Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering Lessons for Leaders

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America July 19, 2007 Ralph G. Giffin, III Director, Business Operations and Industry Service Professor School of Systems and Enterprises Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ 07030

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Abraham Lincoln 16 th President of the United States

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Lincoln on Leadership Donald T. Phillips Warner Business Books, 1992 Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Doris Kearns Goodwin Simon & Schuster, 2005 Lincoln’s Melancholy Joshua Wolf Shenk Houghton Mifflin, 2005

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Lincoln Facts Born: February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky Middle Name: None Parents: Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln Siblings: Sarah (1807 -1828), Thomas (1812) Places Lived: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, District of Columbia Wife: Mary Todd Lincoln (1818 -1882); married 1842 Children: Robert Todd Lincoln (1843 -1926), Edward Baker Lincoln (1846 -1850), William Wallace Lincoln (1850 -1862), Thomas (Tad) Lincoln (1853 -1871) Formal Education: About 1 year total Degrees: Honorary degrees from Knox College (1860), Columbia (1861), Princeton (1864) Political Party: Whig (1832 -1856), Republican (1856 -1865) Offices Held: elected to Illinois General Assembly in 1834, 1836, 1838, 1840; elected to U. S. House of Representatives in 1846; elected sixteenth President of the U. S. in 1860 and 1864 Military Experience: Captain and private, Illinois Militia (1832); Commander-in-Chief (1861 -1865) Patent: #6469 granted May 22, 1849 for device to lift boats over shoals; only U. S. President to own a patent Appearance: 6'4", 180 lbs. , gray eyes, black hair, size 14 shoe Abraham Lincoln Online, 2007

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Abraham Lincoln 16 th President of the United States Elected: November 6, 1860 Seceded from the Union: South Carolina Mississippi Florida Alabama Georgia Louisiana Texas Sworn into Office: December 20, 1860 January 9, 1861 January 10, 1861 January 11, 1861 January 19, 1861 January 26, 1861 March 2, 1861 March 4, 1861 Further Secession from the Union: Virginia Arkansas North Carolina Tennessee April 17, 1861 May 6, 1861 May 20, 1861 June 8, 1861

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Abraham Lincoln 16 th President of the United States “It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a President under our national constitution…. . I now enter upon the task for the brief constitutional term of four years, under great and peculiar difficulty. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is now formidably attempted. ” First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America A short sidetrack……. Abraham Lincoln 16 th President of the United States I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America A short sidetrack……. Abraham Lincoln 16 th President of the United States With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations. Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Abraham Lincoln’s Lessons for Leaders • Be Accessible • Do Not Order; Persuade • Be Honest • Lead with Integrity • Be Kind and Magnanimous President Abraham Lincoln • Understand the View and Needs of Others • Be Self-Confident But Modest • Preach a Vision, Continually Reaffirm • Be Decisive • Be Results Oriented

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Being Accessible President Abraham Lincoln

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Being Accessible …I do not often decline seeing people who call upon me; and probably will see you if you call… Lincoln, in a letter to Indiana Resident, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Being Accessible …I do not often decline seeing people who call upon me; and probably will see you if you call… Lincoln, in a letter to Indiana Resident, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln …I tell you, that I call these receptions my ‘public opinion baths – for I have little time to read the newspapers and gather public opinion that way…and though they may not be pleasant in all particulars, the effect, as a whole, is renovating and invigorating… Lincoln, describing his Public Opinion Baths, 1862

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Being Accessible President Abraham Lincoln

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Being Accessible Lincoln’s Principles • It is important that the people know you come among them without fear. • Seek casual contact with your subordinates. It is as meaningful as a formal gathering, if not more so. • Don’t often decline to see people who call on you. President Abraham Lincoln • Take public opinion baths. • Remember, everyone likes a compliment. • You must seek and require access to reliable and up-to-date information. From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Uses Persuasion Over Coercion President Abraham Lincoln From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Uses Persuasion Over Coercion To General Mc. Clellan (10/13/63) “…. this letter is in no sense an order. ” To General Halleck (9/19/63) “…I hope you will consider it. ” President Abraham Lincoln To General Burnside (9/27/63) “ It was suggested to you, not ordered. ” To General Banks (1/13/64) “…frame orders, and fix times and places, for this and that, according to your own judgment. ” From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Executive Mansion Washington, D. C. January 26, 1863. Major General Hooker: General. I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac… Major General Joseph Hooker President Abraham Lincoln “I think it best for you to know that there are some things in regard to which, I am not quite satisfied with you. ” “What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship”

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Major General Joseph Hooker “Just such a letter as a father might write to a son. It is a beautiful letter, and, although I thinks he was harder on me than I deserved, I will say I love the man who wrote it. ” General Joseph Hooker, to a news reporter, several months after receiving his letter from Lincoln

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader Uses Persuasion Over Coercion Lincoln’s Principles • Remember that your followers generally want to believe that what they do is their own idea and, more importantly that it genuinely makes a difference. • If you practice dictatorial leadership, you prepare yourself to be dictated to. President Abraham Lincoln • A good leader avoids issuing orders, preferring to request, imply, or make suggestions. • Use force only as a last resort • Delegate responsibility and authority by empowering people to act on their own. From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader is Honest President Abraham Lincoln From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader is Honest “Stand with anybody that stands right, stand by with him when he is right and part with him when he is wrong” Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854 “Never add the weight of (your) character to a charge against a fellow man without knowing it to be true” President Abraham Lincoln From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992 Letter to the editor, Illinois Gazette, 1846

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader is Honest “Stand with anybody that stands right, stand by with him when he is right and part with him when he is wrong” Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854 “Never add the weight of (your) character to a charge against a fellow man without knowing it to be true” President Abraham Lincoln Letter to the editor, Illinois Gazette, 1846 “It’s like certain habits of men, it decorates the ruin it makes” Lincoln, comparing untrustworthy people to a tree being killed by its ivy cover From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Leader is Honest Lincoln’s Principles • You must set, and respond to, fundamental goals and values that move your followers • You must be consistently fair and decent, in both the business and the personal side of life. President Abraham Lincoln • Stand with anybody who stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong. • Never add the weight of your character to a charge against a person without knowing it to be true. • Once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. From Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips, 1992

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Honest Abe “If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? ” Abraham Lincoln

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Kind and Magnanimous President Abraham Lincoln “I cannot for a moment suspect you of anything dishonorable” Lincoln, to Douglas supporters, 1858

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America The Team of Rivals Salmon Chase William Seward Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of State President Abraham Lincoln Edward Bates Attorney General

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Kind and Magnanimous President Abraham Lincoln Edwin Stanton Secretary of War

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Kind and Magnanimous President Abraham Lincoln Edwin Stanton Secretary of War “Why did you bring that damned long armed ape here? He doesn’t know anything and can do you no good. ” Stanton, to George Harding, commenting on Lincoln, Cincinnati, 1855

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Kind and Magnanimous President Abraham Lincoln Edwin Stanton Secretary of War “…the secretary of War is not to blame for not giving when he had none [e. g. , soldiers] to give. ” Lincoln, responding to critics of Secretary Stanton

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Modest, Yet Self Confidant President Abraham Lincoln John Nicolay Private Secretary to Lincoln’s decisions on his cabinet showed “…great courage and self-reliance As each (of the rivals) were to feel the wrong man had been nominated. ” John Nicolay, secretary to the President

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Modest, Yet Self Confidant President Abraham Lincoln John Nicolay Private Secretary to Lincoln’s decisions on his cabinet showed “…great courage and self-reliance As each (of the rivals) were to feel the wrong man had been nominated. ” John Nicolay, secretary to the President We need the strongest men in the party for the Cabinet…I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. I had no right to deprive the country of their services. ” Lincoln, to a reporter, when asked why he selected political rivals to his cabinet

Leadership for Enabling Systems Engineering: Lessons for Leaders from 19 th Century America Abraham Lincoln’s Lessons for Leaders • Be Accessible • Do Not Order; Persuade • Be Honest • Lead with Integrity • Be Kind and Magnanimous President Abraham Lincoln • Understand the View and Needs of Others • Be Self-Confident But Modest • Preach a Vision, Continually Reaffirm • Be Decisive • Be Results Oriented