Real Leadership: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Day is January 17, 2011

As one of history’s most recognizable and influential leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. not only sought justice and equality for African Americans, he sought those same rights for those who received unfair treatment. He also dedicated himself to ending poverty.

In 1968, King’s I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech (delivered the day before his assassination), urged citizens to withdraw their support from companies that exercised unfair hiring policies. This was part of his strategy to gain fair wages and proper working conditions for sanitation workers.

But long before his speech of April 3, 1968, King’s reputation as a leader of character was evident in his words, actions, and attitudes. In his fight for freedom and equality, King relied on nonviolent action and dissuaded his followers from using violent tactics.

King embodied indisputable courage working doggedly and tirelessly for the benefit of humanity. He led and influenced others through the conviction of his faith, the strength of his beliefs, the breadth of his knowledge, and the power of his words.

His dynamic I Have a Dream speech of 1963 is perhaps his most famous for its unique eloquence and passion, among other unforgettable elements. But in one of his finest speeches, The Drum Major Instinct, King explains with exquisite clarity, the essence of leadership:

If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness…[read entire speech…]

Among King’s attributes was his unpretentious ability to lead with humility and love, even under the gravest circumstances. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” said King.

In 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his longstanding activism against racial segregation and racial discrimination through nonviolent means.

Dr. King was indeed a remarkable leader. His legacy continues to inspire and his work and words will forever live in our hearts and minds.

What are some ways in which Dr. King inspires you?

_______________________________________________________

Taken from the Real Leadership Series, a monthly blog written by Christine Ferguson. Click here to visit the RLS site and read more blogs on real leaders.

Serving and Empowering Others

In the April 2009 blog some of the competencies of a real leader were listed. Among those competencies was servant leadership: the ability to serve and empower others. Servant leadership is one of those traits that have come to hold significance for me because I know few people who possess this quality. One of the best lessons I have been given on the subject of servant leadership is by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On February 4, 1968, Dr. King delivered his famous Drum Major Instinct speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The theme of this stirring and dynamic speech is the innate desire of humans to be important, to be put first; our quest for attention, recognition and importance; our need to be in front leading the parade like a drum major. As I listened to the audio version of Dr. King’s speech, he delivers it with his trademark eloquence and with an unbridled passion that make his words truly unforgettable:

If you want to be important-wonderful. If you want to be recognized-wonderful. If you want to be great-wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

Throughout my years in the workplace I have observed “drum majors” who overtly or indirectly belittled others by making them feel less smart or less capable than the drum major themselves. These are people who are boastful or arrogant; want to win awards; want to be well known; are always jockeying for attention; or make comments about the “stupid” question someone else asked. I once worked with a group that exhibited some of these traits. I felt I was not up to par with their smarts and bravado. I thought about it enough that eventually I began to believe I wasn’t up to par. Do you know what that type of thinking did to me? It prevented me from discovering and owning my own strengths. That is what happens to someone who is not empowered by servant leaders.

The truth is that oftentimes those who lack servant leadership skills come from a place of fear or inadequacy. They feel inadequate if no one gives them attention, they fear they may stop being important, they fear people will see them as nothing special, or they fear no one will respect them. Actually, the opposite is true: when you begin to serve and empower others you will earn their respect, you will reap the rewards of improved relationships, and you will gain loyalty and support. Servant leadership encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization’s values and integrity (Wikipedia, 2009).

If you are not being a servant leader you risk losing the benefits that this competency brings and you will become a Knucklehearted Leader. After viewing the Knucklehearted Leader slideshow decide how you will serve and empower those around you, then put those decisions into action, and you will be that servant.