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Lincoln was skilled in building a diverse and competent team. He lacked the military education needed to run an army but that didn't stop him from reaching out to others who had experience. He picked many people to be on his team who were his enemies but he valued them because they were experienced and independent. He respected their decisions and knew what they were capable of doing to complete the mission. This gave Lincoln the confidence to learn from others and gain feedback from them to make decisions. I feel that his own commanders' lack of vision and drive may have often frustrated him but he was the type of person who found the grace to defend them and forgive their faults.
School leaders will work with a variety of personalities. I feel that great energy comes from a team of different personality traits. However, it can be hard to manage those personality differences but leaders have to make it clear to the team that the main goal is student performance. I love how the text stated that Lincoln had many leadership struggles but he held strong to his beliefs, practiced ethical leadership and put personalities aside (Alvy and Robbins, 2010, p. 14). This really stuck with me when I read it and I kept repeating it over and over to my husband. He is a fire captain and has to deal with his own set of leadership issues in his job and most of the problems are with his employees.
I feel that the grade level team leaders at our school are hard-working and that they put the success of the team above their own ego. They always encourage each other and work collaboratively towards the team goal. I have seen people on our team who didn't work well and wanted to either get the job done faster or were not willing to cooperate. Difficult personalities always present problems and challenges in any work environment. They can cause a great deal of stress and leaders sometimes have issues addressing these complex personalities.