Fast Company: The Leadership Genius Of Abraham Lincoln

The greatness of Napoleon, Caesar or Washington is only moonlight to the sun of Lincoln. His example is universal and will last a thousand years.... He was bigger than his country - bigger than all the Presidents together... and as a great character, he will live as long as the world lives. - Leo Tolstoy, 1909

Move over, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. With the 2012 election finally decided, our thoughts now move to Abraham Lincoln, widely regarded as the greatest president in American history.

Lincoln resurfaces this month thanks to the release of Steven Spielberg's new movie depicting our sixteenth President's final days in office - as he seeks to abolish slavery, end the Civil War, and save the Republic. Of course, even before seeing the film, we already know that, just six days before being assassinated, Lincoln succeeded at all these stunning ambitions.

That Lincoln was one of the most effective leaders in world history is a notion fully supported by his extraordinary accomplishments. But I've long wondered whether workplace leadership could be substantially improved were we to better understand - and adopt - the fundamental character traits that made him so remarkably influential with people.

In search of this insight, I recently mustered up the resolve to read all of the nearly 800 pages of in Doris Kearns Goodwin's Pulitzer Prize winning Lincoln biography, Team Of Rivals. My many hours of reading proved well spent.

The profound lesson to be drawn from this book is that Lincoln led brilliantly, not just from his mind, but also his heart. General William Tecumseh Sherman called it his "greatness and goodness."

While Lincoln's exceptional intellectual skills were readily apparent at an extremely early age, his deeply humanitarian instincts very well may be the reason he'll be revered by all future generations. At a time when employee happiness and engagement has reached an all-time low in the U.S., the example of Abraham Lincoln may just be what we need to re-inspire workers everywhere.

Molded By Loss

Born in a log cabin in rural Kentucky, Lincoln grew up in abject poverty. His father never learned to read or write, working as a hired hand with little ambition. While his bright, caring mother taught him to read and spell, she contracted "milk sickness" and died when he was just nine. Routinely lent out to farmers needing workers, Lincoln had virtually no formal schooling. While still a boy, he witnessed the death of his infant younger brother and, later, his beloved older sister.

According to Kearns Goodwin, throughout his entire adult life, "Lincoln neither romanticized nor sentimentalized the difficult circumstances of his childhood." Instead, his acutely painful experiences became the source of life-long compassion and concern for others...

http://www.fastcompany.com/3002803/leadership-genius-abraham-lincoln
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