Posts tagged “All men are created equal”

Great leaders possess high ethical standards; they assume responsibility and set the example for followers who do the right things (Hesselbein, et al, 1996, p.xii; Phillips, 1999, p.24).  There is “nothing to be afraid of if you believe and know that the cause for which you stand is right” (Phillips, 1999, p.300).  In general, leaders must understand human nature if they are to better understand themselves.  And, as agents of change, leaders must understand human nature if they are to move the multitudes down the straight and narrow path—a path toward a new destination.  In brief, “we are coming to believe that leaders are those people who “walk ahead,” people who are genuinely committed to deep change in themselves and in their organizations.  They lead through developing new skills, capabilities, and understandings” (Senge, 1996, p.45).  Such leaders are those individuals who inspire confidence, undermine hopelessness, confront fear, cease the day, promote positive and productive actions, light the candles, establish goals, and paint brighter tomorrows.  They “have a dream.” A contemporary advertisement for such a “dreamer” might read:

Wanted: Corporate executive to lead Fortune 500 company into the twenty-first century.  Must be visionary, authentic, courageous, and a global citizen.  Workaholics need not apply (Bolt, 1996, p.161).

        Although twenty-first century leaders are expected to be visionary, they must also be courageous.  People expect their leaders to stand for something and to have the courage of their convictions.  Dr. King exuded moral fortitude; he was a leader who marched, both literally and figuratively, headlong into history as the man who led America’s “third revolution” (Phillips, 1999, p.23).  Addressing an audience in April 1959, Dr. King’s leadership is evident: “As I stand here and look out upon the thousands of Negro faces, and the thousands of white faces, intermingled like the waters of a river, I see only one face—the face of the future” (Phillips, 1999, p.275).  A major part of Dr. King’s leadership style was to keep hope alive among the masses.  “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope” (Phillips,1999, p.278).  “The American people are infected with racism—that is the peril.  They are also infected with democratic ideals—that is the hope” (Phillips, 1999, p.281). “All the darkness in the world cannot obscure the light of a single candle” (Phillips, 1999, p.280).  Such are the words of a transformational leader.

        In the final analysis, the courage to lead means standing up for what you believe in, acting when you know you’re going to be attacked for doing so, and continually trying to do the right thing.  “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” (Oliver Wendell Holmes).  “Character,” Helen Keller once wrote, “cannot be developed in ease and quiet.  Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved”  (Phillips, 1999, p.306).  Bolman and Deal (1995) suggest that “the signs point toward spirit and soul as the essence of leadership” (p.39). “Leaders with soul bring spirit to organizations … Leaders of spirit find their soul’s treasure store and offer its gifts to others” (Bolman & Deal, 1995, p.10).  The essence of leadership is “offering oneself and one’s spirit. … Gifts [that affirm the fundamental moral precepts of compassion and judgment such as] authorship, love and caring, power, and significance only work when they are freely given and freely received … transforming a place of work to a way of life” (Bolman & Deal, 1995, p.102).  Dr. King led with soul and he practiced what he preached.  Dr. King was always about the business of his people.  “I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, that I am maintaining my sense of purpose, that I am holding fast to my ideals, and that I am guiding my people in the right direction” (Phillips, 1999, p.77).  His principles of leadership are appropriate for all times, for all leaders in any situation with any organization.  “Will we continue to march to the drumbeat of conformity,” Dr. King asked, “or will we, listening to the beat of a more distant drum, move to its echoing sounds?” 

        The choice is ours.  Lao Tzu reminds us that “the leader teaches by example” (Heider, 1988, p.3).  Our example is vividly illustrated in the life and times of one of the world’s greatest transformational leaders, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  His example is expressed in the principles he embodied.  Principles are “deep, fundamental truths, classic truths, generic common denominators.  They are tightly interwoven threads running with exactness, consistency, beauty, and strength through the fabric of life” (Covey, 1989, p.122).  Dr. King also taught us the significance of a vision if we are to lead effectively.  Good leaders will have their own dream.  Great leaders will share Dr. King’s dream—a dream deeply rooted in the American dream … a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

        The United States, after all, was founded on self-evident truths.  Almost all of our greatest achievements have resulted from battles waged and won over moral issues and involving our understanding of right and wrong.  Moral courage is a hallmark of great leaders.  Abraham Lincoln was unwilling to accept “a house divided against itself,” a nation half-slave and half-free.  Lincoln dreamt of “a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last, best hope of earth.”  As President, during a civil war that wrenched the soul of the country, Lincoln’s commitment to preserve the Union ensured the continuation of the uniquely American ideal of a truly “United States.”  Similarly, Martin Luther King, Jr. led America’s revolution of the twentieth century on a campaign for justice, the redemption of a “promissory note” signed by the architects of our Republic who promised that all would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

        If there is but one piece of advice he might give today, Dr. King would tell us the great leader constantly keeps his “eyes on the prize.”

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