Malcolm X and Contemporary Leadership

This essay analyses the leadership skills of Malcolm X in the context of the Black and Muslim community. It discusses the background and theories of leadership, short biography of Malcolm X, his leadership style and his contribution towards the Black Liberation Movement of the 20th century.

Running head: MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
Malcolm X and Contemporary Leadership
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Introduction
As opined by Corrigan (2017), the term ‘leadership’ is defined as the process through
which the individuals or more precisely the leaders motivate as well as influence the
behaviour of their followers so as to achieve the goals or the objectives that they have
outlined for themselves. Arnold et al. (2015) are of the viewpoint that the concept of
leadership is not a nascent concept and its ancestry can be traced back to the pre-historic
times however in the present times the term had more political and business connotations.
More importantly, the success or the failure that a particular leader and his or her followers
are likely to attain is also dictated largely by the leadership approach, style, skills, traits and
other attributes of the leaders himself or herself (Saleem, 2015). In this regard, it needs to be
said that the leaders are not only required to effectively use their character traits in an
adequate manner to achieve the goals but at the same time choose the right kind of leadership
approach or style that is likely to offer the maximum amount of benefits. This essay will
analyse the concept of leadership and leadership skills in the particular context of the leader
Malcolm X and the work which he did for the Black as well as the Muslim community.
Background and Theories of Leadership
Anderson and Sun (2017) are of the viewpoint that the leadership theories or models
offers an explanation of the leadership styles or approaches adopted by a particular leader for
the achievement of their goals or objectives. The prominence held by the concept of
leadership theories can be explained on the basis of the fact that since the traditional times a
plethora of leadership theories have been used by different leaders. In this regard, some of the
most important leadership theories or approaches used by the different leaders since the
traditional times are the Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Behavioural Theory, Role Theory,
Participative Leadership, Situational Leadership, Authentic Leadership, Autocratic

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Leadership, Transformational leadership, Transactional leadership and others (Yahaya &
Ebrahim, 2016). As opined by Saleem (2015), the focus of the traditional leadership theories
like the Great Man theory, Behavioural theory and others was on the personal attributes or the
character traits of the leaders and completely relegated the followers or the subordinates to
the background. More importantly, it is seen that the modern theories of leadership like
transformational, transactional, situational, authentic leadership and others try to overcome
this drawback of the traditional styles of leadership (Corrigan, 2017). The net result of this is
that the modern or the contemporary theories of leadership ascribe equal amount of
prominence to both the leaders and also the followers for the effective attainment of the
objectives or the goals that had been outlined by them.
Arnold et al. (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the transformation which had
taken place within the cannon of leadership not only becomes apparent in the contexts in
which the concept of leadership is being used. For example, since the traditional times it had
been seen that the concept of leadership had been used in the context of military, political and
business perspective however it is only now or more precisely from the 20th century that the
same is being used in the social context as well (Lubin, 2015). In this regard, mention needs
to be made of leaders like Dr Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X and others
who effectively used to concept of leadership to bring about a social change in the status quo
of the contemporary society (Byrd, 2016). A common aspect among all of these leaders is the
fact that the leadership approach adopted by them was either the charismatic style or the
authentic style of leadership.
As opined by Thompson (2018), the charismatic leaders are the ones who use the
tools of eloquent communication, personal traits or behaviours, persuasion and others to
encourage some particular behaviours among the followers and thereby achieve the goals or
the objectives. More importantly, this theory of leadership propounded by German

3MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
sociologist Max Weber believes in the fact that the authority which a particular wields on his
or her followers should derive from their charisma or personality (Marxists.org, 2019). On
the other hand, the theory of social leadership propounded by Esade Professor Jaume Filella
states that the leaders in order to foster social change should bring people together, facilitate
communicate and also encourage these followers to drive efforts for the change
(Marxists.org, 2019). The net result of this is that the majority of the leaders looking to bring
about a change in the status quo of the society are increasingly taking the help of these two
leadership theories for the achievement of the same.
Short Biography of Malcolm X
The eulogy on Malcolm X’s grave reads “our shining black prince ... who didn't
hesitate to die, because he loved us so” and true to this he was the shinning prince for the
African-Americans and the Muslims in the nation of America till his dying date
(Malcolmx.com, 2019). Malcolm X (1925–1965) is commonly known as a black and Muslim
human rights activist and also as an American Muslim minister who worked endlessly for the
cause of the black-skinned people and the Muslims of America (Zilber, 2019). His life when
analysed in retrospect is nothing short of a roller-coaster ride with frequent changes in career
paths but during all these changes his goal to work for the upliftment of the common people
never wavered. In this regard, it needs to be mentioned that his father died when he was only
six and his mother was admitted to a mental sanatorium when he was thirteen (Stoddard,
2019). Thus, all through his teenage life he was transferred from one foster home to another
which heightened his feeling of injustice which was meted out to the black-skinned people in
a significant manner.
At the age of 20 years he was sent to prison and it was here that he joined the Nation
of Islam (NOI) and became an ardent supporter of the doctrines preached by it (Nytimes.com,
2019). However, he soon became disillusioned with the leadership style of Elijah Muhammad

4MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
and his NOI and left it to embrace Sunni Islam and even changed his name to el-Hajj Malik
el-Shabaz (Hart, 2016). It was during this time that he founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and
the Organization of Afro-American Unity and argued for the causes of Pan-Africanism, black
self-determination, black self-defense and others (Gibson, 2018). The deep passion that he
felt for the cause under discussion here can be explained on the basis of the fact that during
his entire teenage life while he was transferred from one foster home to another he was
experienced these aspects of the American society first-hand. The net result of this is that the
last ten years of his life were devoted towards the organisation of various movements as well
as campaigns like drug rehabilitation program, black supremacy and others so as to improve
the living condition of the minority people of America like the black-skinned, Muslims and
others (Dubois, 2018). However, at the same time it needs to be said that he received various
criticisms like racist, Negro supporter and others on the score of his social activities and was
not received very well by many people (Aidi, 2018). His assassination on February 21, 1965
by the members of NOI can be explained on the basis of these facts (Smallwood, 2017).
However, despite these facts the contribution that he made to improve the quality of lives of
the African-Americans and the American Muslims can in no way be denied or relegated to
the background.
Malcolm X as a leader
Malcolm X wrote in his Autobiography “There is no better than adversity. Every
defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve
your performance next time” (Malcolmx.com, 2019). This line speaks volume regarding the
philosophy followed by Malcolm X all throughout his life as a social and charismatic leader
who never lost faith in the cause that he was fighting for in the face of numerous adversities.
In this regard, it needs to be said that the ideologies of Pan-Africanism, black supremacy, the
injustices which were meted out to the black people and others were ingrained into his young

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impressionable mind at a very young age since his parents Louise Helen Little and Earl Little
were supporters of the same (Thompson, 2018). More importantly, Earl was a local leader of
‘Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)’ and his mother Louise was a regular
contributor towards the ‘Negro World’ magazine which dwelled on the concepts of black
pride and others (Hart, 2016). Thus, it can be said that it was at home that the cause for which
Malcolm X was to become a leader created an impression on him.
Byrd and Miri (2016) are of the viewpoint that the single most important incident
which changed the life of Malcolm X was his introduction to the NOI in prison that gave him
a platform for expressing the sense of injustice that he felt. More importantly, throughout the
course of his long illustrious career as a leader he focus on human rights which were denied
to the African-American and Muslims on the basis of their ethnicity and skin-colour
(Smallwood, 2017). In this regard, it needs to be said that he used the gravity as well as
charm of his own personality to enlist as many number of people towards the cause that he
was fighting for as he can get. Furthermore, the usage of the entities of morals as well as
ethics at the same time helped him not only to gather support from the people but at the same
time educate them regarding the injustices that were meted out to them (Thompson, 2018).
Moreover, his conversion to Islam and the foundation of associations like Muslim Mosque,
Inc., Organization of Afro-American Unity and others helped him to fight for the cause of the
African-Americans and also the Muslims in a much better manner (Nytimes.com, 2019). It is
true that he received various criticisms from the native-Americans and also some of this
comments as well as actions undertaken by him were completely out of synchronicity with
the cause that he was fighting for yet the improvement that he was able to bring within the
status quo of the American society can be no way be undermined. In this regards, it needs to
be said that he made a valuable contribution towards the cause of the Black Liberation
Movement of the 20th century (Marxists.org, 2019). Thus, it can be said that the prominence

6MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
of the leader Malcolm X lies in the fact that unlike the other leaders who focus on attaining
personal or professional ends he focused on working for the upliftment of the contemporary
American society.
Leadership style of Malcolm X
The three important styles of leadership that Malcolm X took the help of to bring
about social improvement in the nation of America are social leadership, charismatic
leadership and the Black Leadership theory (Zilber, 2019). Anderson and Sun (2017) have
articulated the viewpoint that the social leaders try to bring about a change in the social
condition by deriving authority through the usage of the reputation that an individual had
garnered over the years. In this regard, it needs to be said that by the age of 30 years of age
Malcolm had established a firm reputation for himself as an active proponent of the social as
well as human rights of the black and the Muslim people (Stoddard, 2019). This reputation
was used by him to rally the people belonging to these communities for the improvement of
their social as well as human condition and also for the fulfilment of their basic psychosocial
needs.
According to Zilber (2019), the charismatic style of leadership requires the leaders to
use their own personality or charisma for influencing the behaviour of the people. Thus, the
individuals who are taking the help of charismatic style of leadership are required to have a
charismatic or a pleasing personality so that they can convince the people or their followers
regarding the validity or the fruitfulness of their cause. Malcolm X had a very pleasing
personality and this charisma of his personality was used by him to make the people aware of
the injustices as well as harsh treatment that was being meted out to him (Dubois, 2018).
More importantly, the effective usage of this style of leadership enabled him to gather a large
number of supporters to fight for the cause of the black-skinned as well as the Muslim people
in the nation of America in the 20th century (Gibson, 2018). Lastly, the effective usage of the

7MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
Black Leadership theory enabled him to get a significant amount of support from the African-
American people of the concerned nation (Aidi, 2018). In this regard, it needs to be said that
all throughout his life he was an active supporter of the Black Liberation Movement and it
was through this close association that he shared with the black-skinned people and also with
many of their leaders that he was able to convince them regarding the validity of the cause
that he was fighting for (Hart, 2016).
Leadership traits and skills of Malcom X
Malcolm X possessed various kinds of leadership traits as well as skills which
enabled him to successfully fight for the cause of the African-Americans and also the
Muslims in the nation of America in the 20th century. In this regards, it needs to be said that
one of the most important leadership traits or skills of Malcolm X was effective
communication through the usage of which he was able to influence as well as the convince
the people regarding the justness of the cause that he was fighting for (Smallwood, 2017).
More importantly, he resorted to the usage of the mass media like television, radio,
newspaper and others for reaching out to a larger number of people. As a matter of fact, he
even gave the speech against the policies as well as practices of the NOI in 1959 in New
York City entitled “The Hate That Hate Produced” over radio (Thompson, 2018). Another
important trait of Malcolm X was his ability to empathize with the black-skinned people as
well as Muslims in America rather than sympathise with them (Curtis IV, 2015). This is
important since the empathy that he felt for them motivated him to take up their cause and
also fight for them. In addition to the above mentioned skills or traits, he also various other
attributes like critical decision making, honesty, integrity, accountability and others which in
turn enabled him to become one of the greatest social leaders of the 20th century (Byrd &
Miri, 2016).

8MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
Strengths and Weaknesses of the leadership approach of Malcolm X
The primary strength point of the leadership approaches adopted by Malcolm X was
the fact that he sought to use his own personality attributes to convince the people regarding
the validity or the justness of the cause that he fighting for (Gibson, 2018). Furthermore, it
was seen that he used the attributes of morals as well as ethics to create effective relationships
with the followers who were associated with him (Hart, 2016). This is important since in the
past it was seen that the contribution made by the followers were completely neglected and
this used to significantly affect the success of the cause that they were fighting for. In
addition to these, rather than feeling mere sympathy for the people that he was fighting for he
felt empathy with them and this not only made the social change that he was trying to bring in
a personal one but at the same time a very important one (Aidi, 2018). There are various
weaknesses of the leadership approaches taken by Malcolm X as well. For example, rather
than trying to generate mass support for the cause that he was fighting for he focused merely
on the support of the African-Americans and the American Muslims and completely
relinquished the support of the other people (Smallwood, 2017). This as a matter of fact
hindered the Black Liberation Movement from becoming a national one and thereby delayed
the success of the movement significantly. In addition to these, the active support that he
gave to violence was another factors which deterred many people from joining him in the
cause of social improvement that he was fighting for.
Conclusion
To conclude, the process of leadership had undergone a significant amount of
metamorphosis in the recent times and rather than merely focusing on the attributes of the
leaders the perspectives of the followers are also being taken into effective consideration.
This becomes apparent from the emergence of the different kinds of new leadership styles
like charismatic, social, Black Leadership style and others. More importantly, the leaders are

9MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
also required to possess different kinds of traits as well as skills like effective
communication, accountability, critical decision making, empathy for the cause that they are
fighting for and others. These become apparent from the above analysis of the leader
Malcolm X and the contribution made by him towards the contemporary American society.

10MALCOLM X AND CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP
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