Give Trust, Get Trust

Abraham Lincoln’s decision to empower soldiers offers a lesson on how to inspire, align and lead

In his book Igniting Inspiration: A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries, John Marshall Roberts asserts there are three ways to move people toward a desired action or behavior. You can force them, for example, by waving a contract or your title at them. You can persuade them with some compelling logic, often resulting in “death by PowerPoint.” But the only way to really move people is to inspire them. Inspiration comes from two elements: a vision and demonstrating the starring role people can play in that vision.

I consider one of Abraham Lincoln’s visions to be the Gettysburg Address delivered in November 1863, particularly its closing line: “…That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” One year later nearly to the day, Lincoln was re-elected because enough people indeed saw themselves playing a leading role in such a future.

In the advanced stages of the Civil War, Lincoln was in jeopardy of becoming a one-term president. He faced one of his more popular Union generals, General George B. McClellan, in the first presidential election cycle to take place during wartime.

Lincoln boldly made the daring decision to give furloughs to Union troops to go home and vote or complete ballots in the field. Everyone thought Lincoln unwittingly sealed his own fate by putting more votes in the hands of the soldiers, thinking they would favor his militarily credentialed opponent.

But what he had done through his inspiring rhetoric and his courage to go to the infrequently visited front lines emboldened the troops in such a way that they could see themselves playing the starring role in his vision for the country. He gave them something every person cherishes: his trust. He showed these soldiers that he trusted their collective judgement. Other than being loved and being understood, being trusted by someone is arguably the most absolute and utterly satisfying feeling there is.

It turned out that the soldiers’ votes did indeed swing the election, but not in the direction pundits had predicted. The troops had fought too long, lost too many and sacrificed too much to accept anything but the victorious vision Lincoln conjured for them. Lincoln was re-elected in a landslide with support from nearly 80% of the soldiers.

The more significant insight is that it was those who were in combat who supported Honest Abe by a far greater majority than the folks back home. The troop vote was a self-imposed mandate to finish the job for which they now felt responsible. Rather than through force, Lincoln entrusted his troops with the most important decision of his life, their lifetimes, as well as that of the country. Lincoln empowered them. He placed the fate of the world in the hands of those who had proven their willingness to die for it.

That’s inspiration. That’s alignment. That’s leadership.