'Leadership in Turbulent Times' offers lessons from presidential greats
When Donald Trump campaigned for the White House, he promised to be a much different president than his predecessors. He has been different, in ways that delight his core supporters and dismay his many critics.
Trump鈥檚 presidency has also inspired a number of books by popular historians pointing out that precedent shouldn鈥檛 always be dismissed when it comes to leadership. The lessons of the past, these books argue, can be valuable in dealing with new challenges.
David McCullough, best known for his biographies of Harry Truman and John Adams, made that case last year in 鈥淭he American Spirit,鈥� a collection of his speeches outlining what Americans can learn about handling troubled times from Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Washington, among others. Jon Meacham, celebrated for his books about Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, struck a similar note in 鈥淭he Soul of America,鈥� his recent survey that included leadership insights from Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, best known for her previous books on Lincoln, TR, FDR and LBJ, is now adding her own contribution to the genre with Leadership in Turbulent Times, which examines key moments in the presidencies of these four men for clues about what principles might benefit leaders of today.
As a former member of LBJ鈥檚 staff, Goodwin鈥檚 identification with Democrats is well known. But 鈥淟eadership in Turbulent Times鈥� doesn鈥檛 strike a partisan tone. In fact, Goodwin doesn鈥檛 mention Trump at all, although the book鈥檚 reference to 鈥渢urbulent times鈥� will be understood as an oblique commentary on recent headlines. 听听
Goodwin chronicles Lincoln鈥檚 issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation as an example of transformational leadership, Theodore Roosevelt鈥檚 handling of a coal strike as a case study in crisis management, Franklin Roosevelt鈥檚 first 100 days in office as a textbook specimen of 鈥渢urnaround leadership,鈥� and Johnson鈥檚 passage of civil rights legislation as an extraordinary expression of visionary leadership.
Although she had the most direct connection with Johnson and clearly liked him, Goodwin is toughest on him in her conclusions, conceding that his miscalculations on the Vietnam War might disqualify him from the greatness bestowed on the other three presidents in her survey. She gives LBJ credit for magnanimity, as when he agreed to hire her as a White House Fellow even though she had prominently opposed his position on the war in southeast Asia. 鈥淚f I can鈥檛 win her over,鈥� he cheerfully boasted, 鈥渘o one can.鈥� But Johnson wasn鈥檛 always so tolerant of dissenting views, she later notes, and when he opted not to follow his better angels, as in casting anti-war activists as 鈥渙utside agitators,鈥� his presidency suffered.
Goodwin鈥檚 real soft spot seems to be for Theodore Roosevelt. Faced with a seemingly intractable coal strike in 1902 that threatened the comfort and safety of many Americans as winter approached, TR had little official authority to intervene. When negotiations stalled, he let key stakeholders know his willingness to seize the coal mines by military force, recruiting a retired general to lead the operation, and securing the general鈥檚 pledge to follow presidential orders even if the courts said otherwise. The strike ended, making TR鈥檚 scheme moot.
Goodwin hardly raises her eyebrows at TR鈥檚 apparent willingness to flout the constitution, essentially declaring himself a dictator. Instead, she records Roosevelt鈥檚 move as a salutary nod to his tactical rule: 鈥淒on鈥檛 hit unless you have to, but when you hit, hit hard.鈥�
Would Goodwin favor a modern-day president ignoring the judicial branch to get his way? It鈥檚 an issue she doesn鈥檛 fully address, which underscores an occasional problem with 鈥淟eadership in Turbulent Times.鈥� It sometimes lacks the intellectual ambition that distinguished Goodwin鈥檚 earlier books, reading like previous research for her biographies that鈥檚 been repackaged to accommodate the present fad in leadership tutorials. A final chapter on the deaths of her four principal subjects is undeniably moving, but how this extended elegy speaks to exemplary leadership styles isn鈥檛 always evident.
The funereal conclusion of 鈥淟eadership in Turbulent Times鈥� suggests that political courage and nobility are also dead, which seems precisely the opposite point Goodwin set out to make.
Even so, the book offers much to like. Goodwin notes Lincoln鈥檚 habit of venting his frustrations by writing vitriolic letters at those who angered him, then putting the letter aside without sending them. 鈥淣ot only would Lincoln hold back until his own anger subsided and counsel others to do likewise,鈥� Goodwin tells readers, 鈥渉e would readily forgive intemperate attacks on himself.鈥�
It isn鈥檛 mean-spirited to assume that Trump won鈥檛 be reading Goodwin鈥檚 book; he has hinted publicly that books aren鈥檛 a favored pastime. But Goodwin mentions that lessons in leadership aren鈥檛 for presidents alone. The ideal of leading well, she writes, 鈥渉as not only enriched subsequent leaders but has provided our people with a moral compass to guide us. Such leadership offers us humanity, purpose, and wisdom, not in turbulent times alone, but also in our everyday lives.鈥� 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
Danny Heitman, a columnist for The Advocate newspaper in Louisiana, is the author of 鈥淎 Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House.鈥� 听
