I was part of a group of John Maxwell Team members that had the opportunity to watch and study leadership lessons from the movie, Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis. John played the movie, but stopped after nearly every scene to teach leadership lessons that were brilliantly displayed.
In this article I am going to demonstrate three of many lessons we can learn from Lincoln.
Lincoln surrounded himself with great leaders. His cabinet was filled with strong powerful characters. A weak, insecure leader will surround themselves with weak people. Lincoln was an even greater leader because he was secure in surrounding himself with with these strong people. A great leader is willing to have the best people around them even if sometimes those people are hard to lead. Lincoln was challenged by his cabinet every step along the way. It made him better.
Lincoln used the influence of others to lead. He needed help from Preston Blair, the opposition, to succeed. Strong leaders are humble and ask for help. They don’t ask for agreement. A great leader will always need to use the influence of others. You will never get to a point that you don’t need it. A strong leader learns how to build consensus without compromising their goal or values.
Lincoln heard over and over that passing the 13th amendment was impossible. A great leader is optimistic despite adversity. Leaders must be dealers in hope. Hope that is backed by strategy and a will to win. When you become a leader you cannot be controlled by other people’s emotions. You do not give up compassion, but you must be committed to your vision.
There are countless lessons in the life of Lincoln, and they are captured beautifully in this movie. It is a movie that should be watched more than once. After you enjoy the picture, you can watch it a second time to focus your attention on the leadership principles. All of the main characters were great leaders, but Lincoln was the greatest among them. I hope you get chance to enjoy this movie several times.
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