Leadership: What the American Civil War Can Teach Leaders Today

Today when we think of leadership we think of corporate Chief Executive Officers, talking heads on political talk shows and management gurus. There was an era when leadership meant men living and dying for their beliefs. While this happens occasionally today – professional military people, firefighters, law enforcement offices and a few other rare instances. During the era of the American Civil War, Americans from the North and the South routinely died for their causes. The men who led them are after one hundred forty five years still examples for us today.

Integrity

The men who led soldiers into battle – at all levels of the military North and South often left careers and families to serve. Many senior officers on both sides had attended West Point and had gone on to lucrative careers as engineers and businessmen. Others at various ranks left businesses, professional practices or political offices to lead men in battle. They were not looking for financial gain or in most cases not even glory. Rather they were looking to serve the cause they believed in. And once the stepped into those leadership roles they lived their beliefs and put their lives on the line for them every day.

Lead from the Front

Today whether it is CEOs, politicians or other leaders, it is common to find when something goes wrong, the first one to get fired is not the leader but rather those around her – the chief of staff, the CFO, the next in line, the spokesperson or whoever. When the going gets tough, the leaders of today find someone, anyone, else to “take the bullet” for them. Their focus is to survive. The leaders of the era of the Civil War, whether non-commissioned officers, junior officers, field officers or general officers, led their men from the front. In battle, it was the leaders who were most visible in front of their men and who were the first casualties. Now that is truly leading from the front. Just one look at the number of officers killed or wounded in any major battle demonstrates this leadership in action.

Take Responsibility

Similar to leading from the front, accepting responsibility for failure was more common, although not universally so, than among today’s leaders. Today, leaders generally find anyone to blame when something major or minor goes wrong. It is a rare thing to find leaders today to step forward and accept responsibility. During the Civil War – a number of times both President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate General Robert E. Lee accepted responsibility. Lincoln accepted responsibility for failures in both the way the war was being fought and also for policies that were not successful. Lee, rather than blame his subordinates, who were certainly due their share, accepted responsibility for failures throughout the war – especially after Gettysburg and at Appomattox. Other leaders during the war often did the same.

Aggressiveness

Through much of the Civil War Robert E. Lee made up for his lack of men and supplies with cunning and aggressiveness. His bold moves kept the Union forces off balance and led to a number of victories for Lee including the Seven Days Battle outside of Richmond, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. His moves into the north led battles at Sharpsburg (Antietam) and Gettysburg. Although not Southern victories, they did provide benefits to the South but at heavy prices. The North’s aggressiveness appeared later in the War under Grant with his campaigns of 1864 and 1865 in Virginia where he never ceased waging war regardless of the price in men and material. It also appeared in the ruthless campaigns of total destruction late in the war by Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and by Sherman in his Atlanta Campaign and march to the sea. Aggressiveness and bold moves are rare today among leaders in a world of committees, teams, alignment and political correctness.

Innovation

We think of today as the age of innovation and our leaders as the most innovative ever. In fact the Civil War was the first “modern” war from telegraph, to observation balloons, to iron warships, to troop movements by rail, to machine guns and advanced spy networks. The leaders of the South and the North grasped every new innovation and technology and applied them to their advantage. Additionally, innovation was not limited to technology. While soldiers may have fought with muzzle loading cannons and muskets and endured cavalry charges, their leaders developed new and innovative strategies and tactics to give their armies every advantage and to win battles, campaigns and the war. One example is the use of swift moving “foot cavalry” by General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to get his men to where they needed to be in record time. He then boldly move his men to take advantage of the Union forces weakness through flanking movements (hit their sides). This was most evident in his last battle – Chancellorsville. Other leaders – north and south – also used innovation to overcome obstacles and give them any advantage on the field of battle.

Today we think in terms of leaders reading statements at press conferences, annual corporate meetings and other public occasions. The deeds of the leaders at all levels during the American Civil War provide examples for our leaders of today and tomorrow. By better understanding their use of innovation, their leadership from the front, taking responsibility, aggressiveness and integrity we can produce more effective and better leaders for both the public and private sector today and in the future.

George F. Franks, III is the President of Franks Consulting Group. A management consulting and executive coaching practice based in Bethesda, Maryland, Franks Consulting Group serves businesses of all sizes, non-profit organizations and individual leaders throughout the USA. George is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (USA). More information on Franks Consulting Group is on their web site:

http://franksconsultinggroup.com

George can be contacted by e-mail at:

gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com