Voltcast: Illuminating Leadership

We sometimes think we have things so rough. Our 16th President was probably one of the most revered and the most hated figures by his contemporaries. Abraham Lincoln was elected by what was then the lowest plurality in an American election to date. The country was disintegrating, military leaders and cabinet members questioned his leadership, and there were numerous threats on his life. In spite of it all, Lincoln’s approach to managing people and circumstances fostered innovation and engagement. Lincoln developed and used his amazing talent for Coaching and public Speaking. He kept people in his organization engaged while delivering at the most challenging news at often the most challenging of times. His methods for providing feedback to wayward subordinates would be the envy of any leader anywhere. We would do well to learn from his experiences the next time we are frustrated because something that was supposed to happen didn’t or a colleague let us down.