Lincoln’s greatness coincided with a motive profile highly discrepant from his era

Evidence

These results suggest two conclusions. First, among American presidents at least, leader appeal is a function of how well the leader’s own motives fit the motive imagery profile of the times. Presidential leadership performance, however, is a very different matter. Both rated performance and several of the most significant outcomes were functions more of leader attributes (especially power motivation) than of leader-situation match. Indeed, among American presidents it appears that the greatest presidents were those who were least congruent with the followers of their society. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1361 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Winter’s analysis suggests that when leadership success is defined in terms of electoral outcomes, the most successful presidents are those whose personal motives fit with the motives that are most prevalent and contemporary in society. However, when success is defined in terms of “presidential greatness” as judged by historical experts in retrospect, success is largely a function of the personal characteristics of the president and the degree of incongruence between the president and the society around him! — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 404 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Discrepant presidents historically outperform congruent ones — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 1362; Electorally successful presidents fit their era’s motives while historically great presidents contradict them — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 404; Presidential popularity depends on personality fit with the era, but greatness does not — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1278 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The greatest presidents were least congruent with their society’s motives #corroborates (0.96) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1361
• Electorally successful presidents fit their era’s motives while historically great presidents contradict them #corroborates (0.93) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 404