Discussion Questions

1. According to President Mandela, as portrayed by Morgan Freeman in this film, what is the

Essence of leadership?

Leadership includes to inspire a team not only to be their best, but to become even better
than they thought they could.

2. What are some traits we see in President Mandelas character that shows hes a good

Leader?

Humble: Pours the tea himself instead of being waiting for someone else to

Open-Minded: Enjoys the tea even though it is a British custom and not African

Polite: Treats people with respect. Refers are Mr. and Mrs.

Informed: Knows of Francois injury. He seems to take a personal interest in people and what
they do

Visionary: Thinks of himself as a leader of a single union, not of two races clashing together.

3. Whats Francois philosophy of leadership? Is it a good one?

Leads team by good example. He leads like that to show that hes hard-working, and that
hes focused on the needs of the team.

4. What are some leadership traits we see in Francois?

Good Listener: Recognizes that though hes a very good rugby star, President Mandela has
much more life experience and therefore deserves his full attention

Respectful: Acknowledges that his job as his teams rugby captain is nowhere near as hard
as President Mandelas job

Team-Focused: He knows that his main idea/job as a captain is to help the team be the best
it can be. So he tries to inspire with song, and aggressive play on the field

Drug-Free: We get the idea that Francois is an honest and respectable competitor who hates
the use of drugs on his team.

5. What does the poem Invictus mean to Mandela? What might we expect Invictus to
mean for South Africa as a nation?

When things are looking rough, you have to get yourself up and keep on going. It shows as
Mandela believes that even though South Africa is a wounded society, it can be better and
unify.