Introduction
‘Leadership’ and ‘Change’ are interlinked in a very important way, they actually complete each other and it will not be wrong if we say that if there is a Leadership it will always bring a change or vice-versa. However change is basically a result and there are other factors which influence and help to achieve this result. Leaders have always changed the course of time and have brought revolutions in the fields like Politics, Spiritualism, Management, Science and Arts etc. However though all these may be defined under the definition of success the path obtained to achieve success is different for all leaders; they have their own ideologies and believe firmly on them, continue to follow it, ultimately bringing the change that they wanted to bring.
There is a lot of learning hidden in the way leaders have handled issues, their motivation, psychological traits, convincing power and though process can really help us to learn and manage difficult issues in various aspects. In this paper we will look at the leadership style of Martin Luther King Jr and Cesar Chavez, which will help us to understand the role played by them in bringing a huge transformation and initiating people engagement.
We will then move on to assess the change that a person can bring, on the basis of the four polarities as described by “Chambers” in his book Roots for radicals. We will study and assess the four perspectives of Self interest and self sacrifice, Power and love, Change and unity and Imagination and hope and will study them from an individual’s point of view, forming an opinion which will derive an idea that can actually work in order to achieve a desired goal.
A PhD in systematic theology, from Boston University, Sir Luther “blacks” and “whites”, and gradually became a Negro leader of first rank in few years. With the kind of determination he had, to fight for the rights of ‘blacks’, he was abused and attacked several times and faced many challenges, but he stood still with his decisions and displayed many important leadership traits that we will discuss now.[ CITATION Bea98 \l 1033 ]
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, was very clear with his vision and that is what really helped him to get support from the masses, he was determined to get equal rights for the ‘blacks’, he wrote some of the great speeches of those times, and in all his speeches he mentioned about his vision and ensured that he reminds people and himself that the vision in mind is stable and has to be achieved at any cost.[ CITATION Car05 \l 1033 ]
Effective communication is one of the most commonly present traits in all leaders and therefore Dr. Luther also had this skill in him and that is what, made him win the Noble Price for Peace at the age of 35 and become the youngest to win it. It was his ability to communicate his vision equally and make other people (supporters and non-supporters) aware of his idea and logic behind his thinking. He is actually the first person who believed in non-violence in order to struggle for a goal and therefore his messages were so strong that he was able to easily reach, convince and prepare people to join him in his struggle. [ CITATION Dys00 \l 1033 ]
Dr. Luther had a great quality that he was always willing to learn; he was a very curious student and attained a doctorate by the age of 25 and also did almost 10 years of post graduate training. Dr. Luther wrote more than 7000 essays, letters and manuscripts and became a very well known prolific writer. He once said “to educate is to learn twice” and followed the same rule in life, as and when required Dr. Luther did not hesitate giving some time to learning and he continued to do so till the time he was active physically and mentally. [ CITATION Bru07 \l 1033 ]
Dr. Luther was no doubt immensely fearless and courageous, though he chose a non-violent method to approach what he believed, he still made sure that he does not accept the protests that were made against him, so that he deviates from his ultimate vision of achieving equality for ‘Blacks’. During the middle of his struggle he became a great leader and was under the limelight of really power full opponents like FBI, but still he never gave up and fought with great courage, and showed the spirit of a true leader.[ CITATION Bru07 \l 1033 ]
There is a very special leadership trait that we see in Dr. Luther and that is being strategic and ensuring conflict resolution, actually the kind of responsibility he took, attracted a lot of conflicts at not only national but also international level, It became very important for him to find out working solutions for the conflicts and the solutions of reasons must be globally accepted. Actually there is a great difference between conflict resolution and handling issues, as while resolving a conflict one cannot compromise with principals and that is the reason why Dr Luther is considered a great leader, because he resolved the conflicts but never deviated from his principals himself. [ CITATION Car05 \l 1033 ]
César E. Chávez
César E. Chávez’s leadership had a purpose; he was one of the greatest Mexican American leaders and is really remembered for his contributions towards the nation as a leader. He was a very simple and humble man, but he had in himself, very strong traits of a leader and was a man of powerful words. It is very motivating to see his leadership skills and study the kind of traits he possessed, which made him a real hero in our history.
It is a long list to discuss and describe the kind of impact made by Chávez’s contributions towards American culture and history and life. If we study his leadership style in detail, we will realize that hd a very unique style of himself, had pragmatic thinking skill set and a great art to persuade. The question arises that how can a non-violent thinker achieve success by quietly implementing his ideology and not taking any aggressive approach? This answer to this is very simple but hard to believe, actually Chávez’s approach was much more than just being a social activist, his leadership approach cannot be individually defined by certain traits as he himself chose to be open-minded and fight the issues as he is one of those who are fighting for their rights.[ CITATION Tay75 \l 1033 ]
There also another important factor that we have to consider from a discussion point of view, when we talk about the leadership traits displayed by Chavez; the kind of issues he struggled with made him more of a universal thinker, as he fought for the rights of the workers and peasants and improvement of lifestyle, he never had to face issues like Dr. Luther, where he was standing against any particular community and has too many conflicts to work on. Therefore he kind of support Chávez got from people was very diverse and people of all religions, race and sex supported him in his struggle, which really made a great impact. [ CITATION Oro08 \l 1033 ]
Chávez again has another very special quality that he was very convincing and was an intelligent thinker, he managed to create a right voice and alarm to highlight the importance of issues like reasonable wages, pesticide misuse, responsible business practices and humane work and living conditions. Now, there was an indirect message hidden, in the above efforts that there must be equality in class, faith, culture and political awareness and thus we may not deny from the fact that Chávez was a great communicator as well. [ CITATION Fal94 \l 1033 ]
Chávez succeeded in becoming an international figure with the way he thought however it was only possible due to the courage and residence that he had shown for a long time, actually the fact here is that Chávez also faced a lot of setbacks during his struggle but he never gave up and approached again with more faith in himself and some comparatively intelligent decisions thus being able to fight the pressure created to make him fall again. [ CITATION Oro08 \l 1033 ]
Lastly the most strong and differentiating leadership style shown by Chávez is about being a ‘Servant Leader’, now this is a separate concept altogether, his message was that 'We fight together. We fight for a cause and we do not use violence.' And so we stay together and fight for our cause, for our race, and for our rights. We stick together for justice’, now this implies that actually Chávez didn’t believe himself to be a leader, he actually believed that he was just a part of the masses that he was struggling for and that led him to be very strongly loved and believed by his supporters. [ CITATION Ort11 \l 1033 ]
Chávez was a man of peace and he believed in peacefully putting once point across so that it gets believed, he struggled for a purpose and was supported by many as he himself believed and became a part of the struggle, joining the people for whom he fought for; Chávez is a perfect example of a leader who not only uses his skills to bring the desired change but also leaves a food for thought for the next generations. [ CITATION Tay75 \l 1033 ]
Roots for Radicals - Edward T. Chambers
This work from chambers is a great reflection of the gap that is created between the output of the world and the kind of expectations one has from it. There are various issues like globalization and wars etc that has led to a revival of grassroots activism. The work basically discusses the different polarities in the lives and work of people who are trying to develop some kind of change; it is actually a search for meaning. This work is powerful, it helps to develop the actions which are effective and initiate the drive which will ultimately result in the change that we have desired.[ CITATION Cha03 \l 1033 ]
We will look at the discussed polarities, Self interest and self sacrifice, Power and love, Change and unity and Imagination and hope and discuss them from an individual’s perspective, to assess and analyze the efforts which will result in a change that is desired to take place.
Self Interest and Self Sacrifice
The kind of change that I wish to initiate is mainly related to my idea of changing the perception of my sisters and their coloured friends that skin colour is not a limitation to success. I have had some issues in the past due to the colour factor and specially being in a predominantly white country. However, I believe that after coming to the New York University, I have got enough strength and opportunity, to prove the above and also ensure that I become a motivational factor for them.
Being raised by African immigrant parents, and being supported to complete my higher studies in a prestigious institution, I am really excited to play the role of a motivator and give back what I have got from my Parents. It may be true that colour differences, created a narrow mindset where there were many thoughts and figures that declined the idea of being educated however determination and self interest have brought me to this stage and I am sure it will do the same to me in future.
I agree and understand that every aim needs a sacrifice, and having understood this fact I am determined to go back to the place where I hail from and serve the African women and put my efforts in order to help them identify the hidden potential that they have. My education may be sufficient to lead a successful life in this great country; however I still feel that my efforts and change in my hometown can create several such success stories and definitely I can link my success with it.
Power and Love
In order to achieve something or bring a change power is very important, and my power is my education and all that I have learnt from this great country and from this great institution will really help me to achieve success. I will use the power of education, to make the others like me aware of the fact colour is not really a boundary that cannot be crossed. In my thoughts I have decided that I will educate the others like me in “Oslo”, my hometown, so that they start believing in the power of education and they know and agree that this is something which will raise them above the restriction of colour, nationality and sex.
On the other hand Love is something that I have got and it something that I must return; the love of my parents, my sisters, my country, this country and all the people who are with me must be given back. I will try and serve the community to make an attempt to repay the kind of affection that I have got from all the above mentioned. There is an important addition that I got the opportunity to migrate and get educated, I am really thankful for that and will ensure that my children also get that opportunity so that they can develop the same confidence and understanding as me.
Change and Unity
The change that I want to bring is basically related with the empowerment of African women, where they are also determined and confident like I am today. The expected idea of changed is to help the African and other coloured women understand that colour is not something which will stop them from achieving, they must be ready to face and challenge the world and I want to show them that this world is really full of opportunities, its just that we need to go out to explore it.
There are lot of expectations in terms of unity, actually it is a part of the change that I want to bring, or we can say that unity has to be achieved before I can bring the change that I actually want to. Hence it becomes all the more important for me to unite all those women who I think can really make a difference.
Imagination and Hope
The way change is the essence of Leadership, similarly Imagination and Hope are the essence of change. I imagine that after my time at Milano, and returning home to Norway that it will allow me to continue with immigration kids and continue to build the support centres they need, to be able to fight the voice that tell them that they cant aim high. And I hope that I will be able to support them with all that require, however the above hope and imagination is not lacking direction or expertise. I believe that I have the power of education with me which will help me to convert my imagination into reality and my hopes into success.
Lastly, it is important that, like all the leaders who plan to bring a change, I also have strong determination and belief in my own imagination so that whatever I hope will happen does not really become hypothetical but has a firm base around it.
Works Cited
Beane, W. (1998). The Essence of King’s True Greatness. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Brunicardi, F. C., Cotton, R. T., Cole, G. W., & Houston, G. M. (2007). The Leadership Principles of Dr. Martin Luther. Journal of the National Medical Association Vol.99 No.1 , 7-14.
Carson, C. (2005). A Personal Journey to Understanding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. OAH Magazine of History , pp. 4-6.
Chambers, E. T. (2003). Roots for Radicals. San Francisco: Continuum Publishers.
Dyson, M. (2000). I May Not Get There With You:the True Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Free Press.
Falstein, M. (1994). Freedom Fighters: Cesar Chavez. New Jersey: Globe Fearon Educational Publisher.
Orosco, A. J. (2008). Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Ortiz, M. D. (n.d.). César E. Chávez – The Man and the Servant-Leader. Retrieved May 13, 2011, from http://chavez.cde.ca.gov: http://chavez.cde.ca.gov/ModelCurriculum/Teachers/Lessons/Resources/Documents/The_Man_and_the_Servant-Leader_Essay.pdf
Taylor, R. B. (1975). Chavez and the Farm Workers. Boston: Beacon Press.
