February 11
Lincoln on Leadership
I came across an earlier title similar to this book probably close to twenty years ago and read it with great zeal. The main idea here is that Lincoln’s leadership is timeless. Whether it was the title Lincoln on Leadership I read twenty years ago, or the 2017 edition, Lincoln’s leadership cannot be confined to a single epoch. Rather, the timeless leadership principles Lincoln modeled for his contemporaries or their progeny is incomparable.
Why do we think of Lincoln as such a great leader? Perhaps one of the reasons is because he led in such a challenging time. One of my favorite JFK speeches was delivered at Rice University in September of 1962 and he was discussing the space race and established the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Kennedy pointed out that we choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Lincoln’s lofty goals for peace and preserving the freedom of all men regardless of their skin color, was the hard thing to do 100 years prior. There is little glory or sense of accomplishment in doing things which are easy. That’s why a shot from 23′ counts as 3 points and a layup is only 2 and a free throw with everyone standing still while the shooter shoots is only worth 1 point. We value things which are hard, and nobody had a harder job as President than Lincoln.
Over the past few days I have reviewed several books from Learning from Lincoln, to Lincoln’s Melancholy, another on his Team of Rivals cabinet, and another regarding Leadership in Turbulent Times all of which are excellent books from which to approach different facets of Lincoln’s leadership. But on the eve of Lincoln’s birthday Donald T. Phillips Lincoln on Leadership stands above these others as a guide for how to lead like Lincoln. It should be required reading for CEO’s, school leaders, and elected officials.
Saxton's Educational Musings 