The Leader - Martin Luther King - Case Study Example

The Leader: Martin Luther King Name Institution Success and Accomplishments The success of every leader is measured by his accomplishments. Martin Luther King’s accomplishments are based on fighting for the rights of black people in America. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an activist, an American Baptist Minister, a humanitarian, and the African-American Civil Rights Movement leader. Based on his Christian beliefs he is known for his great success in the advancement of civil rights by using nonviolent resistance, which included civil disobedience and protests. During the time of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1900), black people had no rights not only in America but also in the whole world. The black people were treated like slaves, and Luther fought hard to ensure that black had equal rights with white Americans (Green, 1999). The greatest accomplishment of King being a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement; a position he used to fight and defend the rights of the Americans from African descent. King played a distinguishing role in ending racial discrimination on Montgomery transit system by leading a boycott in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. During this boycott, his house was bombed and he was arrested. However, this boycott marked the end to racial discrimination on Montgomery public buses. Another major accomplishment was using the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to implement the philosophy of nonviolence to advocate for African-Americans rights. Through this organization, King was able to fight for black rights, which included labor rights, and the right to vote, among others (Bhattacharya, 2011). King was in the Birmingham campaign that promoted African-Americans civil rights, which, led to the end of segregated and preferential civil and economic policies. He collaborated with other leaders of like mind in putting an end to racial separation discrimination in employment and racial separation in schools. King was awarded at least 50 honorary degrees from various universities and colleges as well as several awards including the Nobel Peace prize in 1964 as recognition for his credit and success (Bhattacharya, 2011). The accomplishments discussed show the great success of Martin Luther King, a man who lived only for 39 years. His success resonates in the minds of many throughout the world, and he will be remembered for many generations to come. Personal Attributes That Define Martin Luther King as a Leader Every leader has his/her personal attributes that defines and propel him/her to become successful (Greene, 1999). Martin Luther King had many personal attributes that defined him as a leader. These attributes include persistence, commitment, vision, inspiring, effective communication, self-confidence, and passion. One of the major personal attributes of Martin Luther was persistence. His persistent efforts to lead, change, and inspire cannot be doubted. Kings message was clear and every concerned person knew he stood for non-discrimination of any sort against African-Americans. He was committed to the course and was unstoppable not, even by the government. No matter how much King achieved, he had an unwavering commitment to do more. King did not win the discrimination war in a day. He achieved success bit by bit, and he did not relent, despite of the much success he achieved. King had a vision of where he wanted to take his followers. No matter how tough things became, King never retracted on his belief and the vision he shared with his people. For example, during the Montgomery boycott in 1955, King’s house was bombed, and he was arrested (Bhattacharya, 2011). However, his message to his people was clear and he did not relent on his fight. Dr. King was an inspiring leader, who believed that for success to be achieved, a leader must inspire his followers. Those who believed in King’s vision were always inspired by his speeches. Kings inspiration was a revelation, which not only awakened the people but also made them realize that success was achievable. Effective communication is a crucial attribute of a leader. He had communication skills that helped him connect with people and deliver his message at ease. The last personal attributes of Martin Luther King is self-confidence and passion. King’s self-confidence and passion cannot be left unrecognized. His speech “I have a Dream” shows his passion and self-confidence shines in his vision. Self-confidence and passion are demonstrated in participation in nonviolent resistance together with his followers. For King, his fight was not about fame or money but the unending desire to make a difference (Anderson, 2009). The discussed King’s personal attributes defined him like how we know him today. These attributes compounded together defined his strength, which was a key in achieving success (Samuel, 2012). Every leader must have personal attributes that define him, distinguishes from other leaders, and help him in achieving his goals. King’s Leadership Style and Approach Martin Luther King was an authoritative leader. Daniel Goleman was the first to describe an authoritative leader in his emotion intelligence theory as a leader who is an expert in his field of work. These leaders can articulate their vision and success path in a clear manner (Goleman, 1995). Goleman (1995) explained emotional intelligence as being acutely aware of your environment, your emotions feelings, and needs and adjusting a style of leadership to suit the most appropriate setting. A leader must be able to understand his emotions as well as the emotions of the group he leads so that he can augur well with them. King authoritative leadership can be viewed from his ability to mobilize people to support the vision. Authoritative leadership style is effective when the followers need a new vision to alter the manner in which things are done in a society or an organization or when the present vision is not clear. America was characterized with inequality, discrimination, and oppression of African Americans in the 1900s. The situation on the ground influenced the leadership style adopted by King. The major interesting thing about authoritative leadership style is that the leader is considered an authority but the followers participate designing the ways of accomplishing their goals (Goleman, 1995). King ability to mobilize people was driven by his speeches that showed a clear vision of a bright future. He explained to people that all men were created equal, and that was a truth that was self-evident. King’s speech “I have a dream” explained the exact path that led to his envisioned freedom. King always spoke with authority, and the future was clear to him, and he needed he wanted his followers to have an understanding of how he wanted this vision achieved. During his speech, King exemplified a phrase “come with me.” Such a phrase is associated with authoritative leadership because he is clear on the path he wants to lead his followers. In his application of authoritative leadership style, Martin Luther King was not only able to inspire his people but was able to lead them to success. Authoritative leadership style enabled the African-American people to follow King and entrust him in making decision a move that played a major role in eliminating racial discrimination. Martin Luther is remembered as a leader who achieved success by applying an authoritative leadership style and non-violent ways in achieving success (Oswald, 2014). Situational Circumstances that Played a Role in Martin Luther King, Jr. Success Martin Luther King, Jr. was a non-violent protest leader and implementer of philosophies that he learned from his influencer Howard Thurman (Bhattacharya, 2011). Socio-cultural circumstances such as being a church minister, growing in a Christian background, as well as being an African-American played a great role in shaping his leadership style, which was the basis of his success. Martin Luther King was known for his non-violent stance and charismatic leadership in dealing with the civil rights issues. King grew up in a loving and warm home with both his parents and in a middle-class community among other black people. He was a son of a church minister and was able to see the success of his father’s ministry. As an African-American, King could see the oppression that African-Americans faced in the hands of the white Americans. However, King himself had opportunities that his fellow blacks lacked. His parents were able to educate him, and eventually he earned his doctorate in the year 1955 (Morris and Suzanne 173). These opportunities gave him an opportunity to become a minister and eventually participate in the civil human rights movements. Being a church minister King learned and taught equality. However, the practice that was experienced in America at the time was different. This situation of discrepancies in what he taught and what was practiced aroused his fight for a society where people were equal. King’s background was peaceful and calm thus he did never advocate for violence in advocating for social change. More also, King being a preacher in African-American churches in Washington and the community he could not evoke violence since it was contrary to what he taught. His method was to reach both black and white people to stimulate change and achieve social equality. King was considered a conservative who did not like doing radio broadcasts or TV shows (Edwards, 2015). He was a Christian minister and the circumstances required him to conduct himself as such or otherwise he would contradict his teachings a situation that could lead to terrible failure since people could view as biased. It is important to note that not all whites supported racial discrimination. The civil rights movements were financed and supported by many whites thus King was faced by a situation where he had to balance between whites, blacks, and the church. His situation required him to preach civil liberty and equality to all audiences regardless of their racial background. King knew that he wanted to gain the support of white audiences who would in turn play an important role of helping to change the perception of their fellow whites (Bhattacharya, 2011). The situation required him to prove that African-Americans were not criminals, not violent and were not out to cause harm. The non-violent approach played a significant role in making the society understand the plight of black people in the segregated society and the extent they were willing to go to achieve integration and equality opportunity. Nonviolent resistance showed that blacks were tired of racial discrimination and wanted the civil acts reviewed. Martin Luther King, Jr. Continuing Success as a Leader King’s success was not achieved in a day. His life was characterized by a myriad of successes. As a leader, he did not succeed on just one aspect. He succeeded, won several awards, honorary degrees, and remained focused to his course until he was assassinated in 1968. The success of Martin Luther King was mainly contributed by possession of important skills. The first type of skills that guaranteed him continued success is technical skills. Dr. King had specialized expertise and knowledge to implement and manage his non-violent approach to social change. Additionally, King had excellent human relations skills that enabled him to work with other people (Samuel, 2012). Although, most credit is given to King, he worked with other leaders with whom they achieved social change in America. During the 1963 March on Washington, he worked with leaders such as Whitney Young, James Famer, Roy Wilkins, and Philip Randolph among other leaders (Bhattacharya, 2011). Moreover, King had outstanding conceptual skills. He was able to conceptualize how things fit together in a society and thus he could comfortably guide his followers towards success. He led by being a good example hence it was easier for his followers to remain dedicated to the cause. Additionally, King had excellent decision-making skills. Whatever, King implemented was well thought out and a clear decision made. In most cases, he knew the repercussions and the price he had to pay for such a decision but the common good of the African-Americans people remained the guiding principle. King’s continued success was also guided by well laid down strategies. Every action was well planned and monitored. When success was achieved in social change, King did stop advocating for what he believed was best for American people. Rather he had a strategy to ensure that the entire American nation stood for the common good. King’s continued success was made possible through his inspirational writings. In many occasions, he is still referenced as a great leader and a source of inspiration for leaders focused on achieving success. The strategies and skills he possessed played a great role in his continuing success. Lessons Learnt Personal leadership starts with oneself. Developing personal leadership is a process that takes quite some time. One has to work on several leadership aspects that helps to become a successful leader. For one to become a successful leader, one must first know himself, his passions, purpose, values, and mission. One must have a deeper understanding of his natural strength that helps to define his leadership style (Parker, 2004). In addition, one must be committed to remain to his cause. A leader must not keep changing goals. Consistency is an aspect that defines a leader. Followers are drawn to an outstanding leader who is persistent in what he does and has self-confidence. A leader must have a dream of where he/she want to take his followers. However, he/she must be able to communicate his dream to his followers and lead by example in accomplishing the dream. Consequently, a leader must develop his communication skills in so that he can communicate his dream effectively to his followers (Oswald, 2014). King explained that a genuine leader is a developer of consensus and not a consensus searcher. This phrase means that a leader must make people trust him through his ideologies. When building oneself as a leader, one must strategize on choosing a destination of where he wants to take his followers and convince them through merits. He should then show them how they can get to the destination and embark on the journey on the frontline as their leader. For instance, people learnt to trust King from the church. He was able to make them trust him through his teachings. Based on what he taught, he opened their minds and led them nonviolently demand for equality (Toren, 2014). Personal leadership development must be planned and the accomplishments evaluated. One should identify the essential qualities and focus on building himself. Lastly, one must learn to work with other people to achieve the set goals. References Anderson, A. (2015). Profiles in Greatness - Martin Luther King, Jr. Success. Retrieved from. < http://www.success.com/article/profiles-in-greatness-martin-luther-king-jr> Bhattacharya, P. (2011). Achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. Buzzle. Retrieved from Edwards, B. (2015). MLK vs. Malcolm X. Life Examinations. Life Examinations. Retrieved from < https://lifeexaminations.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/mlk-vs-malcolm-x-similaritiesdifferences/> Goleman, D, (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Greene, C. (1999). Martin Luther King, Jr: A Man Who Changed Things. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Morris, A, and Suzanne, S. (2004). "Leadership in social movements."The Blackwell companion to social movements. Oswald, D. (2014). Lessons on life and leadership from Martin Luther King, Jr. Hero. Retrieved from Parker, J. P, and Lucy, G. B. (2004). Developing Creative Leadership. Portsmouth, NH: Teacher Ideas Press. Samuel, C. (2012). Supervision: Concepts and Skill-Building: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Toren, A. (2014). Leadership Lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Entrepreneur. Read More