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Obama does seem to have what both FDR and Lincoln had, which is the recognition that you have to hold back at times and then wait to come forward.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Leadership requires patience and strategic timing.

This quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin highlights the essential quality of effective leaders like Obama, FDR, and Lincoln: the ability to exercise restraint and strategically choose the right moment to act. It suggests that true leadership is not just about making decisions quickly, but also about knowing when to wait and how to approach challenges thoughtfully.

Themes

LeadershipPatienceStrategyTimingAction

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a leadership seminar to emphasize the importance of strategic decision-making.

More from Doris Kearns Goodwin

Journalism still, in a democracy, is the essential force to get the public educated and mobilized to take action on behalf of our ancient ideals.
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We've got to figure out a way that we give a private sphere for our public leaders. We're not gonna get the best people in public life if we don't do that.
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Once a president gets to the White House, the only audience that is left that really matters is history.
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That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.
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I am a historian. With the exception of being a wife and mother, it is who I am. And there is nothing I take more seriously.
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Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep.
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