Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln

Few people in history attract the kind of respect, admiration and love that Abraham Lincoln attracts. You don’t have to be an American to be in awe of this man. People all around the world have heard of him and know why he is considered to be perhaps the greatest President of the United States of America. The way he lived his life and the way he governed as the President of the United States at a most crucial juncture in the country’s history provides amazing insights on what constitutes true leadership. No theories here – just a true embodiment of how a leader behaves…

These are some of the traits he demonstrated time and again – the traits that made him different from those around him:

1- He was a learner

Lincoln never stopped reading. The stories of his boyhood mention his love for books, for reading anything and everything. This carried into his adult life and he was known to read something new every day. He was known to have said “I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday”.

2- He was a man of action

Lincoln would often talk about how important it was to finish today’s tasks today and not leave them for tomorrow. He believed that man created his future one day at a time. This was no 9-5 kind of guy – he worked late into the night when needed when others had gone home.

3- He was determined

Lincoln is best known for his ability to get up and go after so many setbacks, first as a politician then as President. One of his really famous quotes is “success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”. 

4- He had humility

No other leader of his stature can come close to Lincoln in terms of genuine humility. Even after his victory over the Confederates in the Civil War, Lincoln shunned publicity and preferred not to let people around him talk about his accomplishments. As President, his determination and iron will in the face of enormous challenges never translated into arrogance or self-promotion.

5- He was genuinely considerate

He is known for how kind and considerate he was to those around him, whether in his family or in his office as President. To his cabinet members, he came across as a friend and someone they could talk to in times of distress. To common people he met, he came across as a kind and humane person.