Abraham Lincoln's Leadership Style

Abraham Lincoln was tested on several occasions during his role as the sixteenth president of the United States. However, he was certainly one of the greatest presidents, if not the greatest, to ever hold the office. His presidency was during one of the lowest points this country has seen, but with Lincoln’s leadership this country turned around and united. Lincoln became an effective leader through his childhood, his core principles or leadership traits, and who he surrounded himself with. Lincoln’s childhood was rough, and his family was on the poor end of the economy. His father worked low paying jobs due to not being able to write or read. Furthermore, his mother taught him how to read and write but she passed away when Lincoln was nine.

The principle that stands out the most is his ability to learn on his own. Furthermore, his ability to learn the job quickly. This stems back to his childhood and him self-learning basically everything he knew growing up. “Lincoln was able to acknowledge errors, learn from them, and then move. In this way, he established a culture of learning in his administration, said Kearns Goodwin” (Moreton). Also, he had the ability to control his emotions and not let his anger escalate to something bigger. “When Lincoln was particularly angry he had a habit of writing a letter to the person he was angry with and setting it aside, often not sending it, but rather expressing those emotions on paper” (Adubato). This is an extremely important trait in leader because it is easier to talk to a leader that controls his emotions. This ability also let Lincoln have the ability to discuss problems with opposing views and work out a solution without getting anger. Lincoln had great communication skills. This also was very important in his presidency to get the country to follow his lead. He was able to express his vision and get people to understand his vision of where the country needed to go to unite. “Lincoln’s greatest gift as a communicator was that most people believed that HE believed what he was saying” (Adubato). Lincoln was often called honest Abe because he spoke the truth and delivered on his