Abraham Lincoln on Empowerment

1
Abraham Lincoln on Empowerment

• Leading in Times of Conflict
• Have Malice toward None and Charity for All

2
Lincoln and Empowerment I

• Spend time letting your followers learn that you
  are firm, resolute, and committed in the daily
  performance of your duty.
• Inspires respect and trust.
• Attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of
  human nature.
• Human action can be changed but human nature
  cannot be changed.
• Demonstrate a compassionate and caring
  disposition.
• Key to forging successful relationships.

3
Lincoln and Empowerment II

• Seek compromise whenever possible.
• Nurture the belief that what others think
  genuinely makes a difference.
• Delegate responsibility and authority by
  empowering people to act on their own.
• Conduct full and frequent consultations with the
  heads of various departments.
• Know when to issue orders and when to make
  suggestions.
• The best leaders never stop learning.

4
Lincoln and Empowerment III

• Give subordinates an opportunity for success.
• Set, and respond to fundamental goals and values
  that move your followers.
• Be fair and decent in business and personal life.
• An organization will take on the personality of
  its top leader.
• Ignore minor transgressions.
• Truth is generally the best vindication against
  slander.

5
Lincoln and Empowerment IV

• The probability that you may fail in a struggle
  ought not deter you from supporting a cause that
  is just.
• Consistency should be one of the main forces in
  your organization.
• Correct errors when they are shown to b e errors.
• Work with the paradox of providing employee
  security while also encouraging an environment
  for risk-taking.

6
Lincoln and Empowerment V

• Avoid major conflict in the form of quarrels and
  arguments.
• No time for this.
• Seize the initiative and never relinquish it.
• When making a decision, understand the facts,
  consider various solutions and their
  consequences, make sure that the decision is
  consistent with your objectives, and effectively
  communicate your judgment.
• Compromise does not mean cowardice.

7
Lincoln and Empowerment VI

• If you are a good leader, when your work is done,
  your aim fulfilled, your people will say, We did
  this ourselves.
• Guide the dialogue when there are disputing
  parties.
• When subordinates come up with good ideas, let
  them try but monitor their progress.
• The greatest credit should be given to those who
  render the hardest work.

8
Lincoln and Empowerment VII

• Unite followers with a corporate mission.
• Sometimes it is better to plough around obstacles
  rather than waste time going through them.
• Choose as your chief subordinates those who crave
  responsibility and take risks.
• Give your followers all the support you can.
• When the occasion is piled high with difficulty,
  think anew and act anew.
• Dont lose confidence in people if they fail.
• If you never try, youll never succeed.