Leadership: Executive Strategies For Tough Times

Leading Liberty The late President Abraham Lincoln was faced with life-long adversities in which he triumphantly overcame, especially during his presidency. In Lincoln’s first few years in office, he attempted to promote the cohesiveness of the United States between the Union and the Confederacy and show great effort to abolish slavery. Being the great humanitarian that he was, Lincoln became an example of one of American histories’ most dedicated and ambitious leaders with a soft-heart. Throughout the book, Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies For Tough Times, the author Donald T. Phillips showcases a plethora of qualities Lincoln possessed to fulfill his presidential duties as a leader that has become a timeless relevance among

Lincoln believe in keeping the lines of communication open to not only his subordinates, such as cabinet members, however among the American citizen who elected him as president. When in an open environment, the birth of innovation from creative ideas being exchanged among an organization can stimulate quick feedback leading to faster decision making process. Effective communication can be a catalyst to improve performance in an organization. Networking within the organization, builds relationships to help all employees stay connected with the direction of the organization. A leader’s encouragement to share and receive facts is important in building the relationships among others. Lincoln took it upon himself to acquire the facts he needed to make prompt sound decisions for a beneficial outcome and have frequently social interactions with his staff. The open-minded leader who learns, observes, and teaches by way of communication allows room for growth and innovation increasing the longevity of the organization. Creating and maintaining relationship between leaders and their subordinates also requires a great amount of trust. “If subordinates, or people in general, know that they genuinely have access to their leader, they’ll tend to view the leader in a more positive light, trustworthy light” (18). A quality for

He stated that punishment due to revenge would break the good spirit of society (60). He practice what he preached, by not acting out of rage, after receiving vicious attacks and even went to extent “of ignoring slander and vilification” (69). It takes great strength and self-control to deal with negativity in a leadership roles; criticism is inevitable. Lincoln also dealt with criticism by distinguishing what was right and what was wrong and finding sensible humor in light of the situation. Lincoln accept the fact that regardless of a situation was taking care of, there was always going to be some that disagreed with me. He knew that he did not have control over how everyone felt. Leader must have a good balance between all of the leadership attributes as Lincoln modeled apparently. “Leaders in today’s fast-paced business climate must be ready to deal with complex situations that require a variety of different approaches (83)”. Phillips describes this theory as “mastering paradox” (83). Issues must be dealt with on a case by case basis with all the facts and details disclosed. All personal biasness and motives must be eliminated to remain conflict-free. Leaders must know when all resources have been exhausted as well to determine the next step necessary while learning for from previous