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Martin Luther King, Jr., on Leadership: Inspiration and Wisdom for Challenging Times is written by Donald T. Phillips, a well known author that writes leadership biographies highlighting leadership principles and practices, some of his other books include “Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times” and “The Founding Fathers on Leadership: Classic Teamwork in Changing Times“.

This book is a biography on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. that communicates powerful and insightful leadership principles and practices. Those who be unfamiliar with the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Wikipedia summarises his accomplishments as follows:

“Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was an American political activist, the most famous leader of the American civil rights movement, and a Baptist minister. Considered a peacemaker throughout the world for his promotion of nonviolence and equal treatment for different races, he received the Nobel Peace Prize before he was assassinated in 1968. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter in 1977, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004, and in 1986, Martin Luther King Day was established in his honor. King’s most influential and well-known speech is the “I Have A Dream” speech.”

Martin Luther King Jr. was a great leader, he lead by being the change he wanted to see in the world.

“People are often lead to causes and often become committed to great ideas through persons who personify those ideas. They have to find the embodiment of the idea in flesh and blood in order to commit themselves to it” - Martin Luther King, Jr. February 13, 1961

This was the life of Martin Luther King, a life committed to a cause and a life that all leaders can learn from.

Overview

PART I: PREPARING TO LEAD

1. First Listen: Lead by Being Lead
It’s important for leaders to listen to the people, to allow themselves to be led by what they hear then rise up and set the direction. “connecting with people is something at which all leaders must excel if they are to be successful….. listening has four major benefits ….. It 10 builds trust, 2) facilitates understanding of the people’s aspirations and expectations, 3) enables learning, and 4) fosters connection and rapport with others”

2. Persuade Through Love and Nonviolence
Leadership cannot be forced onto people, they must be inspired to follow. Using violence, power, position and authority to lead people is a short-term approach resulting from a lack of understanding.
“the only real power a leader must possess is the power to persuade….” Martin often stated that “it is essential to understand that our aim is to persuade….. We will try to persuade with our words, but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our acts…”

3. Learn, Learn, Learn
Leaders are learners, leaders are committed to personal development and continuous improvement, “…learning and leadership go hand in hand; so much so that, in fact a poor learning cannot possibly be a good leader.” Martin Luther King Jr. was constantly reflecting on his decisions and learning, he said in an interview, “I subject myself to endless self analysis, I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, that I am maintaining my sense of purpose, that I am holding fast to my ideals, that I am guiding my people in the right direction.”

4. Master the Art of Public Speaking
Communication is an important leadership practice. Martin Luther King spent may years preparing, practicing and developing his ability to communicate. Public Speaking is important to all leaders to persuade, educate, build support and inspire action. When Martin Luther King spoke he made extensive use of stories, metaphors, similes and imagery. A great example of his public speaking ability his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which he gave to address a march in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

PART II: GUIDING THE MOVEMENT

5. Awaken Direct Action
Leaders inspire and motivate ‘direct action’ from their followers, leaders with a results-oritentation empower their people to act, continually reminding people to take action and to make progress. “Because leaders cannot do everything themselves, they must find ways to awaken direct action in others. Martin’s methods for achieving movement were designed not only to create positive activity from the opposition, but to inspire others to act on their own initiative….. And he also pointed out that ‘action is not in itself a virtue; its goals and its forms determine its value‘”

6. Encourage Creativity and Innovation
Leaders usually strive for visions that require change, change requires a new thinking and a new ways of getting things done. To achieve their vision leaders need creative and innovative approaches, as they are exploring and break new ground. “In leadership, as in life, innovation and creativity are tools designed for sustaining action, achievement, and change….. Great leaders clearly understand that creative endeavour is essential in a changing environment - especially in times of revolution where new problems are encountered, where new goals must be set, where new trails must be blazed….. ‘In a new era,” he also said, ‘there must be new thinking.’”

7. Involve Everyone Through Alliances, Teamwork, and Diversity
Involving people as absolutely essential. “Major social change is best achieved in groups” as “people support what they help create”

“The biggest job in getting any movement off the ground is to keep together the people who form it. This task requires more than a common aim: It demands a philosophy that wins and holds the people’s allegiance; and it depends upon open channels of communication between the people and their leaders.” - Martin Luther King Jr., 1959

Martin surrounded himself with strong leaders and held frequent meeting and retreats. “During sessions, Martin would ask questions, try not to take sides, let everyone debate and discuss - and then attempt to arrive at a consensus”

8. Set Goals and Create a Detailed Plan of Action
Martin Luther King Jr. remained focused on his goals, he used goals to stimulate action, assist in decision making and create purpose. Seven points to remember when setting goals:

1. A wise leader plans before taking action.
2. Goals and detailed plans facilitate the process of change.
3. Plans must be in place to counteract the opposition.
4. A detailed plan is needed to channel the masses and keep them headed in the same direction.
5. Goals unify people.
6. Goals motivate people.
7. Goals stimulate action.

“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind” - Martin Luther King Jr.

9. Be Decisive
How leaders approach decision making is important. Martin Luther King was cautious and methodical when it came to decision making, he once said, “I live with deep concern, Am I making the right decisions? Sometimes I am uncertain.” He often took time to consider all the option and discuss important decisions with his team.

“Ultimately, a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus. I would rather be a man of conviction than a man of conformity.” - Martin Luther King Jr., March 31, 1968

PART III: WINNING WITH PEOPLE

10. Teach the People
Martin Luther King Jr. had a strong focus on teaching and educating the people “to save man from the morass of propoganda is one of the chief aims of education - to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, the facts from the fiction…. If an individual can’t think critically, he isn’t really educated. Intelligence is not enough”

“Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education” - Martin Luther King Jr.

11. March with the People
Martin Luther King Jr. was interested in and cared for people, he was never too busy and always available to talk to anyone. “When Martin marches with the masses, people perceived, rightfully so, that he was part of the crowd; he was one of the people, not a monarch housed in an ivory tower….. Achieving results as a leader is directly proportional to a leader’s willingness and ability to interact with people.”

12. Negotiate and Compromise
Martin Luther King Jr. constantly negotiated to ensure peaceful progress. “Because people are resistant to change, compromise is often the only practical too that allows the leader to make any progress at all….. in the final analysis leaders have no real power over the people the represent.”

13. Understand Human Nature
“In general, the ability of leaders to understand human nature is in direct proportion to their level of effectiveness. Knowing how people will react in any given situation, how they may be inspires and motivated, and how they will behave no matter what the leader does, is a critical skill for effective leadership.”

PART IV: ENSURING THE FUTURE

14. Preach Hope and Compassion
Martin Luther King Jr. lead the civil rights movement based on hope. He cared for people, understood their aspirations and displayed compassion. “People do not follow leaders who don’t care about their values, the wants and needs, the hopes and aspirations of those in the organization”

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope, because when you lose hope you die” - Martin Luther King Jr.

15. Have Courage to Lead
Martin Luther King Jr. had fifty documented assassination attempts against his life, he had to endure personal attacks and hate speech on a regular basis. “Perhaps the most that good leaders can do is keep moving forward. An then hope that the majority of the people they represent will recognize their contributions and, in the long run, judge them for their commitment and for their achievements rather than by what others have said about them….. In the final analysis, the courage to lead means standing up for what you believe in, acting when you see know you’re going to be attacked for doing so, and continually trying to do the right thing.”

16. Inspire People with Your Dream
Leaders cast vision and inspire people to get involved. “Effective visions provide context, give purpose, and establish meaning. They inspire people to mobilize, to act, to move in the same direction… Every good leader realizes that effective visions cannot be forced upon the masses. Rather they must be set in motion by means of persuasion and inspiration.”

“A movement is led as much by the idea that symbolises it. The role of the leader is to guide and give direction and philosophical under-building to the movement and this is what I have tried to do in this struggle.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

In Summary

This was one of the best leadership books that I have read this year! The book is inspirational and full of practical full leadership insights. After reading this book I was really inspired by what it took to successfully lead the civil rights movement. Donald T. Phillips has done an excellent job of weaving leadership lessons together with a biography of Martin Luther King making the book a fascinating exploration of timeless leadership principles. Donald Phillips has a deep understanding of what makes leaders successful and provides an excellent overview of how Martin Luther King Jr. lead through persuation, influence and passion.

I highly recommend this book, without hesitation, to anyone wanting to develop their understanding of what it takes to lead.

Technorati Tags: Leadership; Biography; Book, Management, Books, Change, Business, Christian

I’ve just finished reading an interesting Harvard Business Review article “The Decision to Trust (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)“>The Decision to Trust” by Robert F. Hurley. The article discusses a model that leaders can use to predict if others will choose to trust of distrust them. The model is based on ten factors that affect people and their decision to trust another person. The model divides the ten factor into two dimensions.

Decision-Maker Factors

This dimension contains the factors that affects a “truster” and their disposition to trust another person.

• Risk Tolerance: This factor concerns now tolerance people are of risk, the more tolerant people are of risk the more likely they are to trust someone.
• Level of Adjustment: This factor concerns that amount of time people need to build trust. It takes some people longer before they feel comfortable to trust someone.
• Relative Power: If the truster is a person in authorityhe is more likely to trust as he has power over the person he is trusting.

Situational Factors

The situational factors are the factors that influence where an individual chooses to tust or not.

• Security: Security is important as not all risks are equal, the higher the stakes the less likely people are to trust someone.
• Number of Similaities: People are more likely to trust other who are similar to themselves, similarities such as; common values, memberhsip in a group, share personality traits, etc. It’s difficult to trust people who seem different.
• Alignment of Interests: Before we trust someone we consider “How likely is this person to serve my interests?” If interests are aligned trust becomes a lot easier. Aligned interests lead to trust.
• Benevolent Concern: The leader that demonstrates “benevolent concern” show that he will put himself at risk for his followers.
• Capability: In the article Robert provides a good example, “If you’re going to have surgery, you’ve probably more concerned about your surgeon’s technical skills than about how much the two of you have in common.“
• Predictability and Integrity: A person to be trusted is consided more trustworthy if their behaviour can be reliably predicted. A trusted person is someone who will do what they say they will do.
• Level of Communication: As trust is relational, good communication is essential. Open and honest communication creates an environment the encourages trust.

Ultimately trust is a measure of the quality of a leaders relationship with their followers.

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Management, Business, Trust, Teams, Teamwork

With the increasing complexity the roles and behaviours of leaders need to change to suite a complex environment. The Dannemiller Tyson Associates discusses three new rules for leaders in the 21st Century:

Old Rule #1: The leader’s job is to know, and to serve as a final authority in important decisions.

New Rule: The leader’s job (in the 21st Century) is to call people together whom we have typically kept apart, and to find ways to uncover and connect the collective wisdom of our people. When leaders follow this rule, we’ve seen that this shared wisdom emerges most effectively people are invited to come together and share “one-brain, one heart.” Here everyone in the organization, through accepting each others’ views, comes to see that we all know the same thing (”one brain”), and we are all connected around the same yearnings and vision of a preferred future for the organization (”one heart”).

Old Rule #2: The leader’s job is to control-information, people, risk, the future. The effective leader is in charge of everything that’s going on, both inside and outside the organization. The leader’s job is to ensure that people in the organization obey the rules, and people in the organization look to the leader to keep them safe (e.g., “If I obey, then I’ll have a job, and the company will survive).

New Rule: The leader’s job is to ask questions and facilitate conversations at ALL levels of the organization. An organization can achieve its goals quickly and successfully only when people’s energy is aligned and their commitment is focused, and we believe that this requires a leader to engage people at all levels of the organization in connected discussion.

Old Rule #3: The leader’s job is to drive and monitor organization performance by focusing on what is going wrong, and punishing mistakes.

New Rule: The leader’s job is to build and sustain high performance by noticing and appreciating when people do things right-especially when they act with courage, integrity, and accountability. Reinforcing courageous, right-minded action, especially when it turns out to be a mistake, is the only way to encourage people to take risks, and leaders who follow this rule typically build organizations with spirit and pride.

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Management, Business, Collaboration

In an article The Philosophy Behind Our Systems by Emily and Dick Axelrod they propose that:

Systems succeed or fail, based upon the philosophy behind them.

I think that this as true of leadership, here are some of the philosophies that The Axelrod Group build into the collaborative systems they design.

• Principle 1: A compelling purpose creates interest. The organizational task you’re trying to accomplish must have depth and purpose, and this depth and purpose must be made clear to everyone.
• Principle 2: Public information and decision making creates trust. Information is valuable only when shared. Thus, all information needed for discussion must be public. This includes all of the information developed and decisions made during the change process. There cannot be information that some have and others do not.
• Principle 3: Involve the whole system to understand the whole system. When many stakeholders dialogue, they begin to understand each other and the larger system. As they learn how they fit into the larger whole, new possibilities emerge.
• Principle 4: Create a safe enough environment. Allowing employees to express fear and doubt is key to moving forward. To do so, though, requires bravery.
• Principle 5: Involve the whole person. We have a dominant learning style. Some of us are auditory learners, others are visual learners, and still others are kinesthetic learners. When we convene people, we design the process to reach everyone through his or her preferred learning style. When we use only one style, we run the risk of not reaching important contributors.
• Principle 6: Have a future orientation. Ron Lippit’s research about groups concluded that when people focus on what they want to create, they become excited and energetic. When they focus on problem solving, they become lethargic. Robert Fritz identified that when people clearly understand both the present state and the future they want to create, structural tension develops, and they move towards that preferred future.
• Principle 7: Egalitarian spirit builds trust and community. The answers are everywhere and in all of us. Egalitarian spirit means working together in a way that blurs the privileges associated with roles and titles. It does not mean denying legitimate power or authority, but rather evaluating input on the basis of its worth, not the position of the person offering it.
• Principle 8: Co-creation builds ownership and commitment. Ownership is the taking hold of an issue, solution, strategy or course of action, and making it your own. When you own something, you sustain it and see it through to the end. When we make a commitment, we promise to perform, produce, and perpetuate a course of action.

How well do these principles reflect your work environment?

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Management, Business, Collaboration, Philosophy, Participation

An article from Forbes titled “Peter Drucker On Leadership“, by Rich Karlgaard some of Peter Drucker’s thoughts on leadership that stood out for me from the article are:

• What Needs to Be Done Successful leaders don’t start out asking, “What do I want to do?” They ask, “What needs to be done?” Then they ask, “Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?” They don’t tackle things they aren’t good at. They make sure other necessities get done, but not by them.
• Check Your Performance Effective leaders check their performance. They write down, “What do I hope to achieve if I take on this assignment?” They put away their goals for six months and then come back and check their performance against goals. This way, they find out what they do well and what they do poorly. They also find out whether they picked the truly important things to do. I’ve seen a great many people who are exceedingly good at execution, but exceedingly poor at picking the important things. They are magnificent at getting the unimportant things done. They have an impressive record of achievement on trivial matters.
• Mission Driven Leaders communicate in the sense that people around them know what they are trying to do. They are purpose driven–yes, mission driven. They know how to establish a mission. And another thing, they know how to say no.
• Creative Abandonment A critical question for leaders is, “When do you stop pouring resources into things that have achieved their purpose?” …. I always advise my friend Rick Warren, “Don’t tell me what you’re doing, Rick. Tell me what you stopped doing.”
• How Organizations Fall Down Make sure the people with whom you work understand your priorities. Where organizations fall down is when they have to guess at what the boss is working at, and they invariably guess wrong. So the CEO needs to say, “This is what I am focusing on.” Then the CEO needs to ask of his associates, “What are you focusing on?” Ask your associates, “You put this on top of your priority list–why?”

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Management, Business, Drucker

InnovationLabs, an innovation consultancy, has published a new book called Permanent Innovation by Langdon Morris, this new book takes the following approach to innovation:

“Innovation is the process of creating new ideas and turning them into new business value. Permanent Innovation is the process of doing it continuously, by developing an organizational culture that embraces innovation as a core value, practices innovation as a core methodology, and produces innovation as a consistent output.”

The book describes “The Ten Principles of Permanent Innovation” the set of principles “are intended to be your map, for they are vitally important to a successful journey.”

The Ten Principles of Permanent Innovation

1. Innovation is essential to survival, and all innovation is strategic. Since innovation is literally how organizations create their own futures, innovation as a process and an organizational priority cannot be separated from the development and implementation of strategy.
2. There are four types of innovation: incremental, breakthrough products & technologies, new business models, and new ventures. Taken together, all of your innovation initiatives constitute a portfolio.
3. The longer you wait to begin innovating, the worse things will get. Companies that procrastinate usually pay a heavy price in the form of lost market share and lost profits, and ultimately the lack of innovation can significantly diminish their future prospects. The competition isn’t waiting, and you shouldn’t either.
4. Innovation is a social art; it happens when people interact with one another. People are the core of any innovation process. Their insights, concerns, and desires shape the pursuit of new ideas and the countless decisions to be made in the process of transforming these ideas into value. Consequently, managing innovation is largely a process of managing people, and also managing the principles and practices according to which their work is organized.
5. Innovation without methodology is just luck. There are lots of creative people in your company, and given half a chance they’ll probably create some great innovations. But if you rely on their random efforts then you’re risking your future success on chance, and that’s not enough. You have to develop and apply methodologies, the right methodologies, to make the shift from luck to consistency, predictability, and sustainability.
6. All four strategic innovation viewpoints are critical to success. You can’t rely just on the innovation efforts of top managers, nor of your own people in the field, nor of what only insiders can create. The complete innovation methodology has to leverage all four viewpoints: Topdown, Bottom-up, Outside-in, and Peer-to-peer.
7. Great innovations begin with great ideas; to find them, identify unknown and unmet needs. There are many different kinds of needs. Among the most significant for innovators are the ones that no one has recognized, for these offer the potential to create breakthroughs that bring significant added value and competitive advantage. So how to find them? There are dozens of tools explained here that you can apply to come up with new ideas. Experiment with these tools and you’ll surely find some that work well in your organization.
8. Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Fire. Yes, it’s a cliché. But it’s also true. Effective innovation requires very careful targeting. Why? Because there are so many possibilities to chase that you have to make sure you’re going after the right ones. Besides which, innovation is expensive both in terms of cash and time, and good aiming enables you to use your resources wisely.
9. Prototype rapidly to accelerate learning. The goal of any innovation process is to come up with the best ideas and get them into market as quickly as possible. Thus, the innovation process is a learning process, and learning faster has enormous advantages. Among the methods for learning that you can choose, prototyping is one of the most valuable because it so effectively condenses the learning process. Rapid prototyping is therefore central to most forms of effective innovation methodology.
10. There is no innovation without leadership. Companies are amazing expressions of human society. The fact of organizing thousands of people to create and deliver products and services around the world to thousands or millions of customers is a remarkable thing. But the ability to do this brings some unique challenges. In particular, the impact of the organizational hierarchy has tremendous influence on the culture of any company, on its ways of working, and the results it achieves. Thus, top managers can be powerful champions of innovation, or dark clouds of suppression. It’s up to leaders to ensure that their words and their actions support and enhance innovation efforts and methods, and that at the same time they work diligently to eliminate the many obstacles that otherwise impede or even crush both creativity and innovation.

This is the website for the book, you can download the book for free or you can purchase the book here.

Technorati Tags: Innovation, Creativity, Management, Leadership, Books, Business, Free, Book, Principles, Strategy, Ideas

Be Excellent, one of my favourite blogs, describes the “11 Qualities of Leaders” from the book Learning to Lead: A Workbook on Becoming a Leader. The leadership qualities are:

1. Know themselves through reflection and self-observation (*pg. 20)
2. Understand both their history and present environment (*pg. 32)
3. Are clear about their values and goals (* pg. 68, 92)
4. Are aware of and can apply their learning style to solving problems (* pg. 198)
5. Are willing to be lifelong learners (*pg. 22)
6. Can take risks and are open to change (* pg. 180)
7. Are able to accept mistakes and failures as necessary precursors to creativity and problem solving (* pg. 186)
8. Are skilled in creating a vision and seeing themselves and their lives as part of this vision (* pg. 77)
9. Are able to communicate their vision with meaning so that others are inspired by it (* pg. 78)
10. Are committed to maintaining trust through empathy, constancy, and integrity (* pg. 55, 250)
11. Are skilled in translating intention into reality thorough committed action (execution) (* pg. 34)

Technorati Tags: Leaders, Leadership, Management, Books, Business, Book, Principles

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