What Makes a Leader? Lessons from MLK

What makes an individual a leader? What are the skills, traits, education, and desires that make certain people more successful at encouraging others to respond to their words and actions? Books, courses, and trainings are all part of the winning recipe, but it’s also important to make the effort to improve these skills in real-world situation. Your local Jaycee chapter offers several opportunities to get involved and continue your evolution as a leader in the form of board positions, committee supervision, and project development.

This week, we celebrate the contributions and life achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, as an example of positive human spirit and dedication to improving the lives of all people.  In the truest sense of the word, Dr. King was a leader – creating social change and demanding human rights and equality in a difficult era in our nation’s history.

When Dr. King wrote, “A genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus, but a molder of consensus,” he was providing a lesson for all of us, and future generations. Leadership is the ability to know what’s right and ultimately use your skills to encourage others to work towards a similar outcome. By putting our efforts in directions that promote unity, as opposed to divisiveness among individuals, we can realize a greater good for all humankind and achieve results beyond our wildest expectations.

Now is your chance to develop your personal leadership. Get involved. Check out the JCI USA website (http://www.jci.cc/local/media/usa) or the Burton Area Jaycees (www.facebook.com/burtonareajaycees) for information on projects that require your assistance and training opportunities that you can attend. Take the first…or second…or hundredth step in advancing your leadership experience and creating a better world.

It’s important that we study the exceptional leaders of the past to learn more about the talent and proficiency that made them worthy of our celebration. Dr. Martin Luther King is one of those individuals. Understanding more about why he, and others like him, were so successful at delivering their messages and convincing others to follow is a big part of improving your own abilities. We’re ready to help you learn.b