3 Behavioral Points that We Can Learn from Two Diverse Presidents
American presidents come and go throughout history, but think about the presidents that you regard as great leaders. Regardless of their political persuasion, do historically successful presidential leaders have common natural talents and traits?
More specifically, let’s compare presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Both presidents were successful on many points. Here’s a brief look at their accomplishments –
John Adams
Massachusetts Delegate and Leading member of the Continental Congress
Leading advocate and signer of the Declaration of Independence
Author, Massachusetts Constitution
Diplomat to France
Negotiator and signor of the Paris Peace Accord ending the war with England
Minister to England
First U.S. Vice President
Second U.S. President
President of the Massachusetts Society of Arts and Sciences
Thomas Jefferson
Delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress
Author of the Declaration of Independence
Governor of Virginia
Diplomat to France and delegate to the Paris Peace Talks with Adams
U.S. Secretary of State
U.S. Vice-President
U.S. President (2 Terms)
Founder of the University of Virginia
Godfather of John Quincy Adams
For most of us in society, we tend to have a list of requirements in our minds about the traits of great leaders. Some of them would be –
Strong
Charismatic
Decisive
Bold
Fearless
Intelligent
Delegator
Great Communicator
Then, we translate those same traits into our everyday lives and assume that we must have those same traits to be an effective leader; and if you don’t have those traits, then being a leader isn’t your destiny. Nothing could be further from the truth—we’re all leaders whether we realize it or not. While Adams and Jefferson each had similar noted achievements, they had very different leadership styles.
“Through their own personality struggles and challenges, Presidents Adams and Jefferson still found a way to achieve greatness as leaders.” [Tweet This]
Think about if they had been able to assess their personal strengths and struggles with an assessment like Leadership Behavior DNA? We’ve come a long way in being able to help leaders understand their unique behavioral traits.
But we do have enough historical evidence to take a closer look at these behavioral traits and note the remarkable difference between them** –
John Adams
Take Charge Personality
Assertive, self-assured, got results
Intolerant of indifference
Outgoing
A talker and entertainer
Passionate and good sense of humor
Fast-Paced
Controlling, never learned to flatter
Cranky, impulsive, tactless
Spontaneous
Struggled with bringing order to his life
Had difficulty staying focused on one thing at a time
Thomas Jefferson
Cooperative
Subtle, soft-spoken
Moved slowly, cautious
Reserved
Remote, little sense of humor
Rarely revealed his inner feelings
Patient
Gracious, rarely disagreed with anyone publicly
Avoided dispute and confrontation
Planned
Always polite, diplomatic
Neat, kept letter perfect records, detailed
3 Points to Being a Better Leader
Obviously, both leaders had their own unique set of strengths and struggles, but they worked within their traits to emerge as accomplished individuals in their own regard.
So, what’s the point where your leadership is concerned?
Know your strengths and struggles, and manage them well
Lead from a place of humble yet confident authenticity,
Balance your leadership by bringing others around you with different talent and traits.
As we think about these important leaders in our nation’s history, think about the president that relates closely to your own leadership style and be encouraged to fulfill your own leadership role in society.
LE
**Traits described in the book “John Adams” by David McCullough, © 2001 Simon & Schuster, New York
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