Running Head: Prominent Leaders 1

Prominent Leaders

Rachael Brown

MGT380: Leadership for Organizations (BFJ1729A)

Instructor: Stacey Taylor

31 July 2017
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Prominent Leaders

Introduction

The choice of my leader is the sixteenth American president, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln

led the USA in hard times of the civil wars. There were major crisis that involved both the

politics and the constitution that were brought about by the issues of slavery in the USA.

Through his leadership, Lincoln was able to guide the USA through this hard time to become one

of the best nations in the world. Such a hard time required a leader who was not only loyal to the

nation but also a leader full of wisdom and charisma to rally the followers to see the future of the

nation. As a leader, Lincoln had great conviction that made it easier for him to lead the soldiers

as well as convince the American to see the future and make the necessary sacrifices to fulfil the

vision.

Lincoln transformational leadership

Lincoln was a transformational leader since he was able to clearly demonstrate the main

qualities of transformational leadership. These traits include being bel to inspire followers,

stimulating the followers intellectual capacity, being charismatic as well as having a great

concern for each individual. Transformational leader have great interpersonal skills that include e

great sense of self-controls, self-confidence, having a great purpose in life as well as high

efficacy. Such leaders motivate the followers to do what is necessary by informing, empowering

ad guiding the followers in the process of undertaken their roles (Weiss, 2016). The discussion

below illustrates how Lincolns leadership embodied the elements of a transformational leader.
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As a leader, Lincoln had a clear vision for the transformation of America. He expressly

made it clear to the followers what he intended to achieve as well as gave the people the means

to achieve this vision. To demonstrate his belief in the vision, Lincoln always had his best skills

and attitude on the fore for all followers to see and implement. His riding statement was that the

government of the country would give the people a chance to decide their future and it would

ensure great person to all citizens. He rallied the people to believe that they will have a

government of the people, by the people, for the people (Bowman, 2011). He placed this vision

in the belief of God who would ensure that their freedoms and democracy will not be in vain and

will last for eternity.

The clear vision was an inspiring motivate to the followers and the army behind Lincoln

to make short-term sacrifices that would make it easier to change the American society for the

long term. He was able to offer guidance and motivation to the southern armies that the war

would give them back their liberties and freedom. During hard moments, Lincolns provided

undivided support to the armies. This made the armies to stick to the war despite meeting

hardships, defeats, deaths and other harsh conditions (Bowman, 2011). Thanks to their leader,

they kept focused on the outcomes.

One of the major trust of Lincoln was his full trust on the armies and flowers. During the

civil war, Lincoln demonstrated his full trust to the soldiers and their commanders. This endeared

him to the soldiers who felt encouraged by the commitment and the high respect he accorded

them regardless of their ranks. He also showed his loyalty to the course of the civil war and his

total respect to the soldiers. He developed a personal interaction with the soldiers to an extent

that some of the solders would have several friendly nicknames for him at a personal level

(Alexander Peck, 2007). Such enhanced the motivation, made it easier for the followers to
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respect him, have total trust, and be loyal to the course. This aspect was also one of the major

reason that he was easily reelected as the president.

Lincolns leadership was characterized by a strong stand on morality. He was not shy of

pointing out the immoral acts in the society, which was slavery. He was bold enough to speak

against human slavery in the society and led by freeing the war slaves. He is quoted of saying

that if the slavery was not a wrong thing, then there was nothing else that was bad on earth.

Above all, Lincoln was able to expressly show unparalleled servant leadership. As a leader,

Lincolns aim was to serve the citizens of the nation but not to have power for personal gains

(Vorenberg, 2001). The used his position to influence the other leaders and the society to address

issues that were beneficial for the entire society. He acted as a facilitator of change in the society.

Conclusion

Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest American leader. He was able to guide the nation

during on of most difficult times though his wisdom ad great leadership styles. He influenced the

followers to see the evils in the society and try to transform the society into a better nation where

the society member would have justice and enjoy their liberties. He used his interpersonal skills

to build trust, integrity, and respect among his followers. This ensured that they stick to the

vision despite the many challenges they faced. (Bowman, 2011)

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References

Alexander Peck, G. (2007). Abraha Lincoln and the Triumph of an Antislavery Nationalism.

Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, 28(2), 1-27.

Bowman, C. H. (2011). Abraham Lincoln's transformational leadership. . Lincoln Memorial

University.

Vorenberg, M. (2001). The Deformed Child': Slavery and the Election of 1864. Civil War

History, 47(3), 240.

Weiss, J. W. (2016). Organizational Change (2 ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.