Martin Luther King Jr Leadership

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Martin Luther King Jr: Leader Analysis
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A leader is generally a person who points the way or direction, takes critical decisions in relation to the direction, and motivates a group of people called followers towards that particular direction. Prentice (2013) defines a leader as “the individual who serves or leads others for the good of all and not for personal gain” (p.1). From Moses, Jesus Christ, Alexander the Great, Hitler to Barrack Obama, history is replete with examples of exceptional leaders that demonstrated remarkable leadership in their given capacities. This analysis paper focuses on Martin Luther King Junior, the iconic American civil rights leader, orator and Baptist Church …show more content…

He was an inspirational motivational leader who enthused people through his fiery sermons and moving speeches like the famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered on the lawns of Lincoln Memorial in Washington in 1963 to demand for jobs and freedom (Hansen, 2013). He had intellectual stimulation which enabled him to challenge the status quo and he came up with innovative ways like non-violence protest to challenge the prevailing norms. He had an idealized influence backed by moral authority and charisma which created trust amongst his followers in addition to that; Martin Luther King Jr. was also a visionary leader. He had a vision for a segregation-free society where children of blacks and whites would play together, and people would not be judged on the basis of their skin color but on the basis of the content of their character. King was able to communicate his vision to his followers in a way that they could understand through his numerous writings and orations. King …show more content…

When King adopted non-violence as the method to use to pursue justice for the Negroes, it was meant to ignite some interest from the government and hopefully make the two parties come into a consensus, or form the basis for negotiations. He also believed that a good leader is that who moulds a good consensus, which is a form of agreement. The organizations he served-MIA and SCLC were at times racked by divisions and differing opinions amongst the different officials, Martin Luther King Jr strived to bring some consensus over issues. King was a leader who strongly believed in negotiations and could go to any extent to see to it that two sides that are warring are brought together at the table of negotiation. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King points towards consensus building and negotiations since from the non-violent protests, the authorities were expected to call the Negros for a