Leadership Lessons from "Lincoln"

In the movie “Lincoln” we see that Abraham Lincoln is committed to the vision of securing the elimination of slavery. Having fought and lost so much, he feels the decision to assert this value needs to be institutionalized in the Constitution via the 13^th Amendment. He is afraid that Congress, under different leadership, might back slide.

Steady Values: Equality is Self Evident

Lincoln is driven by core values. In a quiet moment in the staff room of the White House he addresses two young officers. While Lincoln had very little formal education he was an avid reader- a lifelong learner. In the film he recalls a lesson he learned while reading Euclid for the soldiers.

Euclid's first common notion is this:  'Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other.'   That's a rule of mathematical reasoning.  It's true because it works.  Has done and always will do.  In his book, Euclid says this is self-evident.  You see, there it is.  Even in that 2,000 year old book of mechanical law, it is a self-evident truth that things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other."

Flexible in Strategy

The future ot he United States  is anything but self evident. While steady in purpose ( values focused)  he is flexible in strategy. He is willing to use all of his strengths and assets to achieve his vision. He needs to come up with votes from conservative Republicans and a smaller number of Democrats who have been voted out of office in the election of 1864 but who can still vote in the lame duck session.  He uses worldly tactics on behalf of larger heavenly cause- the protection of equality under law.

We don’t recommend that you bribe your board. Visionary presidents, however, can learn from Lincoln’s tenacity. Lincoln can really take it. His integrity is questioned. His wife complains about all the times where he has not been emotionally available.  He is accused of sacrificing innocent lives. He is charged with being a radical and for being too passive. As Peter Drucker has argued, leadership is often a “foul weather sport”. From the horrors of the battlefield to the ugliness of the Congress, Lincoln has to lead in challenging times.

Harry Truman once said, “I learned that a great leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do and like it”. Most Americans did not want to abolish slavery. Certainly few wanted to give slaves the right to vote. In going for the 13^th Amendment, Lincoln’s vision, while self evident to him, was out ahead of other leaders. He had to find creative ways to help people catch up with him.

Humble and Courageous- Bowed head and bended knee

“Lincoln” opens with a scene of Lincoln sitting in a war camp talking to two black soldiers. One is challenging Lincoln on his commitment to slave rights. The soldier is anything but deferential. Lincoln sits humbly, head bowed. He does not react. In another scene talking with his Secretary of State Seward, he bends down on one knee to stoke the fire. Lincoln is extraordinary, but he bends a knee to be like common folk. He needs to understand what they care about and how they see things. He has lofty plans but he needs to get those plans through some rough muddy political terrain. He needs to work through other people.

Synagogue presidents need to motivate their executive committees just as Lincoln motivated his cabinet. While not everybody may love you, they have to agree to work together to get to the end goal. It takes humility to balance your advocating and your empathizing. Lincoln does both. He calls on the awesome powers of his office and he leans down to listen and to take criticism.

Jewish tradition values leaders like Moses who are humble and wear their humility on their sleeve. Lincoln knows what it is like to be poor, disregarded and disrespected. Lincoln grew up dirt poor. In David Donald’s biography called Lincoln, he shares how Abraham Lincoln’s father abused him and called him the laziest boy in the county. Lincoln was known to be prone to reading and day dreaming as a boy. Donald also discusses in detail how, how in the early period of his presidency, General McClelland would snub him at meetings and ignore his orders. He did not treat Lincoln as legitimate president.

From boyhood to adulthood, he carries the weight of many defeats on his shoulders. While he was an unlikely person to wage this epic battle for the soul of the United States, like Esther, he realized that perhaps it was his calling to be just such a pivotal person. The times required a person of great humility who also had the fierce vision to see that the value of equality was in fact proven and self evident. It was a value worth fighting for.