Page 36 - Harvard Business Review, Sep/Oct 2018

Lincoln and the Art of Transformative Leadership
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the proclamation would be issued. The decision was “fixed holding his hand as they anxiously awaited bulletins from
and unalterable,” Lincoln declared. “The act and all its the battlefield.
responsibilities were his alone.” He had “pondered over it Reliant above all on Seward and Stanton, Lincoln was
for weeks, and been more confirmed in the rectitude of the aware of the jealousy engendered by the specter of favoritism.
measure as time passed on.” That clearly established, Lincoln Accordingly, he found exclusive time for each team member—
read his slightly amended version of the proclamation. whether flagging down Welles on the pathway leading from
If the members of this most unusual team—a microcosm of the White House to the Navy Department, suddenly dropping
the disparate factions within the Union itself—were unable to in at Chase’s stately mansion, dining with the entire Blair clan,
coalesce at this critical juncture, there would be small chance or inviting Bates and Smith for conversation on late-afternoon
of binding the country at large. carriage rides.
Set an example. How was it possible to coordinate these “Every one likes a compliment,” Lincoln observed; people
inordinately prideful, ambitious, quarrelsome, jealous, need praise for the work they do. He frequently penned notes
supremely gifted men to support a fundamental shift in the to his colleagues, expressing his gratitude for their actions.
purpose of the war? The best answer can be found in Lincoln’s He publicly acknowledged that Seward’s suggestion to await
compassion, self-awareness, and humility. He never allowed a military victory before issuing the proclamation was an
his ambition to consume his kindheartedness. “So long as I original and useful contribution. When he had to issue an
have been here,” Lincoln maintained, “I have not willingly order to Welles, he assured his “Neptune” that it was not
planted a thorn in any man’s bosom.” his intention to insinuate “that you have been remiss in
In his everyday interactions with the team, there was no the performance of the arduous and responsible duties of
room for mean-spirited behavior, for grudges or personal your Department, which I take pleasure in affirming had,
resentments. He welcomed arguments within the cabinet in your hands, been conducted with admirable success.”
but would be “greatly pained,” he warned his colleagues, if When compelled to remove one of Chase’s appointees, he
he found them attacking one another in public. Such sniping understood that the prickly Chase might well be resentful.
“would be a wrong to me; and much worse, a wrong to the Not wanting the situation to deteriorate, he called on Chase
country.” The standards of decorum he demanded were based that evening. Placing his long arms on Chase’s shoulders, he
on the understanding that they were all involved in a challenge patiently explained why the decision was necessary. Though
“too vast for malicious dealing.” This sense of common the ambitious Chase often chafed under Lincoln’s authority,
purpose had guided the formation of the cabinet and would he acknowledged that “the President has always treated me
now sustain its survival. with such personal kindness and has always manifested such
Understand the emotional needs of the team. An fairness and integrity of purpose, that I have not found myself
ongoing attentiveness to the multiple needs of the complex free to throw up my trust…so I still work on.”
individuals in his cabinet shaped Lincoln’s team leadership. Refuse to let past resentments fester. Lincoln never
From the start Lincoln recognized that Seward, with selected members of his team “by his like, or dislike of them,”
his commanding national and international reputation, his old friend Leonard Swett observed. He insisted that he did
merited the preeminent position of secretary of state and not care if someone had done wrong in the past; “it is enough
required special treatment. Not only attracted by Seward’s if the man does no wrong hereafter.” Lincoln’s adherence
cosmopolitan glamour and the pleasure of his sophisticated to this rule opened the door to Stanton’s appointment as
company but also sensitive to his colleague’s hurt pride in secretary of war, despite a troubled early history between the
losing the Republican presidential nomination that had two men. They had first crossed paths on a major patent case
widely been expected to be his, Lincoln frequently crossed in Cincinnati. Stanton, a brilliant and hard-driving lawyer, had
the street to pay a visit to Seward’s townhouse at Lafayette already earned a national reputation; Lincoln was an emerging
Park. There the two men spent long evenings before a blazing figure only in Illinois. One look at Lincoln—hair askew, shirt
fire, talking, laughing, telling stories, developing a mutually stained, coat sleeves and trousers too short to fit his long arms
bolstering camaraderie. Lincoln formed an equally intimate, and legs—and Stanton turned to his partner, George Harding:
though less convivial, bond with the high-strung, abrasive “Why did you bring that d—d long armed Ape here…he does
Stanton. “The pressure on him is immeasurable,” Lincoln said not know anything and can do you no good.” And with that,
of “Mars,” as he affectionately nicknamed his war secretary. Stanton dismissed the prairie lawyer. He never opened the
Lincoln was willing to do anything he could to assuage that brief Lincoln had meticulously prepared, never consulted him,
stress, if only by sitting with Stanton in the telegraph office, didn’t even speak a word with him.

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