Martin Luther King is an excellent example of a leader who managed to change the world in a positive way and highly influenced society’s perspective on racism. He is known for his encouraging and memorable speeches that inspired black people to keep fighting for their rights and freedom. King spoke of regard for the minorities, those who struggled to be heard and focused on the urgent problems and injustice that required a larger amount of attention from the public. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze Martin Luther King’s leadership style and view it from the perspective of followership and gender theories.
This particular leader, from the beginning, has created a specific style of gathering people with the same values and aspirations and guiding them in the chosen direction. King perfectly represents the followership theory in all the aspects of his work and actions. Firstly, he accepted the role of the head of the movement when there was little time for broader discussion and took responsibility for spreading the common idea to society (Menand, 2018). In addition, Martin Luther King had a concise philosophy and morals, which he promoted and followed all the time until his death. King believed that all the transformations should be done in peaceful and non-violent ways because otherwise, it creates more violence and cruelty (Menand, 2018). Considering Kelley’s typology, this certain case is characterized by the presence of conformist followers (Northouse, 2022). Consequently, it implies that the individuals are willing to support their leader, trust in his choices, and actively contribute to promoting common ideas. Eventually, through the clear structure of goals, principles, and attitude towards the allies, King attracted a huge number of people to the movement and gained loyal followers worldwide.
In addition, as a religious and Christian man, he made sure that all the actions taken towards the changes complied with the laws of God and excluded any negativity. In that way, it reminds more of the women’s leadership style, which tends to be transformational, demonstrate care for the group’s well-being, and emphasize the moral aspects of the inside culture (Northouse, 2022). However, this example is relatively broader and includes the issue of the gender role in the community and racial factors primarily. The fact that King represented the marginalized part of the society may contribute to how he managed to guide his followers. Since there is initially a strong foundation of the social values and concentration on the cause of the problem and not on the effect, his work stimulated reforms and ensured the people’s development. Those actions contributed to the development of that untypical type of leadership that is widespread among men. Therefore, it is possible that Martin’s leadership style differed from the typical male approach compared to the female.
Overall, Martin Luther King was a significant historical figure who had a considerable impact on society, specifically the black population. Due to his leadership which contained solid moral values, precise goals, and transparency to the audience, King can be considered an example of a successful leader. He was able to create a massive group of followers who were genuinely fascinated with the ideas and aspirations that he suggested. Moreover, the leadership style was not typically male but rather female, with the considerable transformational elements and certain social beliefs that created a foundation for the movement. Thereby, from the perspective of the gender and followership theories, Martin Luther King demonstrated excellent performance as a leader and had a positive influence on the world.
References
Menand, L. (2018). When Martin Luther King, Jr., became a leader. The New Yorker. Web.
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage Publications.