Master of paradox

Lincoln was:
Charismatic yet unassuming: Consistent yet flexible: Trusting and compassionate yet demanding and tough; When having a bad day be positive and supportive of your staff – keep your darker side to yourself (Lincoln wrote letters & did not send them). Do have examples from IT of these principles? Have you ever written a memo to staff but not sent it? Saved it for another day in case you still needed? Been trusting and compassionate while still demanding?

Character

Lincoln had the courage to handle unjust crtiticism and he felt that the truth was the best defense against slander. To that end he felt that major misrepresentation should be handled immediately while minor ones should be ignored. He also felt that the possibility of falling in the struggle should not deter one from the struggle. Have you had instances in IT of dealing with untruths and how did you handle them? Where their instances that you felt it was just best to let things go since the truth would eventully come out? Do you agree that one should take risk when there is a possibility of failure? Are their pros and cons in IT for handling these risks while still trying to ensure service to clients and also continued employment?

Persuasion vs. Coercion

Lincoln understood that persuasion was preferred to coercion when getting buy in on what he needed accomplished. He also understood human nature and that people responded to input in many different ways so he interacted with his generals in different ways depending upon their personalities. He believed that force should be used as a last resort and that people also needed to believe that what they are doing is their own idea. He also empowered his generals to act on their own and make their own decisions. Can you think of some IT examples of empowering your staff and managers depending upon their unique personalities? Can you also highlight sometimes when you had to resort to force to get things done.

Building strong alliances

Lincoln built strong alliances even with his adversaries. He made many of them members of his cabinet. He also forged alliances with his subordinates by empowering them to take action and tried to avoid the appearance of micro managing situations. Do you feel these principles will work in IT. Have you had both positive and negative experiences when aligning yourself with adversaries? Are there methods that you have used to be hands on without appearing to micro manage situations?