Leadership qualities can be seen in many fields, from business to academics to politics. One man whose name is synonymous with political leadership was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was born in poverty in Kentucky in 1809, lived in cabins on the Kentucky and Indiana frontier, and was almost entirely self-educated. In fact, Lincoln taught himself the rudiments of law so that he could work as a lawyer and later as a legislator in the state of Illinois during the 1830s and 1840s. In 1847, he followed this with a short tenure in the United States House of Representatives where he is most noted for opposing the United States war against Mexico. Having joined the newly created Republican Party, Lincoln ran for the Senate against Stephen Douglas. While he lost, his spectacular debates ultimately led him to becoming the Republican nominee for president in 1860. However, almost immediately after he was elected seven slave holding Southern states seceded from the union to form the Confederate States of America, with four more following soon after. Lincoln’s remarkable leadership abilities were demonstrated in the following four years of war between the Union and the Confederacy. Lincoln was committed to defeating the secessionists and maintaining the union. During the four years of war, over 600,000 soldiers died. At the midpoint of the war, Lincoln chose to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the Confederacy (Majerol, 2013). With victory, Lincoln confirmed that federal sovereignty superseded state authority. Lincoln died at the hands of an assassin only a few days after the defeat of the Confederacy. The following will examine Lincoln’s leadership in light of both trait theory and behavior theory.
Trait theory is based on the idea that effective leaders have certain specific characteristics as individuals that other people do not possess. Many people believe that leaders are born not made and that they have certain qualities that make them a good leader. These traits cover areas such as communication, decision-making, empathy and integrity. Having these traits does not ensure that an individual is or will be a great leader, merely that the potential is there. In trait theory, if you have these traits early in life and develop them, you can become a great leader.
In behavioral theory, the way that a leader behaves is the dominate determinant as to whether he or she is an effective leader. Some behavioral leaders are autocratic leaders, making the decisions and imposing their will, which can be particularly useful when decisions need to be made fast. On the other hand, democratic leaders involved his or her team members in the decision-making process in an attempt to achieve a consensus. The democratic leader will ask for input and assistance from his or her subordinates.
Of the two, some might agree with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s assessment of Lincoln in her book Team of Rivals in which she characterized Lincoln as being the type of leader who would bring his principal rivals into his cabinet to help him through the crisis (Goodwin, 2005). On the other hand, it could equally be argued that Lincoln was a fairly autocratic leader. While on the surface Lincoln may have seemed to be the leader of a team, he often worked behind the scenes to manipulate events in such a way as to arrive at the outcome he wanted, regardless of the opinions of those working with him. The passage of the 13th amendment to the Constitution over the objections of others in his own cabinet is one example of this.
In conclusion, from an examination of the two theories discussed above and the career of Abraham Lincoln, it seems clear that either could be applied to Lincoln. While he did have inherent abilities that he developed over time, he used a behavioral style of leadership that sometimes involved teamwork and sometimes required a benevolent dictator. Perhaps effective leaders all have multifaceted approaches to the leadership dilemma.
References
Goodwin, D. K., & Thomas, R. (2005). Team of rivals: The political genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Majerol, V. (2013, Jan 07). The Emancipation Proclamation. New York Times Upfront, 145, 24-27,T3,T7.
