Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times

By describing Abraham Lincoln as “paradoxical,” Phillips is expressing the view that Lincoln exhibited contradictory traits in his personality and behavior. For example, “he tended to be strikingly flexible while at the same time a model of consistency” (77). Phillips discusses Lincoln’s contradictory qualities in Chapter 7 because he claims that they are a strength rather than a weakness in a leader. By being both flexible and consistent, Lincoln showed that he was able to respond to situations based on context rather than preconceived notions of how he should act.

Phillips provides a bullet point list of Lincoln’s paradoxical traits to help clarify the meaning of the term. Each item on the list describes a contradictory quality Lincoln displayed at one time or another in his life or presidency. The third item on the list, for example, is: “He was trusting and compassionate, yet could also be demanding and tough” (79). By including this list, Phillips wants to show that Lincoln did not have tunnel vision when it came to making decisions or giving orders. His flexible personality allowed him to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, which contributed to his success as a leader.