Invictus: A Leadership Case Study for Years to Come

Show Courtesy and Grace: On his first morning as President in his new office, Mandela slowly
walked through the suite making eye contact, smiling and saying, "Good morning," to everyone
he passed. This included the white staff members of the previous President who were packing
their boxes on the assumption that they would be sacked later that day.

Build a Team for the Future: Mandela stunned both his supporters and doubters by building a
staff of both blacks and whites. This extended to his personal security detail which ended up
including white agents who had been deployed against Mandela's African National Congress in
the apartheid era. Mandela wanted a unified country and he understood that his own team needed
to reflect that goal.

Back Up Your Priorities with Audacious Goals: Mandela had two immediate priorities as
President - reconciliation between blacks and whites and building the economic base of the
country. He seized on the goal of winning the World Cup as a means to encourage reconciliation.
On the economic front, the movie makes the point that Mandela spent a lot of his time travelling
around the globe encouraging other countries to invest in South Africa.

Visibly Support Your Goals: Mandela's team made sure there was plenty of press coverage of
him meeting with world leaders about investing in his country. He was diligent and courageous
in attending the rugby matches in a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people who were
hostile to him personally and to what he represented.

Leverage Your Footprint: Mandela understood how to combine the power of his office with
personal humility to establish connections that powerfully motivated people. To convince the
captain, Francois Pinnear, that the rugby team had an important role to play in the country's
future, he invited him to tea at the presidential office and then immediately put him at ease by
talking sports. In one memorable scene in the movie, Mandela is shown quizzing himself on the
names of the Springbok players. A few scenes later, after his presidential helicopter has landed
on the practice field, Mandela walks up to each player, shakes their hand, addresses them by
name and wishes them luck. The combination of leveraging the footprint of his office while
showing personal grace motivated people to do amazing things for themselves and their country.