Once a month I would like to write about an inspirational leader from the past or the present that exemplifies the traits of a transformational leader. I figured since it is National Women’s Month, I would pick a woman that inspired many and helped transform a nation. The woman I chose is Rosa Parks. You know, it’s funny, when you search for “inspirational women,” the search engine seems to tie the word “powerful” with inspirational or with positions of power like politicians, celebrities, or superstars. But in my humble opinion, having power or being in a position of power doesn’t automatically make you an inspirational or transformational leader.
What makes a transformational leader? It’s certainly not a title or a position of power. Sometimes it is simply the strength and courage to stand for what is right. In Rosa Parks case, it was to “sit” for what is right.
On December 1st, 1955 in Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks was simply riding the bus home after a long day at work, and yet she displayed the strength and courage that ignited the civil rights movement and changed the world. At that time in the South there were segregation laws in place, also known as Jim Crow laws. They were under the guise of “separate but equal” but they were far from equal. Blacks and whites had separate everything. Separate drinking fountains, separate libraries, separate entrances to buildings, buses, etc. They even had to sit separated on the same bus. Whites in the front and Blacks in the back.
On that fateful day, Rosa was just minding her own business sitting in the first row of the “Black only” section of the bus. At one of the stops a white male got on the bus but there were no more white seats left on the bus. So, the bus driver told that first row of the Black section to get up so that the white male could sit down. Three of the individuals got up out of their seats but not Rosa. Rosa was tired. Not necessarily physically tired but tired of giving in and not being treated right. There she sat knowing very well what was going to happen next. The police were called, and she was arrested. Later that night she posted bail and was released from jail. The story spread quickly through the Black community and a bus boycott was planned for her trial date. The initial bus boycott went well, and they wanted to keep it going, so they enlisted the help of Martin Luther King Jr. The court case and the bus boycott went on for almost a year before the Supreme Court finally ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional. That was a big win for the Black community and a big win for the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks became known as the “mother of the civil rights movement.” She didn’t have a title or a position of power. She just had the strength and the courage to do what was right even though she knew the consequences could be dire.
As we look at these inspirational leaders each month, we should be motivated to be better and learn or apply some of the exceptional traits that they exhibited. How can you as a leader gain strength and courage to stand for what is right in a tough situation? One place we can look for examples of this is the military. Leaders in the military must have strength and courage and display those in tough, if not deadly, situations all the time. Now, those leaders don’t go in blind and just make decisions on the fly all the time. They train. They rehearse possible scenarios. They learn from the past. Through this they develop procedures that they commit to memory that they execute at a moment’s notice when things start getting crazy.
Now, we are not all military leaders. So how can you apply this to your life as a leader? Think of things in the past that have happened to you that required courage. Think of things in the future that might require courage of you as a leader. This can be many different things depending on how you lead in a business, community, or group. Decide now that in those scenarios you will make the choice that is morally correct and that you will stand for truth and justice. This will help you when your strength and courage are being tested. It will make it easier to do what’s right as a leader.
Rosa Parks is an outstanding example of a strong woman that displayed strength and courage in trying times and through her actions changed a nation. May we all look to great leaders like Rosa Parks and strive to become better ourselves.