Martin Luther King’s legacy always inspire us to lead effectively, have the courage to pursue a vision of equality and justice even when the going is tough, and to inspire the next generation to excellence in whatever blueprint they choose to create for their own lives. King exemplified in his speech to the Barratt Junior High School Students in Philadelphia apply. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn’t do it any better.”īut whether you are leading a social movement or a Fortune 500 company, an entrepreneurial venture, a nonprofit service organization, a small team within any of those, or are an individual contributor, the three leadership lessons Dr. His most thunderous exhortation to them was to be excellent in whatever they do: “And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. Though King noted he was very busy with meetings that day, it was clear he intentionally wanted to deliver his message to boys and girls at that impressionable age. This is not a constituency that many famous and sought-after speakers would prioritize. Let’s start with noting that the audience was middle school students. The greatest leaders call people to their higher selves, and inspire them to achieve their potential. But he also spoke in moral and values terms, when he counseled the students: “And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you - doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers - and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.” As a minister as well as a known Civil Rights movement leader, King clearly had the positional authority. Leaders’ messages are most powerful when they speak with values-based moral authority as well as positional authority. By describing a blueprint of a house as an organizing metaphor, he made it easy for the students to grasp the meaning and apply it to themselves in planning their own lives. It behooves all leaders and aspiring leaders to study his speeches and emulate those methods. King was especially masterful at using story and metaphor to do this.
Leaders must create meaning so people understand why they are being asked to do the work, and can apply it to themselves.
In this speech, King demonstrated at least three leadership lessons we can all use today in whatever seat we are sitting.
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