What are the key leadership lessons from the White House? Presidential historian and Pulitzer-prize winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin spoke today at the Staffing Industry Executive Forum North America about 10 key leadership traits of past presidents in a morning keynote presentation.

Goodwin concentrated on Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. A portion of Goodwin’s book on Lincoln, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, was adapted into the film Lincoln by Steven Spielberg.

She also discussed Lyndon Johnson, with whom she worked personally.

The 10 leadership traits of past presidents presented by Goodwin:

1. Resilience — Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and FDR “each revealed a temperament to come through adversity,” Goodwin said.
2. Confidence to surround themselves with people who would argue with them.
3. Created a culture that motivated and inspired the best performance from their teams.
4. Each took responsibility for failure.
5. Kept growing and learned from failure.
6. Were almost always able to control their emotions.
7. Figured out ways to connect with the people they served — Lincoln would visit battlefields and invited common people to the White House. Teddy Roosevelt spent more time on the road than any previous president.
8. All were able to speak to their countrymen with stories and beautiful language — FDR held 30 fireside chats. Teddy Roosevelt coined phrases such as “bully pulpit” and “speak softly and carry a big stick.”
9. They all understood how to relax and gather their thoughts.
10. Lincoln, FDR and Theodore Roosevelt left legacies that showed the moral quality of their leadership.

While much still remains to be seen regarding President Donald Trump, Goodwin said Trump has surrounded himself with people who voice their own opinions. But as far as keeping control over emotions, Goodwin quipped that Trump may consider having two Twitter accounts: One for addressing the American people when he is happy and a fake account for tweets when he is angry.

In the Q&A session, one staffing executive asked how partisanship in Washington today compares to the past. Goodwin said it was worse in the 1850s, although that led to war. However, in other times, members of Congress tended to stay in Washington and got to know one another personally. Today, travel is much easier, so politicians spend more time in their districts fundraising. “They no longer know each other has human beings,” she said. Referring to one tactic from the past, Lyndon Johnson combatted polarization by inviting members of Congress to the White House, she said.

In other Executive Forum news, Jeffrey Silber of BMO Capital Markets reported in a research note the tone of this year’s Executive Forum appears more bullish than last year. “This could be due to the ‘Trump Effect,’ which most told us has not yet led to incremental business,” Silber wrote. “However, the added uncertainty, along with expectations for accelerating economic growth, have historically been strong drivers for staffing usage.”

The Executive Forum continues through tomorrow.