Frederick Douglass Leadership

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Former slave, author, government official and human rights activist are some of the common titles and roles to which this leader profile will address. These duties were performed by the late Frederick Douglass. The son of a slave woman and an unknown white man, "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey" was born in February of 1818 on Maryland's eastern shore. He spent his early years with his grandparents and with an aunt, seeing his mother only four or five times before her death when he was seven. On January 1, 1836, Douglass made a resolution that he would be free by the end of the year… Several weeks later he had settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, living with his newlywed bride (whom he met in Baltimore and married in New York) under …show more content…
Researchers that have studied leadership traits and characteristics have all found that there are generally some discernible factors clearly distinguishable between those who are better equipped to lead and those who are not. Finding which traits will best match certain conditions is highly used today. With tools such as the Myers Briggs Personality Test, employers and individuals alike often use these mechanisms to categorize their behaviors and find suitable accommodations in society. We currently use surveys and polls as a tool to measure the effectiveness of those placed in leadership positions. How would you measure the effectiveness of a leader whose path to leadership was not given by a balloting systems? In this leader profile I will explain how such a person elevated to leadership with varying degrees of uncertainty.
In regard to leadership, ethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are. It has to do with the nature of leaders’ behavior, and with their virtuousness...The choices leaders make and how they respond in a given circumstance are informed and directed by their ethics (Northouse 330). Frederick Douglass’ climb to leadership empowers those disenfranchised by slavery carried heavy ethical …show more content…
Servant leadership emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them… Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. . . The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant—first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. Servant leaders put followers first, empower them, and help them develop their full personal capacities… (Northouse 225-226). Frederick Douglas, as he is, should be revered as the epitome of the servant leader. He clearly understood the needs of those subject to the constant and harsh persecution of slavery. What other way to articulate his innate strength as a leader, understanding of the needs of those who follow the sound of his voice, and the needs for those who opposed his position in society is with his 1852 speech, The Hypocrisy of American Slavery to the members of his adopted home of Rochester, NY. In this address Mr. Douglas exclaims, "What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and
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