"Team of Rivals" - an MBA in Leadership

"Team of Rivals - The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" is a #1 New York Times Bestseller by the Pulitzer Prize winner and Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

The Steven Spielberg movie Lincoln was based on this book.

I have seen Goodwin in several documentaries and shows, primarily when it is related to the US history and past Presidents. I have heard and read about this book in number blogs and articles on Medium for a long time but never got to read it.

When I saw the book in my local library, I borrowed it. It took me forever to complete the book as I am practicing 'slow reading' this year. I will read a chapter and go read another book, then return to the next chapter. In some cases, I re-read multiple chapters. This was just so good that I wanted soak in the finer details.

This is almost a 1000 page book. It is one of the most researched, fact-based, historical biopic that goes into depths of Abraham Lincoln's time during his first primaries through his re-election.

The book is so good that it doesn't try to paint anyone in a good or bad light, but rather what someone documented in their journal or captured in a news article at that time. It also clearly says whenever something is a hearsay or rumor.

The book goes into greater detail on some portions of Lincoln's life including his 1960 primaries, his rivals in those elections, each of their background, the civil war, Lincoln's challenges and friendships with various cabinet members and key individuals during that period, his re-election and the time leading up to his assassination. 

Key highlights that stuck in my head after reading this book:

• Lincoln always appointed his cabinet and other key positions based upon the qualifications even if they opposed some of his policies and views.  
• Lincolns empowered his people to the highest level. 
• He used humor more than what people expected. 
• He didn't really care about the appearances but rather was focused on being his authentic self. 
• Lincoln was a congressman, lost many small and big elections, then very unexpectedly was nominated as the Presidential candidate for the Republican party. 
• Lincoln grew up in very humble circumstances and continued to live with humility.
• Lincoln never reacted with emotions like anger or disappointment whenever someone made him angry or disappointed him. 
• Lincoln visited the army during battle consistently which really made him the favorites of those who were in the battlefield even if they didn't agree to all his policies. 
• Lincoln rarely overrode his subordinates and when he did, he provided the reasoning and ensure it was clearly communicated.
• Lincoln didn't react to news headlines, rumors, bad behavior, or, when he was misunderstood. 

There's a lot more to unpack in this book. In some chapters, I almost felt that I was reading a fiction, as some of his leadership habits are almost unreal and somewhat hard to imagine in today's world.

Almost everyone thought he was not suitable to be the President at the beginning. And almost everyone ended up respecting him for the way he treated them and his thoughtful long term strategies and approaches.

I am keeping this post short, so that if you are a book reader and haven't read this book, you can enjoy it as I did.