Leadership Skills From Our Top 5 Presidents

Being the commander-in-chief requires vision, dignity, grace, compassion and a willingness to make tough decisions.

February 17, 2020

“A soft, easy life is not worth living, if it impairs the fibre of brain and heart and muscle. We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage... For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Presidents’ Day! We at The Daily Coach hope you are enjoying this long weekend where we honor former presidents of the United States and their contributions to the nation. Today, we celebrate these men, but hopefully one day, we will also be honoring a female president. After all, being the commander-in-chief requires vision, dignity, grace, compassion and a willingness to make tough decisions — traits that are not gender-specific.

The Siena College Research Institute recently surveyed 137 presidential historians to rank every president across several leadership criteria. Here are the results:

The top five:

  1. George Washington (1st U.S. President)

  2. Franklin Roosevelt (32nd U.S. President)

  3. Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. President)

  4. Teddy Roosevelt (26th U.S. President)

  5. Thomas Jefferson (3rd U.S. President)

Each of these five men came from different backgrounds and was called upon to serve in turbulent times. However, as we recently wrote at The Daily Coach, when are times not challenging? What one trait can we all use from these five men?

President George WashingtonTrait: AccountabilityIn almost every poll taken amongst historians, Washington ranks in the top five. His biggest asset as a leader was his unparalleled prowess at holding everyone accountable.

President Franklin RooseveltTrait: Confidence Roosevelt was supremely confident in every aspect of his role as supreme commander. He was always curious to learn new ideas and methods, and it was his inquisitive nature that buoyed his confidence in his views.

President Abraham LincolnTrait: EmpathyLincoln had a unique ability to listen and hear different prospectives. He created a climate where Cabinet members were free to disagree without fear of retaliation. At the same time, he knew when to stop the discussion and make a final decision.

President Teddy RooseveltTrait: CourageRoosevelt saved football, he made self-fitness necessary, and above all, he had great courage. He was not afraid to make tough decisions, nor would he ever shy away from a challenge.

President Thomas JeffersonTrait: SelflessnessJefferson was a soft-spoken man who never wanted to be in the limelight. Essentially, he never allowed his ego to get in the way of his leadership skills. He knew that big ideas would always face opposition, so he concentrated his efforts on being an influencer, not a dictator.

Today, to best honor our presidents, borrow one quality from these five leaders and act on it!

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