lincoln and being breezy
So Lincoln was aware that he needed help in this big war, and used his political acumen to surround himself with smart people. He chose people from all different philosophies/factions for his cabinet, keeping in mind his higher goal of presenting a united North to be able to stand against the rebellious south — having a united North was a requirement for the even higher goal of keeping the union together.
So he was able to keep people of differing opinions on his side, keep self-important people in their places but with him still, and assert his leadership. Amazingly enough, he did this without making a lot of enemies (in the North at any rate). Over and over [as I read in the book] he displays considerable diplomatic skills in stating his position or his decision, which might well be in direct opposition to the person with whom he is interacting, but not offending him. Generally, people with whom he had conflict (including Seward) ended up admiring him in the end.
I wouldn’t dream of comparing myself to Lincoln (hero that he is), but this reminds me of a disagreement I had with a former supervisor of mine over my tone with my customers. She and I were discussing an important issue and decided what we needed to say to the customer, but I asked if I could present it. She said sure, I could say it — in my “breezy way”, as she put it. I try very hard to be firm with my customers, especially on contractual issues, but at the same time maintaining a harmonious working relationship. It was clear [after further discussion] that she thought my hard-thought and long-worked-on customer interaction manner was too … nice or something. As if one couldn’t possibly be firm and nice at the same time.
Well, I try to be firm and nice at the same time, and luckily I can use Lincoln as an example to follow.
Posted by Marie on January 25th, 2007 under Uncategorized
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- Our little social … human
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- talking about breasts
- fresh out of the oven
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