Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, a national holiday. It is a day that I find both inspiring and saddening: Inspiring because it honors a man who sparked in our national conscience a recognition of the injustices suffered by Blacks and other minorities and played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement. Saddening because this extraordinary man of peace was taken from us far too soon in a senseless act of violence. Of the many insightful and inspirational messages MLK shared with us, here’s one that I think is very fitting given the current state of our world:

 

World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Dreams of Brighter Tomorrows", Ebony Magazine, March 1965

I often mention to my Kellogg students that an important part of their leadership development is to understand and have an appreciation for world history and geopolitics. One of my personal favorite quotes is one attributed to Winston Churchill (but was most likely a paraphrase of a quote by the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana):

Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Winston Churchill

British statesman, soldier, and writer

One way to make progress on your leadership journey is to take the time to learn from the insights and experiences of senior world leaders. This can be accomplished in many ways, including through reading, watching videos, and attending conferences and seminars.

I had the opportunity while in San Francisco last week to attend a fireside chat given by Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. He was the second-longest serving prime minister in postwar British history and the youngest of the 20th century. As is typical for most public figures, Blair has both his supporters and his detractors: He has been credited for his role in the progress of the Northern Ireland peace process, and, on the other hand, he has been criticized for supporting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In any case, I found his perspectives to be very interesting. You may agree or disagree, but here are just a few:

  1. Regarding the long history of conflicts in the Middle East, Blair believes one of the major issues is a disagreement of the proper place of religion in society. He noted that political ideology based on religion often results in major conflicts.
  2. Blair firmly believes that the West must strongly support Ukraine if we do not want a repeat of what occurred leading up to the second world war.
  3. Blair stated that he believes that if we are not careful, social media will become a major plague as a result of creating echo chambers in which people no longer have the ability to listen to one another. He mentioned that the people shouting the loudest should not receive the most attention, which they often do.
  4. He stated that “you should trust politicians most when they tell you what you don’t want to hear.” Why? Well, if all politicians tell you is what you want to hear, are they really performing the role of an effective leader or just listening to the latest polls?
  5. Blair had an interesting perspective on the proper sequence of policy and politics. He believes the right order is for policy to come first and then to figure out the politics of implementing the policy. The wrong way (which seems to be happening too often now) is to start with the politics and let that drive the policy, which causes significant problems.
  6. Blair believes that Britain separating from the EU (“Brexit”) was a serious mistake and believes (hopes) that Britain will rejoin the Union sometime in the near future.
  7. Blair shared some concerning observations about the way countries around the world are viewing democracy nowadays. In the past, those countries that did not have democratic forms of government would say that they were not “ready yet” for democracy but that they were working to move in that direction. However, Blair is now hearing more countries no longer desiring democracy. Clearly an issue as we face evolving global geopolitical power dynamics, and one that reminds me of another Churchill quote:

Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

Winston Churchill

November 11, 1947

As I mentioned above, whether you agree or disagree with Tony Blair’s views (or Martin Luther King’s or Winston Churchill’s), taking the time to understand them helps to prepare you on your own leadership journey.

 

Header photo by Suzy Brooks on Unsplash from Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC

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