Today’s #stampoftheday features Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who took office in the midst of an unprecedented crisis and provided much needed leadership through the Great Depression and most of World War II. A 1-cent stamp issued on July 26, 1945 that has a portrait of Roosevelt and Hyde Park, his childhood home, it was the first of four stamps released in 1945 and 1946 honoring the late president.

It’s hard to think of what to say about Roosevelt, particularly what to say within the confines of my already too-long #stampoftheday postings. So, I’ll limit myself to a few things that seem particularly salient at the moment.

The first is to recall the most well-known passage from his inaugural address in March 1933, a time when America was reeling from the years of unemployment and economic stagnation. Roosevelt famously said: “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

While that’s the famous phrase, I’m struck by what he said next: “In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”

We are, of course, again at a time when we need “a leadership of frankness and of vigor.”

The challenge, of course, is developing policies, programs and procedures that address the current situation and do so in ways that inspire confidence and hope. Here again, Roosevelt provided a model that openly embraced experimentation and innovation. As he explained in “Looking Forward,” a book published in March 1933 as he was preparing to take office, “the country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

As we’ve seen, the leaders of places that are doing the best at addressing our current challenges have been following this maxim—particularly the need to frankly admit when something has failed and then to go onto another approach.

Finally, leadership requires and understanding that while some authority has to be centralized, key issues can’t be addressed by one person or even a handful of people. Roosevelt managed to create and sustain an approach that not only did both but also did so in ways that exploited the tensions inherent in the conflicting approaches. As historian James MacGregor Burns wrote: “the president stayed in charge of his administration…by drawing fully on his formal and informal powers as Chief Executive; by raising goals, creating momentum, inspiring a personal loyalty, getting the best out of people.”

But, Burns noted, he often did so “by deliberately fostering among his aides a sense of competition and a clash of wills that led to disarray, heartbreak, and anger but also set off pulses of executive energy and sparks of creativity.” Moreover, he fostered competition and creativity not only “by handing out one job to several men and several jobs to one man, thus strengthening his own position as a court of appeals, as a depository of information, and as a tool of co-ordination,” but also “by ignoring or bypassing collective decision-making agencies, such as the Cabinet.” In all these approaches, he adds, Roosevelt always acted by “persuading, flattering, juggling, improvising, reshuffling, harmonizing, conciliating, [and] manipulating.”

At its best, such an approach brings out the best in people and produces extraordinary results. At its worst, however, it leads to dangerously dysfunctional organizations. Somehow Roosevelt achieved the former. And, unfortunately, we’ve soon too much of the latter in recent weeks and months.

So my hope – indeed my belief – is that as we grope our way out of this current crisis, leaders will emerge who not only inspire hope but also are willing and able to back up their aspirations by developing new approaches, by quickly and frankly admitting mistakes, by attracting the talented people needed to carry out those efforts, and by developing structures and management approaches that encourage and spur people to move as quickly and effectively as possible.

Be well, stay safe, frankly admit your mistakes, fight for justice, and work for peace.