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To cite this article (APA): Agodzo, D. (2013, November 1). Martin Luther King: The quintessential charismatic leader [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://learnandteachcomm.blogspot.ca/2013/11/mlk-quintessential-charismatic-leader.html
Martin Luther King: The Quintessential Charismatic Leader
This paper provides a leadership communication analysis of the life of the prominent civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., as the world marks the 50th anniversary of his famous “I have a Dream” speech. To provide insights into King’s leadership, it will review his legacy through five lenses – the roles that vision, historical factors, power, charisma, and credibility, played in his life and message. This article suggests that (a) the rallying force of a compelling vision was central to King’s success as a leader; (b) the confluence of historical and situational factors provided a fertile environment for King’s emergence as a leader; (c) King’s source of power was primarily rooted in the legitimating force of Scripture, (d) King’s leadership was seen by his followers as stemming from a charismatic “anointing” from God; and (e) King’s credibility with respect to his personal commitment and sacrifice to the vision strengthened his leadership, but credibility gaps in other areas pose challenges to those taking a retrospective look at his legacy. The paper concludes with some lessons that contemporary leaders can learn from King’s life.
Historical Highlights of Martin Luther King’s Life
Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an African-American Baptist minister responsible for leading a non-violent civil rights movement that transformed race relations in the U.S. in the 50s and 60s. King studied theology at Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951 and subsequently earned a doctorate in theology from Boston University in 1955. Following the footsteps of his father, King entered ministry, becoming pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1954 (“King, Martin Luther, Jr.,” 2013). King’s rise to prominence began when he joined Rosa Parks and other African-Americans in a boycott of segregated bus lines in Montgomery, Alabama, eventually taking a leadership role in the protests that led to the desegregation of the bus system in 1956.
Following this civil rights coup, King went on to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, providing him with a platform from which to preach his message of nonviolent reform of systemic and institutional racism. For this, he endured great sacrifices, including several arrests in the 1950s and 60s (“King, Martin Luther, Jr.,” 2013). In August 1963, King spearheaded the March on Washington, which was attended by more than 200,000 people (“King, Martin Luther, Jr.,” 2013). This historic event was the setting for King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech, a powerful articulation of his leadership vision and the most notable demonstration of his charismatic oratory. It is acknowledged that King’s leadership through this tumultuous time in American history played an instrumental role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the same year in which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize), as well as the 1965 Voting Rights Act. King faced increasing opposition to his leadership from militant civil rights activists in the mid-60s, but it was an assassin’s bullet that eventually ended his tenure on history’s stage. King was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
I Have a Dream: The Power of King’s Vision
One of the defining qualities of a leader is a compelling vision to serve as “the fire that ignites the passion of followers” (Hybels, 2002, p. 31) and this rallying vision was central to King’s leadership communication success. Silvers (1994) notes that “Martin Luther King espoused a vision in his 'I Have a Dream' speech in which he described a world of freedom and brotherhood for all” (para. 9). In his oration, King looks forward to a day when “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together on the table of brotherhood” (BBC News website, 2003, para. 14). This was not King’s first expression of his civil rights vision but his March on Washington address was the ultimate declaration of the visionary force that King tapped to energize his followers. The potency and universal human appeal of King’s “dream” (in contrast to the nightmare of racial injustice) is seen in how this vision “has inspired countless millions of oppressed peoples around the world” (Paris, 2004, p. 10). In that regard, the leadership communication success of King had much to do with the essence of his message and its ability to arrest the minds and hearts of followers.
The Right Man at the Right Time
Martin Luther King’s accomplishments cannot be divorced from the circumstances that spawned his vision and work. Gardner (1990) rightly states that that when examining leaders, we “violate reality by lifting them out of their historical contexts” (p. 5). Kershaw (2001) notes that King was “a product of his time” and cites various social conditions including “the constant dehumanizing of African American life, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, and, his black Baptist ministerial background” (para. 18). While this assertion indicates a situational view of King’s leadership success, it does not preclude a traits or functional perspective. King definitely had immense natural charisma and adopted needed task-related and group building/maintenance behaviors (Hackman & Johnson, 2004, pp 80 – 81) critical to the success of all leaders. Thus, a situational view in no way diminishes the personal traits and behaviors that accounted for Martin Luther King’s success, but simply paints King as a man who responded like no other to the challenges of his time. Gardner (1990) aptly expresses this balanced view of history and hero, observing that “historical forces create the circumstances in which leaders emerge, but the characteristics of the particular leader in turn have their impact on history” (p. 6). And speaking of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, Kershaw (2001) states that “no matter how charismatic these three leaders were, they would not have been successful if the social conditions were not ripe for group movement” (para. 16).
Authority from Above: King’s Use of Legitimate Power
As Hackman and Johnson (2004) note, “leadership cannot exist without power” (p. 126) and for King, the source of this power was the legitimating sanction of scripture. One of the principal elements in King’s life and vision was “fundamental Christianity,” which was “the deepest and most pervasive theme in his life” (Gardner & Laskin, 1996, p. 209). Because of his scholarship in theology, King was well versed in the Judeo-Christian texts and tradition and viewed Christ and Moses as models. The parallel with Moses is particularly instructive. As evident from his last “Mountaintop” speech in which he compares himself to the Old Testament figure (cf. Deuteronomy 34:1), King saw himself as a type of Moses, called and empowered by God to tell America, “Let my people go” (Exodus 9:1). If “legitimate power resides in the position rather than the person” (Hackman & Johnson, 2004, p. 132), then King’s power was derived from his divinely appointed position as the Moses of his people, and not from his person.
The source of King’s power, then, is seen as divine. It is not surprising, therefore, that he often appealed to (and quoted) the authority of biblical truths, to legitimize his cause. In his “I have a Dream” speech, he references Amos 5:24 when he says “we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (BBC News, 2003, para. 10) and again borrows from Isaiah 40:4-5, yearning for a time when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (para. 20). Even when King cites the Emancipation Proclamation, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in his speech to substantiate his demands for change, he views the power of these documents as stemming from a “sacred obligation” (para. 5) that has its origin in biblical values on human dignity and equality.
King’s Charismatic Anointing
Charisma is associated with a “dynamic personality often defined as magnetic and inspirational” (Gibson, Hannon, & Blackwell, 1998, p. 11), features that clearly characterized King as a leader. Derived from the Greek word for “gift,” the early Church used the concept of charismata to denote the Holy Spirit’s empowerment of Christians that enabled them to perform miraculous feats. Thus, “this notion of charisma being a gift from God implies that it is an innate character trait rather than one that can be developed” (p. 11). In this biblical conceptualization of charisma, it becomes easy for ardent followers to understand how leaders like King are able to “describe goals by painting word pictures [and] have an exceptional ability to win the devotion and support of followers” (p. 11). This enablement, according to this view, is the result of God’s special anointing.
King’s ability to marshal thousands of supporters and inspire them to embrace his vision is at least in part the result of the perception among followers that his unique endowments and abilities were of supernatural origin. This fits with the attribution approach to charismatic leadership in which “charisma is defined in terms of the perceptions of followers” (Hackman & Johnson, 2004, p 115). Such was the mystique surrounding King that according to Baldwin (1991), “one young woman, after shaking Dr. King's hand, declared that she would never wash her hands again" (p. 2). But regardless of whether or not one views his traits as a gift from God, many who encountered King were enthralled by the “eloquent speaker who could move easily in various social circles” (Gardner & Laskin, 1996, p. 204). And there is no gainsaying the fact that King capitalized on his charisma to help him achieve the goals of the civil rights movement, effectively combining style with the substance of his thought. It may indeed be no exaggeration to suggest that King would not have realized the level of success he achieved as a leader without his charismatic rhetorical brilliance.
Questions of Credibility
When it comes to the question of credibility, the assessment of King’s legacy comes up against its greatest challenge due to two competing narratives regarding his integrity as a leader. As Hackman and Johnson (2004) note, credibility is critical to successful leadership, yet “perceptions of credibility vary over time” (p. 155). This is indeed true of the evaluation of King’s credibility. Most historians view the record of his personal stewardship of the civil rights movement as stellar. As far as the vision to create a racially just America through non-violence was concerned, King walked the talk, literally sacrificing his life for what he believed. His followers saw the consistency of his character and followed him with the same spirit of dedication.
On the other hand, recent revelations of King’s flaws have raised questions about his judgment and
moral standing. Two main issues have emerged, one related to academic plagiarism (Lischer, 1997, p. 62) and the other, to allegations of sexual promiscuity (p. 169). These events have cast a shadow on the King legacy. At best, this presents the picture of a leader who was subject to human foibles. For the Christian, seeing sin in the leader we are inclined to place on a lofty pedestal serves as a reminder that no one is perfect and that all are equally in need of the saving grace that God has freely provided – and continues to provide – to those who believe in Jesus (Romans 3: 23-24; Isaiah 64:6). In that sense, King reminds us of another great leader in Scripture who was far from perfect – King David. For King’s harshest critics, however, this is evidence of moral hypocrisy. What is certain is that regardless of the truth or falsehood of these matters, reverence for King remains strong among most Americans, as shown by the high profile celebrations that recently marked the 50th anniversary of his March on Washington speech (Tampa Bay Times website, 2013). There is perhaps the view that although there are credibility questions about some aspects of King’s character, his record in the civil rights domain remains unblemished and impregnable.
Lessons for Leaders Today
The leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. offers at least three lessons for our contemporary times. The first relates to what could be viewed as King’s definition of leadership as consensus building. King is reported to have said that "a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus” (Benjamin, 2012). King dedicated his life to this task of bringing people together, even in the face of seeming unsurmountable differences. Today’s leaders need the same ability to build bridges across opinion lines and cultures in order to succeed. Those who are unable to bring people and ideas together are unlikely to succeed in leadership. King’s leadership also highlights the need for vision on the part of the leader. He was able to drive change because his passionate vision stirred followers to action. While contemporary leaders may not need to lead a mass movement, they can learn from King’s ability to paint a powerful and demanding picture of the end to which all efforts must be put. The third and perhaps most important lesson is that leaders need not be perfect to lead. Even the best leaders have failings and flaws, some significant. Leaders must of course strive to live up to their values and be quick to correct mistakes, but they must also learn to forgive themselves when they fail and not let the lack of perfection extinguish their vision. Those who do their very best to respond to the opportunities of leadership, striving to make a difference in the lives of others, will be remembered not for their failures, but for their ability to rise above failure.
Conclusion
Ultimately, history’s verdict on the leadership and legacy of Martin Luther King will have to take into account the full man. This paper has portrayed King as a leader who moved the nation to address the wrongs of racial justice by presenting a compelling vision for change. King was a product of the times in which he lived, but his leadership stemmed from his unique ability and willingness to respond to the pressing call of history. King viewed Scripture as the legitimating source of his power. In addition, his abilities and endowments as a leader are seen, in the biblical sense, as “charismata” – a grace gift handed down from God. King, however, is far from perfect, as borne out by his academic plagiarism and allegations surrounding adultery. The life of Martin Luther King Jr. teaches today’s leaders that bridge-building is a key part of their mission, that a compelling vision is necessary to drive change, and that while leaders must constantly strive to live up to their values, they need not be perfect to accomplish great things.
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