Courage and Moral Leadership
5/16/14
Dr. Alvin Lee
Strayer University
Analyze the qualities that mirror courage and moral leadership in the leader, and document those qualities (moral traits) as discussed by Daft (2010) (Chapter 6: Courage and Moral Leadership). Martin Luther King, Jr. was the mirror image of a moral and courageous leader. Dr. King upheld his morality principles as well as set examples for his followers. Dr. King had special virtues in which he lived and they was love, courage, hope amongst others. " Love, courage, hope, non conformity, and impatience were embodied in the sit-ins, boycotts, and marches, in which King himself was often a participant" (Rice 2004). Dr. King wanted his followers to be
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He believed that “God led King (him) to conclude that the worth of individuals is simply part of the given ness of creation" (Large 1991). Raking had a theory of non-violence in which he applied to every part of his movement in an attempt to bring peace to both sides and not agitate the situation. According to research King believed "nonviolence is bi-directional. It seeks to change the character of the oppressor to include a broader vision of humanity"(Large 1991 para 15).
Identify any mistakes that this leader may have made for which that he/she accepted responsibility; explain what the leader (should have) learned from these mistakes. During the Civil Rights movement J. Edgar Hoover wire tapped phone conversations of M.L.K accusing him of being a black nationalist and having connections with communist while in the midst of spying they uncovered that King was involved with several women. For him to be a devoted Christian adultery is seen as a violation of the 10 Commandments which is a sin. The FBI sought to defame Dr. King and make it be known that he was a hypocritical leaders with the hopes that he would step down from his position. They used this information to attempt to blackmail him from accepting Noble Peace Prize and making speeches. Dr. King even though he knew he had done a horrible wrong in the eyes of God refused to partake in their charades and continued on his journey of
Martin Luther King Jr. displays similar courage in fighting for justice rather than accepting his situation, and the situation of all African American people, for what it is. Even though Martin Luther King Jr. lived in a democracy, the laws that governed him were not democratic. African Americans had little say in the laws that they were expected to follow, for many could not vote. As King says, “Who
Martin Luther King jr. was one of the most influential persons of the 20th Century. He is the father of the modern civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom as well as peace. King practiced everything that he preached, he did not preach or speak values that he himself did not follow. He established himself as a pastor that was not afraid of hard work, guiding the middle-class congregation to public service. For example, Peake, Thomas R. author of "Martin Luther King, Jr.” states, “He encouraged his parishioners to help the needy and to be active in organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)”. I think that kings motivation
Dr. Martin Luther King was a great leader, a person with no fear of the outcome. He became an effective leader of the civil rights because of his desire and willpower. He instilled trust and confidence in people. He was an effective communicator by helping others understand what he was trying to achieve. He was trustworthy and able to communicate a vision. He sought responsibilities and took responsibilities for his actions. He guided the people who followed him to new heights, and when things went wrong, Dr. King didn't blame others, instead he took the
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for having a protest without a proper permit. On the exact day King was arrested, eight clergymen from Alabama wrote a letter called “A Call for Unity.” The letter called for termination of civil activities and demonstrations and designated King an “outsider” and saying that outsiders were the problems in Birmingham and not the blacks that are from there. On April 16 King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which was his responds to his fellow clergymen. He wrote the letter as a means to convince the clergymen and the white moderate that the nonviolent demonstrations that had got him arrested, were a necessity and to enlighten them on why the segregation laws in the
Martin Luther King, Jr., was a true servant leader, because he actually did possess the characteristics of empathy, commitment, and the building community. Dr. King was an educated, resourceful, talented leader and he earnestly strived to understand and empathize with others by having compassion, responsiveness, identification, and a brotherly love for all other people in the world. Dr. King was deeply committed to the personal, professional, and spiritual growth of every single individual in the human race and he cared for everyone as if they really were his own friend and relative. Dr. King was committed to positive, social, nonviolent
Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister, he played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. He is brave because he stood up for his beliefs. He is determined because he did not give up even when faced with violence. He believes that everyone is equal, have equal rights (“Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”) “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving
Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of modern humanity. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of his leadership was his ability to adapt to whatever leadership style was necessary for any specific scenario. He could be a transformational leader if people needed to be mobilized, a servant leader when followers needed to be led by example, or a charismatic leader when he gave any one of his plethora of monumental speeches. Not only could MLK perform in each of these leadership roles, but he excelled at them. Dr. King was one of the greatest, most versatile leaders ever. We will discuss why in the following paragraphs.
2 values that Martin Luther king Jr felt that worth giving his life for were freedom and faith. Martin Luther king, Jr was arrested and sent to jail in Birmingham because he protested treatment of blacks against political demonstrations. He then published a letter in a newspaper declaring demonstrations for justice with his faith. He wrote that everyone has a right to break unjust laws and encouraged people to confront issues and put into practice rather than watching it from far away. He explained every details the reason of what he is doing and why he does this movement. He also focused on “nonviolent direct action” not “direct action”. He did not want people to fight each other violently based on Matthew 5:38-39 “you have heard that it
Have you ever seen an injustice that you wanted to correct or fix but you were to scared of consequences? Well Martin Luther King was not one of those people who didn’t do something because of the fear for consequences. He went to jail for protesting an injustice that was happening to African Americans everywhere. While he was in jail he decided to write a letter to his fellow clergymen answering their criticisms and explaining his reasons for being in jail. He uses the methods of ethos pathos and logos to explain why his method of non violent and peaceful protests would help further their cause.
Dr. King was a brave man. Even when he was thrown into jail. As long as he could change the way blacks were being treated he didn’t care about the consequences. He was never afraid to say what he was feeling. He was brave enough to stand in front of a lot of people to say his speech. It’s hard to pinpoint just one of Martin Luther King Jr’s acts of bravery. Dr. King put his as well as his family’s wellbeing at risk for his purpose. Dr. King walked into the racist and narcissistic jaws of the segregated south and urged for change. Not only did he take a physical beating, they also tried to defeat him mentally.
Dr. King tussled with the cares of life looking for solutions, concern for his family, and stood up for righteousness, justice, and truth. Dr. King knew what he was up against was daunting and knew enough to call on the name of Jesus. Dr. King believed in the power of prayer even through the countless number of threats he received and even arrested he stood unyielding for what is right, justice. Dr. King refused to sink in the quick-sands of racism and abhorrence. Dr. King realized that he had to alter the mindset of society if change was to come.
During his lifetime, Martin Luther king dared to not only dream about a better future but also fight for it. He was not afraid from having confrontations in order to promise a change. We can see his decisiveness when his arguments for stopping discrimination against black were not enough to change the situation. He decided to make a direct action in order to make society confront the issue.
One area of leadership that has been extremely changed by Martin Luther King Jr. is Moral leadership. First of all, he showed courage by enduring through all the trials that were thrown at him. Some hardships that he faced were going to jail and receiving death threats. Though he went through tough times he endured through them and others followed him. If he didn't push through the rough times the people that looked up to him wouldn’t push through either.
Dr. King had the courage to face the risk and pursed non-violent call to arms. He led a social movement of equality during a time when he wasn’t supported by most. He was threatened and despised by many but he did not show reluctance or even shaken. In fact, he encouraged others by telling them cold facts
The trait leadership theory focuses on the individual leader’s personal characteristics as the basis of its investigations. It is one of the earliest leadership theories upon whose tenets many researches on leadership have been done. Although it is not very coherent, its heuristic nature has contributed to its significance in leadership research. Zaccaro and Klimoski (2002) define traits of reference to leadership as the stable personality characteristics, which result in a consistent leadership performance pattern, given different scenarios and groups. They include individual personalities, temperament, rationale, prowess, as well as cognitive abilities. Initially, the theory explored both physical and psychological characteristics that tell apart leaders from non-leaders.