Leadership Styles : Niccolo Machiavelli And Dr. Martin Luther King

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell

More than likely, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's would not have had the same impact if they had been led by Malcolm X as opposed to being led by Martin Luther King. This notion is primarily attributed to the divergent ideologies professed by these men. Essentially, there were two fundamental differences in the pursuit of Civil Rights as advocated by King and X. The first dealt directly with the question of violence. Martin Luther King was a practitioner of the non-violent demonstrations that Mahatma Gandhi had popularized earlier in the 20th century (Carson, 2001, p. 27). The 'turn the other cheek' ideology propagated by Christianity was perfect in helping African Americans to adopt a martyr image that eventually was responsible for the so-called 'gains' that were earned via the civil rights movement.

Grojean, Resick & Diskson (2004) suggest that leaders are responsible for facilitating their follower’s to become capable and guide them to improving their capabilities and strengths. Differentiating between different leadership styles can be done in a number of ways. It was determined that the traditional styles of leaders include authoritian (autocratic), democratic, permissive (laissez-faire) and bureaucratic (Viinamäki, 2009).

Our world is filled with many successful leaders. The gift of being a leader can be learned; however some individuals have a natural born talent to be a leader. Each leader has his or her own unique leadership style. The gift of being a leader can be learned. Certain individuals are born with a charismatic style and can easily be a leader. A successful leader is one who can inspire and motivate people towards a goal. Martin Luther King Jr. was an individual with a born gift to lead people. The following paper will discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. was able to inspire and motivate people with his effective leadership style.

According to President Abraham Lincoln, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man 's character, give him power.” Many people can get through their trials and develop their character, but when they are given power, if will show what type of a person they are. A bad leader is arrogant and leads by fear, and often bends the rules based off of what would benefit them even when it contrasts with what would benefit their community. A good leader is flexible, patient, and rational, and knows how to improve whatever they are in control of and take action. To be a trustworthy leader, compassion, diligence, and intelligence are needed so followers will see the leaders example and try to become more like them. Because bad

Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and

My Leadership philosophy is influenced by President Abraham Lincoln and his leadership style which resounds with me on how one should act and leader others. In fact, his willingness to get out of the office and circulate around the people is one of the foundations of his leadership style and is resonated by Master Chief Cantrell as he calls all chiefs to get out from behind our desks and get to know our people. This trait along with his character as it relates to honesty and integrity align directly with how I believe a leader should act. Leadership for me is not just telling people what needs to be done, but in order to be an effective leader we must get to know those we lead and above all we must be honest with everyone around us, both

M A R T I N L U T H E R K I N G J R .

Of the many characters in the Prince who were contemporaries of Machiavelli, by far the most successful would appear to be Ferdinand, King of Aragon, as discussed in Chapter 21 of the Prince. The goal of this essay, then, is to interpret the significance of Ferdinand for the unfolding of Machiavelli’s argument in the Prince. First, I will offer a brief summary of what Machiavelli says about Ferdinand in Chapter 21. Then I will look at what we learn from Ferdinand’s example that we don’t from that of any other character in the work. Lastly, I will show how he is related to other key characters, comparing him with Cesare Borgia, on the one hand, and Machiavelli, on the other.

What is leadership? Leadership is the skill or ability to encourage people to work together and do their best to achieve common goals. Martin Luther King Jr. displayed leadership when he came together with his fellow Americans to fight for civil rights for black Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader, an individual who leads or guides others or who is in charge or in command of others, who worked with Americans and guided them towards equality. Martin Luther King Jr. displayed some characteristics of a leader including, self-confidence and a willingness to take a stand, effective communication and stating ideas clearly, and self-initiative and a willingness to work. Although Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, he changed America

In my reflections as I prepared to write this paper, I came to the realization that leadership is much more complex especially since the paper requires that I focus on a few traits. In an effort to make it simple, I wrote down the traits that came to mind and in process had over 10 important traits but an even bigger challenge was on how to narrow them down to 3 or 4 and this is the place that required a good deal of reflection. Eventually, however, I had to prioritize them since in any case; it is not possible to get a leader that has all the traits. As I thought of the various leaders who have inspired me, I noticed that while they strived to provide the best leadership by focusing on their strong points, they still had their weaknesses. To me this provided a justification for at least identifying key desirable traits and thereafter working to improve them. I did manage to settle on four traits, which for me are indispensible if a leader or a leadership is to become effective.

From Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela’s charisma, to Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King’s intelligence and Steve Jobs’ analytical nature, there can be as numerous ways to lead as there are leaders (Crossman, 2010). Leadership is a hot debate both in the business world and other areas of the society. Throughout the world's, there have been as many leadership models as there have been their commentators (Burns & Peltason, 1966). Fortunately, psychologists and businesspersons have established useful frameworks that refer to the main ways of leadership.

I believe that to be a good leader doesn’t necessarily define as someone who sets a goal and directs people to achieve it, but as someone who may have to adapt to change based off their surroundings and situations. A leader should be someone who is able to guide with not only direction but also logic, understanding, and an open mind. Oskar Schindler proved with continued leadership that even the most dismal situations may be able to change your values and based off those values change your actions and the direction in which you choose to lead and how you influence.

Van Wart (2011), “Because leadership is a large social phenomenon as well as highly complex, we should not be surprised that many theories have been advanced to explain it” (p.72). Van Wart writes “….a bewildering number of theories have been advanced to explain a variety of aspects of leadership, each with its own partial wisdom or advantages” (p.72). Leadership style can be define as a leader 's style of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. There are many different styles that can be used, exhibited and implemented by leaders.

The leader must inspire engage employees, prescribe a common vision, choose a direction to take and encourage them to follow him. The whole team needs to continue and share the same goals and objectives. One could say that this style of leadership is the most effective of all, especially in large organizations. Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest leaders in history, great freedom fighter and