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Abraham Lincoln
Leadership can be defined as "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal" (Northouse, 2011, p. 6). A great leader, therefore, has the ability to get his subordinates working together towards the achievement of a common vision. To this end, the world has had countless leaders who can be termed 'great' on their various platforms. Abraham Lincoln, however, stands out; not only has he been consistently viewed as the greatest president the U.S. has ever had, but also as one who left a legacy that still moves and inspires people in America and beyond, more than 125 years after his death (Philips, n.d.). His roving leadership style and MBWA philosophy worked the magic and still attract the interest of leaders in the world, more than a century later.
Abraham Lincoln's greatest accomplishment, which many still regard as a miracle, was his winning the civil war and keeping the country together, and in so doing, overcoming the nightmare he had inherited from his predecessor, James Buchanan (Philips, 1992). The Management by Wandering/Walking Around (MBWA) personal philosophy, upon which Lincoln based his tactics during and after the civil war, worked in his favor (Philips, 1992). He believed in this philosophy because it gave him the opportunity to not only...
This, he believed, was the only way he would know exactly what was going on in every matter he dealt with and hence expected the same of those to whom he delegated authority. The leadership trait of sociability comes up here (Northouse, 2011). Lincoln maintained personal touch and identified with people; he visited the sick in hospital, attended personal funerals, and most significantly, personally inspected his troops during the civil war (Philips, 1992).
Abraham Lincoln strived to build and maintain solid interpersonal alliances with his subordinates in recognition of the premise that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" (Philips, 1992, p. 27). This he did by giving authority to people who were considered his enemies, as long as they shared his vision and sense of ethics. He listened to, and gave his subordinates room to prove themselves, and was, in so doing, able to not only gain their trust and respect, but also get them focused on a common goal and strategy (Philips, 1992). He employed the strategy of persuasion, rather than coercion and used intelligence, as opposed to force, to get a job done. This was, however, one of his greatest failures; many…
References
Northouse, P.G. (2011). Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Philips, D.T. (1992). Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times. Illinois: DTP.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin on February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky. From these humble beginnings the first born son of Thomas, an uneducated farmer, and Nancy Hanks, Lincoln would grow to become the 16th President of the United States. In 1997 William Riding Jr. And Stuart B. McIver asked a group of 719 professors, elected officials, historians, attorneys, authors and other professionals to rate the presidents.
He says that Fremont has left himself isolated by not allowing others to communicate with him and he is therefore unable to make good decisions, because he doesn't know what is going on around him. (13) Leaders I have met emulate Lincoln in their humor, honesty and open door policies, and those who have made the greatest impression on me have; left me feeling as if I had known
Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America What was the most important thing you learned about Abraham Lincoln from reading "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America"? Abraham Lincoln played an important role in bringing to an end the civil war and initiating the stoppage of slavery in the United States. After its inauguration in 1861, Lincoln was determined to unite the northern and the southern states, which were at loggerheads over slavery and
In 1837, Lincoln took highly controversial position that foreshadowed his future political path. He joined with five other legislators out of eighty-three to oppose a resolution condemning abolitionists. In 1838, he responded to the death of the Illinois abolitionist and newspaper editor, Elijah Parish Lovejoy, who was killed while defending his printing presses from a mob of pro-slavery citizens in Alton, Illinois. In a statesmanlike manner, Lincoln gave a cautious
Grant possessed in superb degree the ability to think of the war in overall terms, however his grand plan of operations that ended the war was at least partly Lincoln's in concept (Williams). Grant conformed his strategy to Lincoln's known ideas: "hit the Confederacy from all sides with pulverizing blows and make enemy armies, not cities, his main objective" (Williams). Grant submitted the broad outlines of his plan to
Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution This book largely looks at the Civil War and the role that Lincoln had in many of the transformations that came about from it. For example, the slaves that were liberated, the political and social order in the South that was overthrown, and other issues. The author of the book, McPherson, claims that the 16th president was a conservative and a revolutionary, and sees