Abraham Lincoln on Leadership

Introduction

Throughout time it has been said that Abraham Lincoln is one our country’s most recognizable leaders. Until the 1990’s no one had written a book incorporating his leadership skills into every day leadership concepts. Donald T. Phillips was surprised by this realization and made it his mission to write a book about the leadership skills Lincoln possessed while also relating it to the modern leadership theories we use in life and in business, today.

Summary

Lincoln on Leadership demonstrates Lincoln’s leadership styles he fine-tuned while holding the office of Presidency. Lincoln had no military experience and he only served one term as a Congressman; he was considered to be very inexperienced by the time he took the Presidency (Phillips. P. 9). Yet he has become the essence of leadership. The book is broken into four main sections, People, Character, Endeavor, and Communication. Phillips describes many of Lincoln’s leadership traits, such as, honesty, communication skills, his empathy for people, and his dedication to the rights of the people.

Take-Aways

Most of the things I found interesting in Lincoln on Leadership are historical facts I was unaware of until I read this book. In 1857 there was an economic panic that resulted in a recession and low unemployment. Due to the war efforts and what debt was already accumulated prior to Lincoln’s presidency, the country had a high deficit but it had been all paid off prior to his death (Phillips. P.175). He incorporated a national income tax to help pay off the deficit. Branches of the government were implemented under his Presidency, such as, the Internal Revenue System; he implemented paper money, and he assembled a national banking system (Phillips. P. 1...

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...rious leadership rolls. The President has to deal with many different types of followers (citizen, military, and cabinet members) as well as ever changing situations (wars, implementation of departments, and changing the Constitution). Although what most Presidents endure is on a much larger scale than what an organization will encounter, there is always room to learn how to be a more effective leader. As the world, technology, and people change the role of leader is constantly evolving. Our textbook did a good job of showing us how a leader needs to change with the times whether it is due to our society evolving or our corporate cultures changing.

References

Curphy, G., Ginnet, R., & Hughes, R. (2009). Leadership: Enhancing The Lessons of

Experience. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Phillips, D. (2009). Lincoln On Leadership. New York: Hachette Book Group.