leadership

Introduction: A leader is defined as a person who coordinates, integrate, facilitates and provides a context for the performance of the people in the organization. There are many definitions of leadership. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines leadership as “the leader(s) of a party or group.” when you hear off leadership this brings up a great deal of thought , emotion, and lots of questions especially in the nursing profession. Bear in mind when one hears leadership we are inclined to associate it with job title which in some cases it is entirely not the case. “Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.” (www.siyli.org) When you think of a leader, does a specific individual or a couple of individuals come to mind? Have you wondered how these people became leaders or got to where they are in an organization? Have you asked yourself if you could be a leader? How would or could you get “there”? We can all name people with whom we work and admire as leaders. In this paper I plan to discuss two persons that come to mind when I think of leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a historical leader and a historical nursing leader Lillian Wald, their lives and career. Dr. king inspired us to dream, challenged us to act, loved us and encouraged our being. If Dr. King and Lillian Wald had not answered their call to leadership and greatness, what would have happened to us and more importantly to the world? As history verifies, the middle of the eighteenth and twentieth century was not a time and place of power for women and African Americans. In particular, America was largely different in the 1800s and early to mid 1900s than it is today. For instance, most leadership positions were predominantly male and white.
Discussion:
Lillian Wald was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on march 10th 1867. The third for Max D. Wald and Minnie Schwarz four children. both European immigrants. Max Wald was a successful