Abraham Lincoln was the United States 16th president; Lincoln is arguably the most influential president the United States has been graced with. In his Inaugural Address, he stated that the Civil War was upon us (The White House). Lincoln proved from the beginning of his political career that he was prepared to fight for his beliefs and those of his people. From a young age, he researched our Founding Fathers and the history of our nation (Phillips). He always knew that he wanted to lead and help people of his nation. Lincoln grew up in poverty which led to a devotion to his people (Phillips). He is widely known as the “Great Emancipator” along with many other nicknames that are wonderfully suited to one of the best presidents America has ever …show more content…
It was paramount to Lincoln to show his compassionate side as well as he traveled to hospitals to visit the sick and wounded soldiers (Phillips). Arguably, one his most impressive feats included him taking charge of a few battles himself which is something very few presidents have done (Phillips).
Lincoln had what we would call today an “open-door” policy to leadership which made him an effective leader (Phillips). It was quite important for him to be accessible and see as many of his people as he could. His personal secretaries argued that he spent around 75% of his time meeting with his people (Phillips). However, because of this leadership style, it often made it difficult to guard him appropriately (Phillips). Lincoln often had informal meetings with those under him and had a hands-on approach to leadership (Phillips). It was crucial to Lincoln to offer praise often as he was aware that flattery will help any situation, and force those who receive the kind words would almost always hold the praiser in good opinion (Phillips). Even today, this is a lesson that many leaders should take into consideration. There is a saying that “you catch more flies with honey”.
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Mentioned before, it was of the utmost importance to Lincoln to receive timely and accurate news from the warfronts; while he could’ve waited to receive news in his office, he preferred to be right in the telegraph office to get the information quickly so he could in turn make his decisions quickly. Because of this action, he saved many people (Phillips). When it was possible for him, he preferred to be in the field to make decisions even faster than in D.C.
(Phillips). While he was mostly there to lead, he also took the opportunity to learn from others and acquire new skills (Phillips). Even after the Civil War ended, he was in the field as much as possible (Phillips).
Abraham Lincoln proved that it is essential to have human contact with your subordinates, which is something leaders (not just presidents) today could learn from especially in this time of excessive technology usage (Phillips). It is true that with the progression of technology, it has become much easier to simply send an email to talk to your subordinates