution to lower military spending – All federal agencies, as well as forts and arsenals, in the South had been seized – Most of the Mississippi was in Southern hands – The army had 16,000 soldiers – Elected by a minority of the popular vote
- 3. Get Out of Office and Circulate Among the Troops • Explain yourself in writing and offer advice on how to solve problems • Seek casual contact with subordinates • Don’t decline to see people who call on you • Take public opinion baths • Remember, everyone likes a compliment
- 4. Persuade Rather Than Coerce • Persuade your subordinates to compromise • If you would win a subordinate to your cause, first convince him that you are his friend • If you practice dictatorial leadership, you prepare yourself to be dictated to • Delegate responsibility and authority by empowering people to act • A good leader avoids issuing orders
- 5. Honesty and Integrity are the Best Policies • When you make it to the top, turn and reach down for the person behind you • You must be consistently fair and decent, in both the business and personal side of life • Stand with anybody who stands right • If you once forfeit the confidence of your colleagues, you may never regain their respect
- 6. Never Act Out of Vengeance or Spite • Never crush a man out, thereby making him and his friends permanent enemies • Let things slip once in a while “unbeknownst” • Be very unwilling for young people to be ruined for slight causes • Touch people with the better angels of your nature
- 7. Be a Master of Paradox • Charismatic yet unassuming • Consistent yet flexible • Victim of slander and malice yet popular • Compassionate yet demanding • Risk-taker yet calculating
- 8. Lead by Being Led • When your work is done, your people should say “we did this ourselves”. • Don’t feel threatened by followers • Bring disputing parties together and guide their dialogue • When subordinates come up with good ideas, let them try—but monitor their progress • Never forget that your organization does not depend on any one individual
- 9. Set Goals and Be Results Oriented • Unite your followers with a corporate mission • Set short-term goals that can be focused on • Sometimes it is better to plough around obstacles rather than waste time going through them • Leave nothing for tomorrow that can be done today • Half-finished work is generally labor lost
- 10. Keep Searching until You Find Your “Grant” • Choose people who crave responsibility and take risk • If employees complain about a supervisor and the complaints are true, remove him • Beware of subordinates who pile up information without accomplishments • Coach a new executive. Remember, you want him to succeed
Editor's Notes
- Jefferson Davis was sworn is as President of the confederacyBuchanan made his statement as he was leaving officeRumors persisted that Lincoln was to be killed at his inauguration and Washington D.C. taken by confederates
- During his 4 years, Lincoln spent most of his time with his troops. He practically lived in the War Dept.and frequently visited his generals and cabinet members at their homes and offices. He practiced a style that 100 years later was dubbed MBWA.He was the most accessible president in US history.His personal secretaries reported that he spent 75% of his time meeting with people. The walls of the White House were constantly lined with people who were waiting to see the President.He seldom read the papers choosing rather to speak directly to people in order to guage the mood of the nationHe was the embodiment of good temper and affability. He once said “men will stand a good deal when they are flattered.”
- As a legislator, lawyer and congressman we see that mastery of the art of persuasion brought him much of his success. In a law lecture written in 1850 he said “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors whenever you can.”He treated people the way he wanted to be treated. Dictatorship, force and coercion were the traits of despots and tyrants.A good example of his skill in persuasion can be seen in a letter he wrote to Gen. Joseph Hooker who Lincoln had appointed to succeed Gen. Burnside. Hooker had the reputation of frequently criticizing his superiors and Lincoln addressed the issue skillfully. Read the letter. Seven months later, Hooker called it “a letter a father would write to his son.”
- The “Honest Abe” moniker probable stemmed from a business partnership in the 1830’s with William Berry to run a general store. The venture failed partly because Berry was a heavy drinker and when he died in 1835 Lincoln was left with the responsibility of repaying the large sum of $1,100. He termed it “the national debt” but though it took him many years, he paid it all back.American philosopher William Ernest Hocking noted: “there are myths which displace truth and there are myths which give wings to truth.”In this case Lincoln’s reputation for honesty and integrity, though challenged over the years, has remained unblemished.
- Lincoln issued more pardons than any President before or since. He knew that by pardoning he created fewer enemies and more supporters. Gen. Sherman once asked Lincoln whether he wanted Jefferson Davis captured or allowed to escape. He replied “General, I am bound to oppose the escape of Jeff Davis, but if you could manage to let him slip out unbeknownst-like, I guess it wouldn’t hurt me much.At a post-war rally he ordered the playing of Dixie.During his 2nd inaugural he uttered the now famous phrase “with malice toward none and charity toward all, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.The lesson for us: Pardon mistakes as opposed to chewing out subordinates.
- “managers at all levels must come to grips with paradoxes that have set conventional management wisdom on its ear.” T. PetersLincoln was able to institute a solid, stable government while instituting massive change.We all have weaknesses and so did Lincoln. How was he able to deal with his anger and frustration? One of his frequent tactics was to write a letter expressing his true feelings and emotions but never send it. One example is a letter to Gen. Meade after Mead had allowed Lee’s army to escape across the Potomac. Read the letter.Mastering paradox is in many ways nothing more than good common sense
- “Fail to honor people and they will fail to honor you.” But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say, We did this ourselves.” Lao TzuSec. of Treasury Salmon chase in 1862 attempted to discredit another cabinet member, William Seward because Chase was jealous of Sedward’s influence with the President so he complained to influential Republican senators that Seward was inept at handling foreign affairs. They sent a delegation of nine senators to see Lincoln where they accused Seward of endless wrongdoing. Lincoln did not want Seward to leave and he did not want the senators dictating to him. He invited the senators back to the White House the next night where unknown to them he also had invited the cabinet. He assembled everyone in the same room and asked that all matters of dispute be resolved before anyone left. Chase was exposed as a fraud, never to be trusted again and all charges against Seward were dropped.When subordinates did a good job, Lincoln praised, complimented and rewarded the individual. Read letter to Grant dated July 13, 1864.
- Lincoln’s mission was clear. Preserve the union and abolish slavery.He knew that the goal must be accomplished in steps so he set short-term goals such as winning a particular battle.He told the story of the old farmer who had to plough a large tree laden with many tree stumps. It was a terrible place to clear up. But after a while, he got a few things growing. One day a stranger stopped to look at his place and wanted to know how he managed to cultivate so rough a spot. ‘Well, was the reply, some of it was pretty rough. The smaller stumps I generally root out or burn out; but now and then there is a large one that bothers me, and there is no other way than to plough around it.A man had a small bull terrier that could whip all the dogs in the neighborhood. The owner of a large dog which the terrier had whipped asked the owner of the terrier how it happened that the terrier whipped every dog he encountered. “That,” said the owner of the terrier, “is no mystery to me; your dog and the other dogs get half through a fight before they are ready; now, my dog is always mad!”
- At the start of the war the Union had an army of 16,000 men and a commanding general who was 75 years old. It took Lincoln 3 years and a dozes command changes before he found his man.Lincoln would always give his generals time to correct their mistakes but if they did not, he would not hesitate to remove them. He was frustrated by commanders who just piled up information without taking action. One such example involved a personal friend of his, Gen. Nathan Banks. Read from Bank’s letter.Lincoln was a great coach. He once said, “I who am not a brave man have to sustain the courage of these fighters in critical times.”Leaders must realize that they can’t do everything on their own. They must have people below them who will do what is necessary to ensure success. Those subordinates who will take risks, act without waiting for direction, and ask for responsibility rather than reject it, should be treated as your most prized possession. The “Grants” of the world will choose others in their own image.Grant led a six month string of Union victories that all but destroyed the Confederacy and insured a final victory that was to come Appomattox Courthouse in VA. On April 9, 1865.