Because of its brevity, I quote the closing paragraph of Abraham\u2019s Lincoln\u2019s second inaugural address in March 1865: \u201cWith malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and orphan; to do all which we may achieve and cherish a just a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations\u201d (Watson, 1988, pg. 106)<\/p>\n
In reviewing Lincoln\u2019s speech in its entirety and focusing on the above quoted paragraph, I identify six leadership traits of his that are revealed in his speech.<\/p>\n
I am mindful of the first three leadership traits in my own experience. The ability to identify reality in a church context is something that I have often seen lacking. Points of illustration would be some of these frequently heard comments:<\/p>\n
My response to these illustrative examples is to listen more than I used to, ask questions throughout and try to involve as many people in seeing the \u201cbig picture.\u201d I often find that people, who outside of the church context, may be decisive, aggressive (in a good sense) and confident are much less so when working within a church context. My opinion is that being seen as passive, easygoing and quiet is viewed as more \u201cspiritual.\u201d Because of the contrasting outside-church and inside-church personas, I try to really get to know people outside of church to better ascertain their real strengths and abilities.<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
De Pree, M. (1989).\u00a0Leadership Is an Art<\/em>. New York City, NY: Doubleday Business.<\/p>\n Northouse, P. G. (2019).\u00a0Leadership: Theory and practice<\/em>. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.<\/p>\n Watson, L. (1988).\u00a0Light From Many Lamps<\/em>. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Because of its brevity, I quote the closing paragraph of Abraham\u2019s Lincoln\u2019s second inaugural address in March 1865: \u201cWith malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations; … <\/p>\n