preview

Martin Luther King's Authentic Leadership Style

Decent Essays

The authentic leadership approach developed by Bill George, focusses on the characteristics such as purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and heart (Northouse, 2016). In my opinion Martin Luther King, JR exhibited the traits of an authentic leader. King’s passion was to have equality among all people in the United States, giving him his purpose (Phillips, 2001). He had showed heart or compassion when he gave speeches or talked to others, always showing love to everyone, even those who had wronged him (Phillips, 2001). For example, when his house bombed, he stood up and spoke about peace, encouraging his followers not to fight back with violence (Phillips, 2001). He showed self-discipline or consistency, even when he was arrested for speaking out against the injustices that occurred, upon release he continued to speak out about the unfairness and poor treatment (Phillips, 2001). He built relationships with his followers and was connected with the current situations that they were experiencing. For example, when they held the Montgomery’s bus boycott, he remained in the middle of the pack or even towards …show more content…

In an organization, authentic leadership can help to improve the overall culture and financial aspects by providing something that is consistent; when something goes wrong if the company backs up their promise to the customers to make it right, the customer will return. Just as if a leader or manager, is always indecisive it will have a negative impact on the culture within the organization. 
Overall, I believe that being an authentic leader is important to the success of a company or a cause, because without the above mentioned aspects, I believe that there could be

Get Access