Martin Luther King Day is a great time to reflect on the words of one of the greatest orators in modern history and draw inspiration from his many speeches, including, of course, his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.
King was unquestionably a great leader, and there are few better sources of inspiration to draw from. Here are just a few of the most important lessons you can draw from the man’s words, and how they can be applied to managing your business:
Unflinching, Unwavering Honesty
King lived and spoke during a time when African Americans were still marginalized and facing a great many struggles. He didn’t shy away from speaking about those hard truths, even though hearing some of his words made many uncomfortable.
In business, we often face rocky, uncertain futures. The best managers will speak frankly and forthrightly about the challenges and struggles ahead and not sugar-coat the truth. Unflinching honesty is hard, no doubt, but it is necessary and in the end, always appreciated.
Inspiring
While King opened his most famous speech by outlining the daunting challenges faced by African Americans living during that time, he did so not to depress his audience, but to inspire them. The next part of his speech was filled with soaring rhetoric about what was possible.
Even if you’re not a master orator, you can still inspire your employees by speaking with passion about the brighter, better future that awaits if everyone stays the course and overcomes the challenging obstacles that lay before you. Vision is inspiring, and if you want your employees to follow you and to give their all, you have to give them a vision worth getting excited about.
Urgent Calls To Action
It’s not enough to outline the current reality in stark, uncompromising terms and offset this with a bold vision of the future that’s possible. Getting to that point requires concerted action in the now.
No one person can make your vision a reality. It requires sustained effort by everyone in your organization, and that sustained effort needs to begin immediately. King understood this, and if you want your company to thrive, you must understand it too, and instill a sense of urgency and immediacy in your employees.
Acknowledgement
Finally, King was quick to acknowledge the sacrifices others had made in pursuit of the goals he was trying to achieve. He didn’t make it all about him. He didn’t hog the spotlight and downplay the contributions of others.
This too, is a critical skill all managers should seek to embrace. It’s your company, but it’s not all about you. Your company lives or dies based on the contributions and efforts of the employees who work for you. Recognize them. Acknowledge them. Reward them, and they will reward you with even more action, effort and sacrifice.
Martin Luther King was a great, inspiring leader. While you may never match his level of rhetorical mastery, you can take the lessons gleaned from his speeches to heart and make them an integral part of your managerial style. If you do, you’ll become a better, more trusted, more inspiring leader, and that’s a very good thing.