Abraham Lincoln's Leadership Essay

One of our greatest presidents of all times, Abraham Lincoln, was and is still known as a great leader. He led the United States through a turbulent time-period, and is still known today for his excellent, self-taught leadership skills. Lincoln’s skills included all of those written about in the chapter including intelligence, conscientiousness, integrity, openness to experience, empathy, self-esteem and charisma.
While Lincoln was mostly self-educated, he was known to be a perpetual student who was very well read. He was often found with a book in his hands that pertained to the problem he was trying to solve. According to Herbold (2014), he read extensively about military history and strategy during the Civil War. In addition, when studying law, he would read and re-read borrowed law books until

He was known to exhibit individualized consideration which according to Concept 10.1 in the textbook means someone who shows personal care and concern for the well-being of their followers. Known as a great storyteller and listener, Lincoln could find a way to connect with other people. He was often described as kindhearted due to his ability to know what others were feeling and what drove them (Crowley, 2012). Lincoln even tried to understand those who opposed slavery rather than criticizing them. Lincoln was not afraid to show his emotions and was deeply passionate about issues (Herbold, 2014), yet he understood that others had different feeling and he let them express themselves while listening respectfully.
When combined, these characteristics created in Abraham Lincoln a near-perfect blend of personality traits. This melding of traits gave him the personal charisma that created public confidence and commitment which allowed him to lead our country through a turbulent time-period. Ultimately, he became one of the greatest presidents in United States history so