Lincoln Listened First

Leadership Earned

Great leaders are not appointed.  Sure, great leaders might be voted into their station of authority but they have to work hard to gain the respect, trust, and love required to make them great.  The 2012 film Lincoln expertly depicts the events surrounding the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which declared that all men were (legally) equal, thus abolishing slavery in The United States of America.  President Abraham Lincoln, known as a steadfast, steady, calm, and incredibly well-respected man, understood that the amendment was a requirement.

Near the end of the film, just days before the vote on the amendment, Lincoln met with some of his advisors.  As things then-presently stood, they were short a few votes of passing the amendment.  Down to a just a few votes!  Full of fear that the Union would lose the war and lose the fight to end slavery, Lincoln’s advisors pled with him to pursue other means to end the war.  Lincoln, filled with righteous anger and emboldened by the burden of his mantle, rises from his seat and declares, “I am the President of the United States!  Clothed in immense power!  You will procure me these votes” (Lincoln, film, 1:45:55).  

Lincoln knew that passing the amendment was the only way to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.  Getting those votes was critical.  So, he demanded it.  But had not earned the respect, trust, fear, and love of the men he was demanding to “procure him these votes”, such an angry demand would not have been successful.

The proceeding will serve as a look at how Lincoln earned enough respect to become a great, effective leader: by listening first, earning respect, taking responsibility,  and making careful, guided decisions.

Embracing the Silence

When watching the film, there was one characteristic of the president that strikes above all others: his calm comfort with silence.  The first scene I notice such silence was early in the film where Lincoln is meeting with a few of his advisors as well as a few members of the Blair family.  Preston Blair, a former US Senator and skilled negotiator, was discussing the delicate nature of the Thirteenth Amendment and his doubt in its likelihood of success.  He was urging the president to allow him to travel to Richmond (headquarters of the Confederacy) to attempt to discuss peace between the warring people.  Also present in the room and group was Preston Blair’s daughter, Elizabeth Blair Lee, and son, Montgomery Blair (a former postmaster general who may or may not have been ousted from his position and has an obvious distaste for Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment), and Tad Lincoln, President Lincoln’s young son.

So much is going on in this scene.  A tumult of (very strong) opinions being bandied about by everyone in the room.  And what is Lincoln doing?  Not talking.  Silent.  Sitting.  Calm.  Open.  Taking it all in.  Listening.  Even though he has his own convictions and (probably) strongly disagrees with so much of what is being said, he is listening first.  Gaining clarity on the situation from every angle before trying to extend his influence.

There is so much chaos in the world.  So many loud opinions.  So much uncontained emotion.  Sardello warns us of meeting the world's uncontained emotion with uncontained emotion.  He said, "the more the world turns to the abstract, the stronger and more destructive uncontained emotion becomes.  While we cannot avoid these two pervading forces of abstraction and emotion, we can unmask them for what they are and find the practical means of ensuring that they do not take over our newfound relationship with Silence" (p 84).  Lincoln nailed this.  He understands that, at least in this moment, he could not successfully fight fire with fire.  He knows that he needed to fight fire with silence, compassion, understanding, and positive progress.

Lincoln displayed his supreme listening skills by “taking in information from speakers while maintaining nonjudgmental and empathetic, acknowledging the talker in a way that invites the communication to continue” (Burley-Allen, 1995).  Lincoln listened before he spoke.  Even when he didn't agree with who he was speaking with, he listened with respect.  Additionally, he wasn’t silent for the sake of silence.  He was silent but active.  Silent but present.  He was listening well.  And it earned the trust, respect, and love of Preston Blair a relationship that ended paying dividends in the success of the war and the passing of the amendment.

A Principled and Moral Vision

One of the first scenes of the film depicts a dream or vision that has been weighing on the president.  In this early scene, Lincoln is describing his dream to his wife, Mary Todd.  He says, “It’s nighttime.  Ship’s moving by some terrible power at a terrific speed.  And though it’s imperceptible in the darkness, I have an intuition that we’re headed towards a shore.  No-one else seems to be aboard the vessel.  I’m very keenly aware of my aloneness.  I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space were it not that I have bad dreams” (Spielberg, 2012, 00:07:12).  Mary Todd wonders if the dream represents an impending attack in the Civil War.  Lincoln is silent.  Mary Todd then realizes how her husband is interpreting the dream: he sees himself, and the country, headed quickly toward the Thirteenth Amendment.

Here we see the first on-screen inklings of Lincolns unwavering intuition.  The weight of the war, slavery, and its abolishment is constantly on his mind.  It’s such a high-stress situation that could be met with chaos but Lincoln is meditative on the subject.  It seems as though he has let his mind flow and is trying to allow the solutions present themselves rather than panic or overreact.

Throughout the film, Lincoln is pressed as to why he signed the Emancipation Proclamation and why he is so adamant about passing the Thirteenth Amendment.  Time and again, he calmly explains that he has never agreed with slavery, never agreed that one race is better than another.  And that he would use the power of his authority (especially the power given to him during times of war) to make moral decisions.  It should also be noted that he signed the Emancipation Proclamation prior to being elected to his second term in office.  Thus, taking total responsibility for any perceived negative fallout from the decision by making it possible for the people to vote him out of office if they disagreed with his use of wartime powers to make principled, moral decisions.

In these examples, Lincoln is practicing the art of listening… to himself.  His inner-voice.  His intuition and his integrity.  He has listened to all those around them, is aware of their heartache and their points of view.  He understands the reality of war and the brutal unfairness of slavery.  He makes his decisions with respect and compassion to the opposition.  That said, his decisions are motivated by his internal, unflappable commitment to honesty, integrity and doing what is morally good.

Conclusion

As I have written thus far, we can learn much from Lincoln’s commitment to listening first and serving first as a leader.

By listening first and seeking clarity prior to extending his influence, Lincoln ensured trust and respect from his constituents and confidants.  I have learned that if I want to be respected and trusted, I need to listen first.  No one wants to be led by someone who ignores you.  Everyone will (at least) respect a leader who disagrees with you but has listened, understood, and gained empathy to your plight.

Additionally, by listening to himself, Lincoln understood what truly mattered to him and knew right from wrong.  Lincoln did not allow himself to be wavered by the ever-changing world.  He was led by a firm moral compass.  He obtained this reputation by listening, serving, and always doing his best to do the right thing—even though he knew he would never be universally popular or beloved for it.  I know I can learn much from this beautiful example.  I know that it can be easy to get lost, morally, in the cacophony of the world that we live in.  Lincoln did not waver.  By listening well and leading with humility and integrity, I can sleep at night knowing that I at least tried my best doing what is morally just and right.

Lincoln earned the right to be called a great leader.  He did so by listening to all people from all perspectives, thus arming himself with critical knowledge and invaluable empathy.  Then, he used that power to serve the greater whole of all humanity by doing what he knew was right.  Even at the cost of losing his life.  Greenleaf spoke the use of such power when he called it “one of the most significant defining characteristics of a servant-leader” (p. 103).  Many are given authority and power, but their legacies will be judged on how purposefully and selflessly they use that power.

REFERENCES

Burley-Allen, M. (1995). Listening: The Forgotten Skill: A Self-Teaching Guide (2nd edition). Wiley.

Greenleaf, R. (1996). On Becoming a Servant Leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sardello, R. J. (2009). Silence: The mystery of wholeness. North Atlantic.

Spielberg, S. (Director). (2012). Lincoln [Motion Picture].