March 31, 2009

Lessons learned from Lincoln

By Mark Hrywna
Even fundraisers can use the principles that made President Abraham Lincoln great almost 150 years after his death.

Lincoln's success was "based on a set of core leadership capacities" that can be adapted today, said presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Lincoln also had the ability to motivate himself in the face of frustration while withstanding trials by fire.

Kearns Goodwin was the J. Richard Wilson Keynote Speaker at Monday morning's plenary session during the Association of Fundraising Professionals' (AFP) 46th international conference on fundraising in New Orleans.

During her 50-minute remarks before more than 2,000 fundraisers, Kearns Goodwin related stories and anecdotes that detailed Lincoln's highs and lows, from multiple election defeats before ascending to the presidency to losing a son. Fundraisers have much in common with the nation's 16th president. Lincoln had an undying goal to leave the world a better place, ensuring his honor and reputation lived on after his death.

"The work you do each day has a tremendous impact on the lives of others," Kearns Goodwin said. Lincoln was faced with an array of challenging issues, "much as you face a difficult challenging in fundraising today," she said.

The capacity to listen to different points of view, Lincoln appointed many rivals to his cabinet who could argue and question assumptions, creating an atmosphere to disagree without repercussions. The search for consensus can paralyze progress, Kearns Goodwin said, so Lincoln would seek advice on the implementation and timing of plans once decisions had been made.

With an unparalleled array of emotional and political skills, Lincoln had an ability to learn on the job, as well as a willingness to share credit for successes that created "a reservoir of good will." As Lincoln once said, "The path to success is broad enough for two people," according to Kearns Goodwin. And as willing as he was to share credit, the former president also was willing to shoulder the blame for loyalists.

Lincoln had a keen awareness of his own weaknesses, said Kearns Goodwin, including a tendency to give too many chances to subordinates. He also channeled his anger and frustration toward productivity, she said, adding that Lincoln was known to lose his temper but always followed up with a gesture. Known for his oratory, Lincoln was able to communicate goals with the beauty of language, Kearns Goodwin said.

Lincoln never imagined how far his image and name would go but today he's one for the ages, Kearns Goodwin said. Lincoln may not have been as a great a general or statesman as others, he said, but his contemporaries said he was great because of the integrity of his character and his moral fiber of being.

Others may live on not with a marble monument, Kearns Goodwin said, but through memories of children, grandchildren and colleagues.