The single most distinguishing feature between the servant leader and every other type of leader is the primary focus of the leader. For instance, transactional leaders (TLs) focus on dispensing the appropriate type of reward to motivate followers, and authentic leaders focus on establishing authentic and genuine relationships to motivate their followers to accomplish organizational goals. Servant leaders, however, are uniquely different in that they are the only category of leader that focuses first and foremost on serving their followers. The implication is that the servant leader will set aside their own interests for the well-being, growth, and development of those who follow them. It is this altruistic motive that sets the servant leader apart from every other type of leader (Northouse, 2016).
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. began his public leadership journey when he was drafted by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), a group of black activists in Montgomery, Alabama who had organized to follow the lead of Rosa Parks, the black woman who had initiated a personal protest of the city’s segregation policies on its public buses. It was this seemingly typical spokesperson-type position that eventually morphed into what we now know as the Civil Rights Movement of the ’50s and ’60s (Garrow, 1987).
As the momentum of the protests continued to increase and began to develop into “the movement,” Dr. King became increasingly aware that he had somehow become associated with something much larger than himself, and certainly not of his choosing. His once comfortable life was now jeopardized and complicated with anxiety and stress arising from constant death threats, FBI surveillances, incarcerations, as well as threats of violence against not only himself, but also his family. One could say, he had reached his own Gethsemane, where he was now forced to ponder the cost and perhaps consider possible ways to extricate himself from the situation (Garrow, 1987).
It was precisely at this point-in-time that Dr. King, the Baptist preacher, became Dr. King, the Servant Leader, born from the midst of fear, anxiety, and tremendous feelings of aloneness, much like that of Jesus Christ in his garden. Dr. King, the Baptist preacher, recognized his need for a different and more intimate relationship with the God he had only casually known up to that point. It was during this season that Dr. King had a Divine encounter that revealed to him the true depth of his intended role in the movement. He would later refer to this encounter as a call by God, with the reassurance that God would never leave him alone (Garrow, 1987).
Here we find the very core of servant leadership, that sense of a Divine call to be used by God to do what only He, God, can do. It was from that point forward that King understood the movement was not at all about him, but that he had been called to something much greater than himself. It was this Divine encounter that became the bedrock upon which the servant was able to confidently bear his cross and conceptualize the Biblical concept of love and nonviolence and the power within, to motivate and empower others to take a stand for righteousness and to challenge the egregious injustices brought about by racial discrimination. He personally role-modeled how to walk the picket lines and go to jail. He served his followers from the forefront by becoming an example of fearlessness in the face of overwhelming obstacles; and others followed his lead (Garrow, 1987).
Like all other leaders, Dr. King was required to be equally courageous in his humanity, as well as in his leadership. As such, he cleverly never presented himself as the flawless hero leader. And though his human failures were fairly-well publicized by his media detractors, he never allowed those failures to interfere or deter him from his mission or call of developing his followers to carry the movement forward.
If those who followed him would develop and grow, he too would have to continue growing. History saw change in his personal growth take a significant leap when he was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, which he considered to be a mandate to raise awareness of other perceived injustices at the time. Ironically, it was this same compassion for others, and teaching others how to defend themselves from the powerful bureaucratic bullies, that brought him to Memphis and his untimely death and assassination. Once again, he had come to the aid of a group of workers, who had been oppressed for decades (Conover, 2018).
Conclusion
It is the focus of serving others that distinguishes the servant leader from every other type of leader. Dr. Martin Luther King became a servant leader after having a Divine encounter, during which God revealed his role in the Civil Rights Movement. It was this revelation that solidified his commitment to the movement and calmed his human fears. He taught and modeled the power of love and nonviolence in overcoming the evils of discrimination, based on his great compassion for the oppressed, and his desire to please the Father.
References
Conover, T. (2018). I Am A Man: In his final days, Martin Luther King Jr. stood by striking Memphis sanitation workers. We returned to the city to see what has changed-and what hasn’t. Smithsonian, 48(9), 74-85.
Garrow, D. J. (1987). Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Spirit of Leadership. Journal Of American History, 74(2), 438-447.
Northouse, P. G. (2016) Leadership theory and practice seventh edition. SAGE Publishing, Inc.: Los Angeles, CA.
