A Lesson in Leadership from Abraham Lincoln

Few would argue that Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest leaders the United States has ever had.  Have you ever considered the leadership challenges he faced as he was about to become the 16^th President of the United States?  Let’s take a quick journey, back in time, and stand in the (size 14) shoes of Honest Abe. I think you might come away with a powerful, but undervalued, leadership tool.

Go back to the past

The Year is 1861.  You are Abraham Lincoln.  You have won the presidential election but have not yet been sworn in.  Because of the four-way election, you only obtained 39% of the popular vote.  You are supported and have the respect of only those few most loyal to you.  Your newly appointed cabinet members consider you a joke, a figurehead whom they control.  Your only real political experience was serving as a congressman for one term.  You have no military experience to speak of.  Ok, well you were, briefly, a captain in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War, but you never saw combat. 

President James Buchanan, who held the office before you, felt so strongly the South would succeed and form its own country that he proclaimed to be “last President of the United States.”  Two weeks before you officially take office,  Jefferson Davis is sworn in as president of the Confederacy.  The Senate successfully passed a resolution requesting the War Department to lower military spending. You will be unable to call out state militias due to a bill being tabled in the House of Representatives.  The city of Washington has been left almost defenseless, and the nation's army is unprepared for war. 

You are now caught between a rock and a hard place.  To the north are the abolitionists who want to destroy the institution of slavery, and to the south, you have the slaveholding states who depend on slavery for their subsistence.  To your core, you believe slavery is wrong, but you also realize that if you call for the abolition of slavery this early in your presidency, it will undoubtedly lead to succession by the border states.  If you lose the border states, you will lose the country as you know it.  As surely as you know slavery is wrong you see the nation must be held together, but how do you do it.  

How do you lead a nation under conditions such as this? Where do you begin?  How do you lead…

Lincoln’s Leadership

As Lou Tzu is credited with saying, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." President Lincoln's leadership journey was long and difficult, but it began with one step.  Lincoln’s first step, his secret weapon to leadership success, was building relationships. He did this by…wait for it…talking to those he led.  Crazy concept, right? In today's fast-paced world of emails, text messages, tweets, and instant messages the face-to-face conversation is becoming endangered.  Abraham Lincoln used these conversations as a foundation for his leadership success.  

This leadership style was later referred to as Management by Walking Around (MBWA).  Not only did he talk to people, face to face, but he did most of it outside of the presidential office. He made it a point to leave his office and spoke with people where they worked.  He did this to put people at ease and to obtain firsthand information on various issues.  Although he did not have much military experience himself, Lincoln spent much of his time among the troops to see capabilities of his army. He used this first-hand information when he made decisions. 

Lincoln knew a secret that all great leaders know.  He realized that leadership was influence and the best way to influence people was by developing relationships with them.  To do this, he had to get out of his office and be around those he led.

Lincoln realized there was great value in speaking with people on their turf.  If you are a boss, there is a particular effect your office may have on people, especially your subordinates.  When people sit across from you, in the visitors' chairs in front of your desk, they are put in a subordinate position and you are in a power position.  You might not realize, but this potentially frames and reinforces the conversation as one of subordinate reporting to the boss.  This framing has an effect on the communication process. If you are not aware, the higher you go in your organization, the more information is filtered to you. 

Nobody wants to give the boss anything but good news, right?  Even bad news is presented with the best possible spin on it.  People naturally want to please their boss.  They want to look good to the boss. As a result, most communication with the boss, especially in a face to face situation, is not always 100% honest.  The more levels that bad news has to travel (from front line supervisor, to mid-level manager, to the boss, for example) the more the information will be filtered. So how can you get the information is its most pure form, without all the filtering?  Go to the source.

Application to Present Leaders

Take a lesson from President Lincoln and make it a habit to leave your office on a regular basis.  Engage in a little MBWA.  Seek out those who work for you and have a conversation on their turf.  If they are also supervisors, go to their office and sit in their visitor’s chair.  Put them in a position of power.  Doing so will put them a little more at ease, and you will have a greater chance of having a more open and honest conversation.

When is the last time you left your office and had a conversation with those you lead?  Besides being a good way to stay healthy and get your steps in, MBWA is an excellent way to get to know the people you work with.  It is a simple but effective way to develop your leadership ability.  Give it a try.

Interested in Learning More?

Interested in learning more about Lincoln’s leadership?  How about an in-depth study of leadership principles from the Battle of Gettysburg?  Check out our upcoming course in Gettysburg, PA on May 20-22.    Click here for more information www.battleofgettysburgleadership.com