Leadership Endurance “You Need a Team”

You Need a Team

From The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln (Ayers, p. 35):

It was just a few weeks after the election and the President was establishing his cabinet. John Bunn, a banker from Springfield, Illinois, called on Abe Lincoln. As Bunn was entering Lincoln’s office, Senator Salmon Chase was leaving. Bunn began to give the president unsolicited advice stating that Lincoln wouldn’t want Chase in his cabinet.

“Why not?”, the President asked.

Bunn explained that Chase considered himself to be “a great deal bigger than you are.”

Lincoln replied asking if Bunn knew of any other men who would think they were bigger than he. 

Bunn said he didn’t think so but why would the president ask?

Lincoln responded, “Because I want to put them all in my cabinet.”

Dear Leader,

Be encouraged today.

We were never meant to know it all. We weren’t made to do it all. We need others. We need people smarter than us…people who excel where we are weak.

Great leaders know to surround themselves with smart and gifted individuals. Your goal isn’t to be the shining star. It’s to achieve the purpose of the organization. You’ll need a team to do that.

Be like Lincoln. Get people who are bigger than you.

Brian Sanders serves as Executive Vice President of Positive Alternative Radio. He regularly writes and speaks on leadership topics.

His new book, “Leadership Endurance,” can be purchased HERE.