Martin Luther King Jr.

It all started with a dream, like it always does. A dream for change and a dream for better
tomorrow.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist and a leader in the civil rights movement of USA. He was
also a member of the clergy. He did many things to bring greater equality to America and to
ensure civil rights for all people regardless of race. He is known for the non-violent ways in
which he advanced and led the civil rights movement. He emphasized and encouraged the
importance of non-violent protest and resistance. He fought for racial equality and showed the
people a picture of a better future where all men are equal. Courage, perseverance and the will
to fight for whats right till the very end made him a great leader. He was driven, charismatic
and willing to do whatever it took to make a difference.

Martin Luther Kings famous I have a Dream speech showed just what kind of leader he was, a
man who was very effective at what he did. King was described by some as having a unique way
of getting people to work together rather than fight. This leadership was not confined to fine
speeches. In private meetings, King was generally quiet. He listened while others argued, often
angrily and at length, and then he would calmly sum up the debate and identify a way forward.
From the outset of his career in Montgomery in 1955, right through to his death in 1968, King
had a remarkable ability to get people, who would otherwise be constantly feuding, to work
together. He was consistently reluctant to sever or sour relations with anyone who might help the
cause. This was particularly important because a by-product of racism was a pronounced
tendency to factionalism inside the black community. King became the vital centre a point of
balance and unity (Ling, 2003).

Martin Luther King Jr. was a transformational leader. Transformational leadership starts with
the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers.
This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad
series of discussions. The important factor is the leader buys into it, hook, line, and sinker.
Whilst the transformational leader seeks overtly to transform the organization, there is also a
tacit promise to followers that they also will be transformed in some way, perhaps to be more
like this amazing leader. In some respects, then, the followers are the product of the
transformationTransformational leaders are often charismatic, but are not as narcissistic as
pure Charismatic leaders, who succeed through a belief in themselves rather that a belief in
others (Transformational leadership, 2007).