President Abraham Lincoln is considered to be United States of America greatest President. One may beg the question, why? Many observed that his transformational leadership style helped him to be effective and successful as a leader. A transformational leader is one who engages his people by raising their level of motivation through empowerment, learning, trust and communication. The end result is that the country or organization achieves goals beyond expectations. The purpose of this article is to highlight some principles and lessons from Lincoln’s transformational style of leadership that modern-day and future political leaders can use as a template to help them confront today’s issues and those in the future.
Lincoln was a transformational leader who had a great relationship with his followers, and actually genuinely cared about all the people he came into contact with. It was mentioned that Lincoln used to visit the Army frequently. There, he treated the men, regardless of rank, with courtesy and respect. The men began to call him “Father Abraham” because they were sure that he would do his best to take care of them. Lincoln was willing to meet daily with normal, everyday people who might come to ask for a pardon for their son or who just wanted to sit down and talk to the President. He made time for others and always placed the needs of others before his own. He was never dismissive of people irrespective of their status in society. One author argued that the objective of Lincoln’s leadership style was never about him. “He had a true servant’s heart. A rare find then, and even rarer today. Beyond the deeds and the speeches and the actions was the man. The human who sought to find the goodness in all mankind.” However, most political leaders of today only come to the people around election time seeking their support. Rather than being humble, many are also very arrogant and behave like demagogues wanting the people to serve them rather than they serving the people. Besides looking out for their own personal agenda, they also put the interests of the elite and rich over the small man who put them in government. Some politicians are so prideful that they go out of their way to silence and victimize anyone who opposes them.
Lincoln endured and overcame his share of mental pressure during his presidency. The hardship of leadership can bring about fear and self-doubt in the most successful leaders. No doubt, Lincoln had to draw on the wisdom and the experiences of the many personal setbacks and tragedies he encountered before his presidency. Without a doubt leadership is not for the weak of heart. It takes resilience and composure to manage the range of negative emotions that can arise when challenges occur. Lincoln demonstrated how leaders can navigate tough emotions without compromising their larger purpose. He remained thick-skinned regardless of circumstances and the many political hurdles even from persons within his party. Today’s leaders are easily annoyed and are thin-skinned when they are hard pressed on issues. One may argue that their reaction may arise because of their ad-hoc way of doing things – as opposed to them having a clear vision to take the country forward.
Lincoln also had concern for upcoming generations, unlike most politicians who mainly focus on the next election, rather than the next generation. On the first day of his son’s school, Lincoln wrote a letter to the teacher humbly advising how he wanted him to be taught. Part of the letter read as follows: “Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him if you can, that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win. Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people. Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him they are wrong. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it. Teach him to listen to everyone, but teach him also to filter all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through. Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.”
Lincoln was a man of integrity and strong conviction. This was so evident when he promoted the unpopular decision to abolition slavery in the United States. He never compromised his convictions on this issue, despite members of his party and friends being slave owners. He had a strong belief and passion for his vision to see the end of slavery. Lincoln was warned that taking a position on this issue was political suicide. As a true transformational leader, Lincoln contended that, “The time has come,” he said, “when these sentiments should be uttered, and if it is decreed that I should go down because of this speech, then let me go down linked with the truth.” We need more modern leaders to stand for something. Nowadays many politicians shy away from openly addressing the real issues just to preserve their political career. As a result, they end up falling for anything.
Lincoln left the world a legacy of leadership that many do not emulate and is very rare today. Serving his people was never about him. His humble beginnings most likely kept him grounded and explained his negative view toward position and titles. He was never obsessed with power. He never compromised his convictions irrespective of who he was up against. He communicated clearly and often to his people and he valued diverse opinions from others even from his enemies. He had concern at that time not just for his generation, but also for future generations. He was all about developing people. These are just a few characteristics of the type of transfomational leadership that we so desperately need to take this country forward.
