Moral purpose must transcend the individual (Fullan, 2005). Martin Luther King is the exemplar of this concept. He forced this country to look into its soul and reflect on its basic assumptions and values of how we should treat each other. This brought about a fundamental change in our behavior that started with his “I Have A Dream” speech. As Warren Bennis (2003) points out, a guiding vision is essential to lead. The speech set the tone for our journey of change in this country. After fifty years this journey culminated with the election of Barak Obama.
People who oppose what you are trying to accomplish are usually those with the most to lose by your success (Heifetz and Linsky, p. 89). The enormity of Dr. King’s journey that he set this country on created great dangers for himself and his followers. Dr. King demonstrated the ability to bring disparate groups together to confront the issues of war and peace, poverty, and race. Even with the constant threats to his life and his fundamental commitment to his moral compass, he consistently focused on bringing people together. He created relationships with poor, rich, power brokers, and across religious boundaries. He asked all to give something up in order to create his shared vision for this country. Sadly, this commitment cost him his life but not the vision.
In thinking about Dr. King’s leadership in building knowledge and creating a coherent voice, Bennis’ essential competencies are exemplified by his life. The four are: 1) engage others by creating shared meaning, 2) have a distinctive voice, 3) integrity, and 4) can respond quickly and intelligently to relentless change (Bennis, pps. xxi – xxii). His actions, whether it was leading non-violent protests, national marches, or giving uplifting speeches, built a repertoire of knowledge for all of us to utilize. He was a transformational leader. He caused this nation to look at itself, and in the process set into motion generational shifts in thinking about who we are as individuals and a society.
Bennis, W. (2003). On becoming a leader. New York, NY: Basic Books
Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership & sustainability. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
Heifetz, R. and Martin Linsky (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading. Boston. MA: Harvard Business School Press
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Qualities of Leadership, the Turning Points, the Failures...
Dr. King is a prime example of Heifetz and Linsky’s concept that to lead is to live dangerously. They point out that if one is a true leader they lead people through difficult change that challenges their strongly held views and beliefs. This is what makes leadership of this type dangerous, and many times the actions of the leader are nothing more then possibilities in the future. He had the ability to get this nation to confront the discrepancies between its stated values and the daily effects on the lives of people, particularly the poor and discriminated. One of the hallmarks of leadership is the ability to create a vision of the future that is shared and understood by many (Kotter, 1996). This ability was the basis for all of Dr. King’s actions.
In looking a Dr. Kings life, it seems as if the Rosa Parks case was a major event that moved him from a person behind the scenes to a person with a very public presence. He became the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 which lead to a court case that end racial segregation on all Montgomery AL buses. This event, which lasted for 385 days, allowed Dr. King to test his underlying values of non-confrontational resistance to serve as a model for his future activities. He sought to overcome racial strife and divisiveness that permeated our nation.
When one thinks of the enormity of the task he set out to do, failure was always part of the equation. Although things have greatly improved, none of us can say we have fully lived up to Dr. King's vision of a land where each person would be judged by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin. Whether it was being thrown in jail or his followers not living up to his ideas of non-violence, Dr. King always seemed to have the propensity to be focused on the outcomes of the vision.
King called upon Americans to use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty, and to make it possible for all of God's children to have the basic necessities of life. He found success in some ways. But although African-Americans may be able to sit at the lunch counter with whites, what good does it do if they can't afford a hamburger?
In this area King failed. And, I suspect, he probably knew he would. Calling on a consumerist culture to change its ways, to redistribute the wealth, to care for the least of these, leads to two places: failure and death. One cannot confront the bedrock of a nation without that nation's leaders taking notice. King knew that.
King's quest at that time was ultimately a futile, for it called for an end to oppression, the abolition of all slavery and the uplifting of the poor. Ironically, Jesus too called for turning the establishment on its head. Like Jesus, King too was assassinated by a political machine that didn't blink twice to do so.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s story was the story of risk for the sake of justice. King, risking his life in service of his ideals was worth it because for him, life wouldn’t be worth much if he allowed the daily comforts to take precedence over the larger purpose. For King it was the understanding, deeply imbedded in his soul that we are all in this life together. One world. One People.
Heifetz, R. and Martin Linsky (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading. Boston. MA: Harvard Business School Press
Kotter, J. (1996) Leading change. Boston. MA: Harvard Business School Press
In looking a Dr. Kings life, it seems as if the Rosa Parks case was a major event that moved him from a person behind the scenes to a person with a very public presence. He became the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 which lead to a court case that end racial segregation on all Montgomery AL buses. This event, which lasted for 385 days, allowed Dr. King to test his underlying values of non-confrontational resistance to serve as a model for his future activities. He sought to overcome racial strife and divisiveness that permeated our nation.
When one thinks of the enormity of the task he set out to do, failure was always part of the equation. Although things have greatly improved, none of us can say we have fully lived up to Dr. King's vision of a land where each person would be judged by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin. Whether it was being thrown in jail or his followers not living up to his ideas of non-violence, Dr. King always seemed to have the propensity to be focused on the outcomes of the vision.
King called upon Americans to use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty, and to make it possible for all of God's children to have the basic necessities of life. He found success in some ways. But although African-Americans may be able to sit at the lunch counter with whites, what good does it do if they can't afford a hamburger?
In this area King failed. And, I suspect, he probably knew he would. Calling on a consumerist culture to change its ways, to redistribute the wealth, to care for the least of these, leads to two places: failure and death. One cannot confront the bedrock of a nation without that nation's leaders taking notice. King knew that.
King's quest at that time was ultimately a futile, for it called for an end to oppression, the abolition of all slavery and the uplifting of the poor. Ironically, Jesus too called for turning the establishment on its head. Like Jesus, King too was assassinated by a political machine that didn't blink twice to do so.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s story was the story of risk for the sake of justice. King, risking his life in service of his ideals was worth it because for him, life wouldn’t be worth much if he allowed the daily comforts to take precedence over the larger purpose. For King it was the understanding, deeply imbedded in his soul that we are all in this life together. One world. One People.
Heifetz, R. and Martin Linsky (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading. Boston. MA: Harvard Business School Press
Kotter, J. (1996) Leading change. Boston. MA: Harvard Business School Press
Monday, February 16, 2009
Martin Luther King
When I first began looking at this task I thought of several leaders from a historical perspective such as Alexander the Great. Then I thought of people I had observed in endeavors in the fields of art, music, etc. But what resonated with me was the idea that vision and values are critical components that make one a true leader.
With that mindset, Martin Luther King, Jr. immediately rose to the top of my list. His ability to create a powerful view of the future and surface the necessary values to make the vision come alive, cemented him as my choice. His “I Have a Dream” speech created a very vivid view of what we as a nation and people could become. Kotter (1996) states, “That a shared sense of a desirable future can help motivate and coordinate the kinds of actions that create transformations.” Regarding the injustices committed in South Africa, theologian Robert Schreiter (1992) writes that individuals cannot survive without a narrative identity. Only by overcoming the narrative of the lie and embracing a redeeming narrative can victims overcome suffering. Lyn Graybill (1998) similarly compares Nelson Mandela’s insight into the capacity of grace to transform people and nations.
Dr. Martin Luther King rose to the top of those who exemplified the qualities of leadership, particularly identified by Kotter (1996) and Fullan (2008). As a teenager in the mid-sixties, my awareness of the social conditions of African-Americans was brought about because of the attention that Dr. King was receiving in the newspapers and on television. Dr. King, born January 15, 1929, became the cornerstone of the American Civil Rights movement. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from that city’s Morehouse College. He received his doctorate from Boston University in 1955.
Soon after completing his education, he became very active in the civil rights movement. He was greatly influenced by the teachings of Gandhi and his focus on non-violent approaches to solving complex social issues. He was also influenced by Bayard Rustin, another disciple of Gandhi, who counseled Dr. King in dedicating himself to the values found in non-violent behavior. This strong belief became the mainstay of his philosophical underpinning for all his future endeavors. These endeavors included the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) culminating with the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered one of the most famous speeches, “I Have a Dream.” In 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to bring about an end to discrimination in America. He was the youngest person at age 35 to receive this prize. On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
Reference:
Nobel Foundation. (n.d.). Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved February 15,2009, from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html.
The King Center. (n.d.). Biographical Outline of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from http://www.thekingcenter.org/mlk/bio.html.
Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.
Fullan, M. (2008). The six secrets of change: What the best leaders do to help their organizations survive and thrive. San Francisco, California: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Shreiter, R. (1992). Reconciliation: mission and ministry in a changing social order. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis.
Graybill, L. S (1998). South Africa’s truth and reconciliation commission: ethical and theological perspectives. Ethics and International Affairs, 12, 43-62.
With that mindset, Martin Luther King, Jr. immediately rose to the top of my list. His ability to create a powerful view of the future and surface the necessary values to make the vision come alive, cemented him as my choice. His “I Have a Dream” speech created a very vivid view of what we as a nation and people could become. Kotter (1996) states, “That a shared sense of a desirable future can help motivate and coordinate the kinds of actions that create transformations.” Regarding the injustices committed in South Africa, theologian Robert Schreiter (1992) writes that individuals cannot survive without a narrative identity. Only by overcoming the narrative of the lie and embracing a redeeming narrative can victims overcome suffering. Lyn Graybill (1998) similarly compares Nelson Mandela’s insight into the capacity of grace to transform people and nations.
Dr. Martin Luther King rose to the top of those who exemplified the qualities of leadership, particularly identified by Kotter (1996) and Fullan (2008). As a teenager in the mid-sixties, my awareness of the social conditions of African-Americans was brought about because of the attention that Dr. King was receiving in the newspapers and on television. Dr. King, born January 15, 1929, became the cornerstone of the American Civil Rights movement. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from that city’s Morehouse College. He received his doctorate from Boston University in 1955.
Soon after completing his education, he became very active in the civil rights movement. He was greatly influenced by the teachings of Gandhi and his focus on non-violent approaches to solving complex social issues. He was also influenced by Bayard Rustin, another disciple of Gandhi, who counseled Dr. King in dedicating himself to the values found in non-violent behavior. This strong belief became the mainstay of his philosophical underpinning for all his future endeavors. These endeavors included the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955) culminating with the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered one of the most famous speeches, “I Have a Dream.” In 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to bring about an end to discrimination in America. He was the youngest person at age 35 to receive this prize. On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
Reference:
Nobel Foundation. (n.d.). Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved February 15,2009, from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html.
The King Center. (n.d.). Biographical Outline of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from http://www.thekingcenter.org/mlk/bio.html.
Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.
Fullan, M. (2008). The six secrets of change: What the best leaders do to help their organizations survive and thrive. San Francisco, California: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Shreiter, R. (1992). Reconciliation: mission and ministry in a changing social order. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis.
Graybill, L. S (1998). South Africa’s truth and reconciliation commission: ethical and theological perspectives. Ethics and International Affairs, 12, 43-62.
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