Lincoln, Roosevelt, FDR, and LBJ: The Power of Resiliency in Leadership
The most interesting thing Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson have in common is not that they all served as President of the United States. Their most intriguing commonality is that in contrast to this highest of highs- election to the premier office in the land- they all experienced severe setbacks, failures, and humiliations. Doris Kearns Goodwin details all of these experiences in her book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, which brilliantly follows all four of these Presidents from childhood to their lowest points to the most challenging trials of their respective Presidencies, highlighting leadership gold along the way. It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it, but I want to focus on one thing in particular here about these leaders: their rise from those lows to the Presidency and victories for America: the Civil War, The Progressive Movement, The Great Depression and World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement.
At one point or another, all four of these men hit absolute rock bottom en route to the White House and amazing success as leaders. I don’t mean they just had a rough day, they all experienced severe hardship, failure, and loss. Indeed, all four men went through terrible bouts of depression and considered leaving public life altogether. I had to put the book down at times because of the shear pain these men felt from their failures and its resemblance to my own past dealing with mental health issues, expectations, and stress at Georgetown. But our job here as young leaders and inheritors of the America they served to build and improve is not to feel remorse, but to learn from what brought them out of those depths to success in some of the most pivotal moments in our history. Here’s what I pulled from Dr. Kearns excellent research:
As a young Illinois state senator, Abraham Lincoln pushed emphatically for a slew of public works projects aimed at modernizing Illinois’ economy: railroads, canals, bridges, and roads. Lincoln’s promises of expanded opportunity and growth accompanied these projects. But when Illinois entered a deep recession in 1840, these projects stopped dead in their tracks, Illinois’ debt ballooned, and the state’s credit suffered immensely. Lincoln was blamed throughout the state for the economic malaise and he soon became depressed and lost confidence in his abilities as a leader.
On February 14th 1884, Theodore Roosevelt, a New York state legislator at the time, experienced the worst loss imaginable as his wife and daughter passed away within hours of one another. Roosevelt wrote “All the light has gone out of my life” in the aftermath of this devastating loss. To make matters worse, Roosevelt was ridiculed by the leaders of the Republican party for his support of a reformist Republican over the Republican favorite. Roosevelt’s private and public life had completely fallen apart in 1884.
In August of 1921, the lively, athletic outdoorsman and rising star in the Democratic party, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio. In just 48 hours, FDR was reduced from political stardom to paralysis by this terrible disease. For weeks, he was bed ridden, facing a long, uncertain road to recovery. I can’t even begin to imagine the emotional, let alone physical pain of that experience to go from the height of one’s career to bed ridden over a course of two days.
In the summer of 1956, then Senate majority leader, Lyndon Johnson was in the mix for the Democratic Nomination for President. However, over the July 4th weekend that year a devastating heart attack ended his presidential hopes that cycle and removed him from public life for months. He had come to the brink of death and his personal health and confidence had been shaken to the core. He suffered from depression that fall and his aide George Reedy remarked, “You’d feel that he wasn’t there at all” (Goodwin 199).
All of these experiences are remarkably sad and difficult to read. What I find most unbelievable however is the rise of these four men out of these dark depths to integral success as our nation’s highest leaders. Each of their comebacks has a particular lesson for us to learn as leaders and I hope you take them with you.
Abraham Lincoln
What brought Lincoln out of his malaise was the belief rooted firmly in his soul that he had more to give. He knew there was a power behind the writing, oral, and debating skills he had developed that the country needed. While this fight had been lost and economic hardship had hit Illinois at his expense, he knew he had a bigger trial coming in his political life with even higher stakes: the success of the abolition movement. He had to recuse himself of this setback and prepare for the next trial. True failure would be to face the next battle not armed with the lessons of the previous.
The best leaders recognize in failure a chance to face the next battle better prepared
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt left political life for two years following the devastating loss of his wife and daughter. He became a cowboy in the Nebraska Badlands and hardened into a tough, strong physical specimen. He volunteered to serve in the Spanish American War and was appointed assistant commander of a volunteer regiment attached to the Regular Army, named the “Rough Riders.” He was lauded as one of the best leaders in the regiment. His soldiers loved, yet also respected him. He rediscovered his profound ability to lead with courage through example.
Great leaders learn to cultivate new skills and habits from failure
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
While FDR’s body was dramatically hindered by his polio diagnosis, FDR the persona and the leader never wavered. He maintained the eternal optimism for which so many had come to admire him in his political career. That optimism gave way to an even deeper, more powerful leadership trait: courage. While still regaining his strength and stability, FDR accepted an invitation to give the final speech nominating Al Smith for President at the 1928 Democratic National Convention. FDR could still barely walk and stand, yet he practiced his speech day after day for months leading up to the convention. When his name was announced, FDR took the podium with tremendous courage knowing full well that failure of body or speech would doom him and his party. His embodiment of positivity, optimism, and courage radiated throughout the room and he delivered a speech for the ages.
The best leaders use failure to exercise the muscles of optimism and courage they will need in the next fight
Lyndon Johnson
Although his heart attack dealt a deep blow to Lyndon Johnson’s health and confidence, he emerged a stronger leader because he recognized his own fragility. He became suddenly aware that his political career, business empire, and public persona were not as secure of assets as he once thought. He realized his leadership needed a better defined goal than the accumulation of influence or money. As I like to put it, power needs a purpose, curiosity needs a cause, and ambition needs an aim. When Johnson assumed the Presidency following Kennedy’s assassination, he led with shear purpose and urgency, focusing on the Civil Rights Movement, voting rights, and education accessibility. He combined his remarkable legislative skill with the pressing issues of the time, resulting in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Undoubtedly, many voices and leaders contributed to this monumental achievement. I merely intend to note how his setback motivated him to fully focus his skills on this worthy cause.
Excellent leaders use setbacks to refocus their skills on the ultimate goals driving their purpose as leaders
We will all face setbacks, failures, and losses in our lives as teammates and leaders, but these four lessons will serve us well. If we learn to recognize there’s always the next pitch, the next game, the next trial, we can overcome failure faster and more effectively just as Lincoln did. If we use setbacks and loss as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves, develop new skills, and add to our arsenal as Theodore Roosevelt did, we can push past failure more effectively. If we use setbacks as a way to breed courage as FDR did, we can defeat failure. If we use failure to evaluate how much we focus on our purpose, we can utilize fear rather than fall victim to it.
No matter the setbacks you face, I hope these lessons serve you well in getting back out there.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
“Failure is inevitable, defeat is optional.”
Citations: Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Leadership in Turbulent Times. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018.
