Abraham Lincoln as a Strategic Leader - Term Paper Example

Abraham Lincoln as a Strategic Leader Abraham Lincoln is the widely recognised leader for his personal integrity, endurance, will power, and courage. He has been the best universal example of strategic leadership for decades and even for the time yet to come. It is important for people, who learn about leadership qualities to analyse the fundamental character traits that made Lincoln so remarkably influential with people. The most vital aspect of his leadership was that he led the nation not simply with his intellect but with his heart imbued with great compassionate instincts. Obviously, it was the thorny circumstances of his childhood that turned out to be the source of his enduring concern for others throughout his personal life and career. Lincoln had great skills, intelligence, and self confidence to be a leader. However, what made him the most successful President were his innate qualities as well as the transformational leadership quality. During his term, he always sought for potential individuals and worked with them for the betterment of the nation no matter they were of different outlook or different political opinion. For instance, Lincoln deployed Salmon Chase as the cabinet member and treasury secretary for three years knowing the fact that Chase always used to criticise him. According to people like Jago, good leaders are made, not born. That means if one has the desire and willpower, one can become an effective leader. To become a good leader, one should undergo the never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. Lincoln was very sure about the purpose he had to fulfil. Although he came into power during the most unfavourable political conditions of all times, he knew that he could preserve the greatest democracy from the perils. The way he acquired trust and respect of his followers was unusual and admirable. Higher level of morality was the most appealing factor about him, for he could inspire soldiers, civilians, and people of all class and segments in no time. Most of his time during the four years of his presidency, Lincoln spent with the troops, for he knew that “they were the people who were going to get the job done” (Phillips 12). The entire nation would have collapsed due to lack of proper leadership if Lincoln had gone depressed. That did not happen as he possessed extraordinary qualities. The first one among those qualities was the ability to motivate soldiers in a way that they were willing to die for their great leader and for the nation. He had the strategy of trial and error for motivating his crew, for he worked again and again to introduce newer ways to keep his troop motivated. As a leader, Lincoln was self-reliant and he possessed great tenacity and stamina. In addition were the qualities of enthusiasm and independence. When most people cannot act independently or effectively without someone to guide them and motivate them, Lincoln is an exception, for he took charge of the adverse situation and moved the whole enterprise heroically ahead. Evidently, he acquired knowledge and skills through self-reflection and reflection on experience. According to the Trait Theory of Leadership, some people become leaders due to their certain innate personality traits. Obviously, Lincoln was a person who naturally possessed many of the qualities required for a leader but few people had been aware of his potential until he became the President. He had great enthusiasm, confidence, and communication skills. In addition, he was aware of his purpose and knew the need of enthusiasm in keeping followers motivated. Thus, Lincoln was a man who was destined to become a leader by birth. He was a transformational leader too. According to this theory, people can become leaders by learning leadership skills. As mentioned earlier, Lincoln enhanced many of his innate qualities through learning. Admittedly, his learning took place in many different ways including self reflection, reflection on experience, trial and error and observation. For instance, as Davis points out, Lincoln was well aware of the importance of maintaining close contact with his soldiers, because he himself had been a volunteer in the Blackhawk War and understood ‘the hearts and minds of the men in the ranks’ (as cited in Leidner). He often visited the army and remained a very common man easily accessible to all. Successful completion of an endeavour depends on well assigned goals and effective coordination of human efforts. Certain objectives require long term endurance and strategic approach. In contrast, immediate strategies and intensive actions are essential for short term mission. Regardless of the intensity of condition, leaders assigned have pivotal roles and responsibilities in aligning the citizens to accomplish the intended mission. In other words, “those who are granted power must be held accountable” (Gardner 153). The factors that determine the value of an achievement include pain, relentless efforts, perseverance experienced by individuals and groups. For Lincoln, how these various factors could be integrated in a highly fragmented, social environment was the major concern of his leadership. The effectiveness of leadership requires proper and prompt communication among the group. As a common principle in any stream, it is essential that the leadership has a strong framework of strategic management that renders strength to the association for a period of estimated time. In case of such failures, it is advisable that the leader revises leadership policies and introduces new methods of controlling after due discussions and findings. This is the primary duty of the leader to ensure the sustainability of the growth assessed in the group. Therefore, a leader must be ready with remedies to fight such issues of strategic failures. This is possible with proper selection of employees, proper training and placement, personnel relationship, and effective communication, and motivation. These are the essential areas where a leader can outperform problems and come out with better results. This could be possible only if the leaders ponder over the past failures in order to attend the present and further to design appropriate strategies for future. Evidently, Lincoln maintained all the above qualities. As Phillips opines, Lincoln always maintained an open-door policy and spent most of his time with people, because he knew that people were the main source of information; and this made him an ‘extemporary model’ for effectual headship (15). As Gardner states, political leaders should promote and maintain relationship to their constituency in order to empower group members to achieve intended goals; and he also says that the leader must not ‘wait for something nice to happen’; instead, they must think about affiliating with other groups for achieving the common interest (147). Lincoln as a leader never carried out a venture before analysing the whole scenario. He always knew that there were certain factors which required his active consideration in order to foresee the appropriate strategies. Also, he had knowledge from his own experiences with the fact that a good plan would not necessarily produce definite result all by itself unless it was implemented effectively. Lincoln as a genuine leader strictly adhered to the principles of the nation while being flexible enough to motivate other individuals helping them perform their responsibilities in a viable manner. At this juncture, it is relevant to quote Edgar H. Schein; “leadership is best thought of as a function within the organization…..it can be distributed among the members of a group” (qtd in Gardner 149). Lincoln maintained this style of leadership because merely aiming some short term goals did not mean leadership to him. His leadership style primarily aimed at the full-fledged participation of the entire group. In an address to the twelfth Indiana Regiment, Lincoln turned the crew’s attention towards their accomplishments by saying, “. . . I assure you that the nation is more indebted to you, and such as you, than to me. It is upon the brave hearts and strong arms of the people of the country that our reliance has been placed in support of free government and free institutions.” (qtd in Leidner). This is an example how he motivated his people to work for him. He had already experienced the bitterness of failure more than anyone else since his childhood. He was fully determined that slavery, which had been in practice over the past 200 years in the South, was immoral and should be banned for ever. Despite his ethically right stance, he was cruelly criticised by some. For instance, as Williams note, Stephen Douglas characterised Lincoln as ‘the enemy of popular sovereignty’ (7). In brief, despite all criticism and failures, Lincoln was really very successful as a leader. Although he was the president, he kept himself very close to his fellowmen and thus became the father of the army. His loyalty, compassion, and endurance made him the most recognized president of the United States. He had his own innate leadership qualities, and at the same time he was a transformational leader as well. Works Cited Gardner, John. On Leadership. The Free Press, 1993. Print. Jago, Arthur G. “Leadership: perspectives in theory and research”. Management Science, (1982, 28(3), 315- 336. Leidner, Gordon. “Lincoln the Transformational Leader”. Lincoln Herald (2011): 111-118. Phillips, Donald T. Lincoln On Leadership. Illinois: DTP Companion Books, 1992. Print. Williams, Frank J et al. Abraham Lincoln: Sources and Style of Leadership. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. Print. Read More