Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln - Article Example This article was published in the April 2009 issue of Harvard Business Review. The article includes an interview conducted between the author of the article and Doris Kearns Goodwin, who is the author of a 2005 bestseller book. The author has developed the interview by asking various questions relating to how President Abraham Lincoln was the best president America has ever seen and what made him develop such good qualities of leadership. Goodwin has also replied quite well to the questions asked and has quoted various examples along with presenting similarities and the dissimilarities between Abraham Lincoln and President Obama. The article is based on a number of insights, the basic one being that the lessons of leadership that were learned from Abraham Lincoln can not only be applied to the political viewpoint but also has the capacity to be utilized in other fields of life. Goodwin brings to the audience’s attention that both the former and current presidents always prefer those people who are best at what they do regardless of their dislikes towards the president himself. The basic purpose of choosing such colleagues was to work with people who had the ability to disagree and argue with the president at times when he was considered wrong. The next key concept that has been discussed in the interview is that even though the colleagues question our decisions and thinking regarding the situation, at the end of the day it is the leader who has to make the decisions and stand firm on that decision. The author quotes an example regarding the abolishment of slavery in the United States where many cabinet members opposed Lincoln but he made his decisions on what he felt was right. The author talks about other characteristics of Abraham Lincoln such as his emotional intelligence, which allowed him to learn from his mistakes, his charisma that made him loved by all even his competitors and