HFMA VIEWS

Margaret Veach
Senior Editor, HFMA

At last week’s annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Nashville, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin shared the lessons in leadership she had learned writing her newest biography, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. For his cabinet--the most unusual in U.S. history, according to Goodwin--Lincoln chose men who had openly criticized him, men who had badly wanted the presidency themselves but had lost to him. Asked how he could appoint such individuals to work so closely with him, Lincoln replied, “These are among the strongest men in the nation; I cannot deprive the nation of their strengths.”

What particular quality made Lincoln such a strong leader? Goodwin believes he had several, including these:

• Besides being able to recognize peoples’ abilities and strengths, Lincoln had an extraordinary ability to reach into their hearts and to walk in their shoes. He never forgot his background, strongly identifying himself as a common man.
• He shared credit for success, saying “The path to success is wide enough for two to walk abreast.”
• He also accepted blame for failures and errors--and he learned from those failures and errors.
• He knew how to relax! Attending the theatre, reading, and storytelling were among the activities that restored him.

These lessons in leadership have as much application today as they did 150 years ago--perhaps even more so. Recognizing the strengths of others, sharing credit, accepting responsibility are all qualities that take courage--and make leaders.