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President Lincoln As A Visionary Leader

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Abraham Lincoln
Imagine how the state of the world will be today without the leadership of the United States of America to police the world. Think about Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s regime, Libya during Arafat’s regime and the behaviors like Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Had it not been the vision of Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union, there would not have been a strong unified United States today. President Abraham Lincoln was a visionary leader and an ethical leader when leading the United States through the Civil War during his Presidency. In this paper we will review how Lincoln used his leadership traits to win the Civil War to preserve the Union and abolish slavery in America. We will also review Lincoln as ethical …show more content…

He often would walk from his office to the Secretary of War’s office to discuss strategies to win the war. David T. Phillips stated in his book Lincoln on Leadership that, “Lincoln spent most of his time among the troops” (p.13). Lincoln rode his horse most of the time to the camp of the Union soldiers and cheered them up. He also motivated them by letting them know the importance of winning the war. The Core Lesson under Individual Consideration states that, “The leader empathizes with and supports each follower and keeps channels of communication open” [BCEE] (2014a, p.13). We have discussed Lincoln as Visionary Leader now let’s move on to Lincoln as Ethical Leader.
Ethical Leader Abraham Lincoln was an Ethical Leader; he did the right thing, and made ethical decisions regarding slavery. Lincoln was an honest man, and as a result he earned the nickname “Honest Abe”. David Phillips wrote in his book “Lincoln on Leadership”, “Lincoln always did the right thing or at least he attempted to do so” (1992, p.54). Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE] (2014b) defines ethics as “what we understand to be good and right behavior”. Lincoln did the right thing and did not associate himself with people he could not trust. He fired his first Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, for illegally awarding a defense contract and other shady dealings. Lincoln always shared his beliefs that all men were created equal. He always

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