John Stanko

I have already finished four books this year, and one of them was Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  I have read quite a few books on Lincoln and I am convinced more than ever that he was a great leader and manager of people.  This book only confirmed that thought.  The book read like a novel and I couldn't put it down once I started.

At the same time, I have to wonder if 600,000 men had to lose their lives in the American Civil War as they did.  England ended slavery decades earlier than the U.S. without a shot being fired and the Quakers in the U.S. voluntarily ended slavery well before the Civil War.  Why did so many have to lose their lives to see something happen that took place without bloodshed in other settings? 

One reason I believe is that the founding fathers of the U.S. did not address this issue when they should or could have (Benjamin Franklin is the exception).  They ignored the wrongs of slavery to keep the colonies united even after the Revolutionary War when they could have come to a better resolution on the subject.  When leaders don't lead, people suffer and opportunities are lost.  Those fathers did not lead where the subject of slavery was concerned and, almost 100 years later, men died because of it.

The lesson here is that leaders have to make tough decisions that are second-guessed and criticized by many.  If those leaders don't have the courage to do so, then they are not leaders.  They are really just followers with leader titles.  Are you facing a tough decision as a leader?  Then make it!  Don't rush to make it, unless you must, but set your heart to do what you know in your heart to be right, even if everyone else says it's wrong.  That's what Lincoln did and I think the conclusion of most today is that he was a great leader. 

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