Dictation of Action by Environment

  Leadership is best exemplified by actions and these actions cannot be separated from the environment that they occur in.  In many ways, the environment dictates the appropriate action.  If a leader comes to a decision, one option could be completely detrimental given the situational, historical, and social backdrop the decision is placed within.  This post will discuss a wide-lensed view of the topic from J. Wren and M. Swatez as well as a specific example of Martin Luther King's social reform movement in the context of that day.  

  Wren and Swatez begin by acknowledging the efforts made previously to recognize all the possible environmental factors in a leadership decision.  They propose a model that is completely holistic yet ordered in the addressing of a leadership context.  The model is characterized by a set of three concentric circles that envelop two remaining linked circles. The outermost circle is the historical context of leadership that looks at long term influences and effects of social, economical and political environments.  Inside the historical context circle is the contemporary context of leadership circle.  This looks at the modern social, economical and political norms as a means to judge the current situation.  Next, the immediate context of leadership circle is concerned with the immediate situation's context of structure, culture and characteristics of the given task.  In the example of a business decision, the historical context would involve looking back in history for similar decisions and how they worked out, the contemporary context would look at the current market and social constructs to examine potential gains, and the immediate context would be within the company if a decision would be successful and received well.  Finally, within those three concentric circles, Wren and Swatez place the leader and follower within interlocking circles, signifying the importance of both agents in the leadership process (Wren, 1995).  This simplified model can be expanded upon depending on the position of a given leader but the model holds as a valuable asset in the evaluation of the context a leadership decision is made within. 

  In Carson's commentary on MLK, he first discusses the historical exaggeration of MLK.  Carson calls attention to mass media's singling out of MLK as the sole initiator and indispensable element of the southern black struggles and most importantly, mass media calls too much attention to King's exceptional leadership qualities and not enough to the impersonal, large-scale social factors that enabled King's leadership to be seen and utilized.  MLK did indeed have charisma and incredible oratory skills but the words he spoke fell on willing and open ears due to the social environment they were spoken in.  Of interesting note was Carson's discussion of MLK's use of rhetoric in the context of intellectualism disguised by the language of a evangelical African-American preacher.  In short, Carson affirms MLK's incredible leadership ability but proposes that the black struggle would have followed its course with or without MLK due to the social, political and economic environment of the time.  

  As a Biblical tie-in, the story of Moses is an incredible narrative about the utilization of the perfect environment and situation.  Moses was able to take advantage of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 8:12), the bitterness of the Israelite people in response to the Egyptian brutality (Exodus 1:13-14), and the increasing number of Israelite people (Exodus 15-22) to change the course of Israelite history.  

  In the context of my future application of leadership, two things are absolutely fundamental to impact: the readiness of self and the ability to recognize the appropriate situation.  This section of the Wren text highlights the importance of that second aspect of leadership ability.  Leadership is always possible and applicable but the greatest change and impact occurs when the able and willing leader recognizes and capitalizes on the perfect situation.  

The New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV (2010). New York: Oxford Press
Wren, J (1995) A Leader's Companion. New York: The Free Press