Lincoln on Leadership – Leniency
October 12th, 2011Just a few observations and quotes from the book on leadership I’m reading. It’s been well documented that President Lincoln granted more pardons than any president had before him – or has since. He seemed to have virtually no feelings of hate, vindictiveness, or malice. Many people of his day, in fact, thought his tendency toward leniency was overdone. Here’s a hilarious example.
Even the president’s two sons, Willie and Tad, were aware of their father’s frequent pardons. Having sentenced their doll soldier to death as punishment for sleeping on guard duty, they obtained mercy from their father. “The doll Jack is pardoned. By order of the President,” he commanded on Executive Mansion stationery, signing it just as he signed all of his pardons: A. Lincoln.
On a much more serious note, here’s another example.
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, who already knew that it was “very hard for the President to hang spies,” once asked Lincoln explicitly whether he wanted Jefferson Davis captured or allowed to escape. Lincoln replied:I’ll tell you, General, what I think of taking Jeff Davis. Out in Illinois there was an old temperance lecturer who was very strict in the doctrine and practice of total abstinence. One day, after a long ride in the hot sun, he stopped at the house of a friend, who proposed making him a lemonade. When the friend asked if he wouldn’t like a drop of something stronger in the drink, he replied that he couldn’t think of it. “I’m opposed to it on principle,” he said. “But,” he added with a longing glance at the bottle that stood conveniently at hand, “if you could manage to put in a drop unbeknownst to me, I guess it wouldn’t hurt me much.” Now, General, I am bound to oppose the escape of Jeff Davis; but if you could manage to let him slip out unbeknownst-like, I guess it wouldn’t hurt me much.
Here are several more direct quotes from the chapter.
“Pettiness, spite, and vengeance are emotional reactions considered to be beneath the dignity of a leader. Followers expect their leaders to rise above such demeaning and degrading activity.”
“Whenever he had doubts, and there must have been many, he fell back on the foundation of his personality: honesty, integrity, compassion, and mercy.”
“Is there a lesson to be learned here? It is, in part, that by being compassionate and kind rather than malicious or vengeful, a leader will make fewer enemies for himself and his organization and will thereby create more supporters, more dedicated “soldiers” to aid in the overall corporate mission.”
“Obviously, if people, whether business associates or subordinates, realize that a leader is not given to spite and pettiness, they will be more willing to openly seek him out. This will, in turn, make the leader more effective.”
“Invariably an organization takes on the personality of its top leader, providing that individual is in touch with the members of the organization. If the leader is petty, the subordinates will be petty. But if the leader is encouraging, optimistic, and courteous, then the vast majority of the workers in the organization will be as well.”
“What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing.”
The chapter is concluded with this observation and suggestion.
“In general, a lack of malice on the part of a leader – genuine caring – inspires trust among subordinates and fosters innovative thinking. It also keeps followers from being terrified, allowing them to be themselves. Contemporary leaders should adopt Lincoln’s style and “pardon” mistakes as opposed to chewing out subordinates.”
This was from chapter 5, “Never Act Out of Vengeance or Spite”.
