Leadership Characteristics and Traits of Martin Luther King Junior (Essay Sample)

Leadership Characteristics and Traits of Martin Luther King Junior
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Leadership Characteristics and Traits of Martin Luther King Junior
Introduction
Leadership is one of the most cherished talents in the world today. From many quarters, people are constantly searching for quality leaders while leaders themselves are constantly seeking to improve their leadership skills. This paper discusses the leadership characteristics and traits of Martin Luther King Junior and attempts to explain how they can be applied to fire and emergency services. He was an American church minister who became one of the most visible civil right activists in the 20th century. His leadership skills, traits, and characteristics are skills being cherished even today.
Background to Martin Luther King Junior
He was born on January 15, 1929, Atlanta and was assassinated on April 4, 1968, due to his continued fight against racial discrimination and slavery in the United States of America. He epitomized many good qualities of leadership and self-sacrifice, which made him one of the greatest leaders of the world. He developed a large followership of millions of people from the United States and abroad. His “I Have a Dream” speech in August 1963 took the center stage of reformation in the United States and became an inspiration many people in the world. His leadership style was deeply rooted in eloquent speeches and oration.
He inspired the African Americans to use non-violent means to fight against the white oppression. He had charisma and power that helped to rally so many people behind. Today, many people consider Doctor Martin Luther as a transformational leader largely because of the decisions and steps that he took to push through his visions for African Americans. His transformational leadership can be grouped into four components namely idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Some of the most recognized King's contributions and accomplishments include Memphis sanitation worker strike, Montgomery bus boycott, ‘I have a dream’ speech, use of non-violent social change, and the establishment of African-American Civil Rights Movement. Many of Doctor Martin Luther’s actions during his times constitute things that can be applied to fire and emergency services (McGuire & Hutchings, 2007).
Leadership Characteristics and Traits
(a) Concrete and powerful vision
During his time, doctor king always communicated a concrete and powerful vision for the people and his course; this is actually, what made him attract a very large followership across the United States of America. He had a visionary dream and clearly communicated it to the people. He also clearly communicated a call to share and support his vision thereby inspiring many people. Just like other departments, in fire and emergency services, people want leaders who have a clear vision and gives clear directions. Here, employees are also interested in leaders who care about their needs, values, hopes, and aspirations as doctor king did (Morselli & Passini, 2010).
(b) Courageous
Doctor King showed a lot of courage even during times when he faced real threats and danger. Nearly everyone engaged in the civil right struggle is vulnerable and Doctor Martin Luther King was no exception because he was fighting against establishments. Despite being oppressed by those with the upper hand, he still maintained his course with courage and confidence. He had great courage to face the risk associated with civil right struggle and pursued a non-violent course for reformation. Doctor King never showed any sign of reluctance or wavering even when his life was in danger. Furthermore, doctor king showed courage by telling them cold facts even if it put him at loggerhead with the establishment. He never sugar-coated the reality and told his followers the real situations no matter the oppression. Courage is an essential leadership trait in fire and emergency services. In this department, there are numerous threats and dangers that require a courageous leader to continue his vision (Morris & Staggenborg, 2004).
(c) Effective communication
Doctor Martin Luther King clearly mastered the art of effective communication. This was expressed by his good oration skills; he is still considered one of the best orators even today. Whenever doctor king communicated, his message was nothing short of impressive and clear. He delivered his message in a way that the meaning was clearly understood by his audience. Even though not everyone can achieve king’s level, a good leader in fire and emergency services need to have good and effective communication skills. His/her message should be nothing short of clear and impressive. Furthermore, should not leave any chance for misunderstanding the meaning and the action that the respondent should take. Furthermore, a leader in this department needs effective communication skills in order to convey his/her vision and instructions clearly. Effective communication skills are needed to persuade others to take action; this is very essential when dealing with fire emergencies.
(d) Inspirational
Doctor Martin Luther King was also recognized for his ability to inspire his followers across the board. In his numerous speeches, Doctor King greatly inspired many of his followers to take up the work of fighting for reformation. He showed that he was mindful about the people’s tribulations and trials and inspired his followers to take actions that would change the situation. He motivated people to do better and give more knowing that their work matters in changing the situation. His inspirational traits enabled him to convince many people in America to participate in civil right movement despite the challenges and oppressions they faced. He inspired people to see the vision for liberty as vital. This leadership trait is ver