Solitude and Leadership

"The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, even intensely lonely one. However many people you may consult, you are the one who has to make the hard decisions. And at such moments, all you really have is yourself." (William Deresiewicz, Solitude and Leadership, 8)

Being a leader can be a very lonely position as we have learned from the chronicles of history. From this solitude, leaders can make wise decisions or detrimental ones. Two specific leaders come to mind from both ends of the spectrum. Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler, both of whom made decisions in solitude. We see from solitude that it can become a strength in promoting good ideas for the betterment of society, or it's influence can leave a nation in ruins. 

In Lincoln's moments of solitude, he would often read, write, and walk alone. Lincoln's moments of solitude had a positive effect on him and they helped to influence the country for the better. I believe his moments of solitude had a good influence on him because he was doing positive and uplifting activities. Throughout his time as a president, I'm sure he was counseled by many people on what decisions he should make regarding the country, but in the end, he made the final decisions. Lincoln once said that, "my own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." In his times of solitude, he recognized that he needed help regarding certain matters, and that is when he got on his knees and prayed. In the end, Lincoln's solitude was beneficial and helped him make wise decisions, one of those being issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

In Hitler's moments of solitude, he came up with many ideas that would greatly influence the world in a very negative way. In 1923, as a result of his attempted coup in Munich, he was sentenced to prison for nine months. While in prison, he wrote the book Mein Kampf. In his book, he said that Germany was superior to all other countries. He said that an Aryan race would control the world. In his book, he also discussed the conspiracy theory about the Jews. I believe since Hitler was not living an admirable life, his moments of solitude involved evil activities. As a result of his moments of solitude, he decided that he was going to brainwash the German nation into thinking that the Jews were the great enemy of the German people. As a result of his moments of solitude, 6 million Jewish people were killed along with 5 million non-Aryan people.

I believe the activities that leaders do while in solitude can have a very positive or negative effect on the way in which they think and make decisions. Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler's moments of solitude greatly affected the world.