Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times

“Endeavor” is the title of Part 3 of Lincoln on Leadership, and the chapters in this section center around the idea of Lincoln being an active leader who made informed choices based on clearly set goals. Chapter 8 begins with another concept that Phillips wants modern leaders to apply to their own organizations: “Exercise a strong hand—be decisive” (87). To show the importance of a “strong hand” when leading people, Phillips provides many examples from Lincoln’s policy decisions during the Civil War.

Because he was in an unprecedented situation in American history, Lincoln had to adapt quickly and make decisions that other presidents would have considered too bold or controversial, such as “stretch[ing] the meaning of the Constitution to its limit” (89). In his term as president, Lincoln assumed some of the powers that would have normally been the domain of Congress. The battle at Fort Sumter at the beginning of the war “gave Lincoln an opportunity to seize the initiative from the legislative branch” of the government (90). Other examples of Lincoln’s decisive actions include the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of 1862, his pocket-veto of the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864, his treatment of Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase (who tried to undermine his authority), and his removal of the postmaster-general, Montgomery Blair, who tried to sabotage the unity of the