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LEADERSHIP STUDY

NELSON MENDELA

Reference:

a. Instruction For Leadership Paper Of Royal Service Corps Commander Course

Serial 20/2014 Dated.....................
b. Malaysian Armed Forces Joint Procedural 2012 (MAF JP 0.01).

INTRODUCTION

1. General. Nelson Mandela was one of the greatest leaders of all time, a symbol of
courage, strength, compassion, humility and reconciliation, a role model not just for South
Africa, but for the world.

2.

3. Leadership can be defining a process by which a person influences others to

accomplish an objective or a common task. Leaders carry out this process by
applying their leadership attributes such as beliefs, values, ethics, character,
knowledge and skills.

4. Leaders are made and not born. Desire and power can be the approach to be
the leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self study and
experience. Good leaders are continually learning and improving themselves, they
are not resting and wasting their times in their life.

AIM

5. The aim of this paper is to discuss the leadership qualities, charismatic and
styles of Nelson Mendela.

SCOPE

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6. The overall scope of this paper contains topics as below:

a. Introduction.

b. Aim.

c. Scope.

d. Early Life and Family Background.

e. Personal Life.

f. Political Career.

g. Leadership Style.

h. Leadership Qualities.

i. Lesson Learnt.

j. Conclusion.

k. Recommendation

EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY BACKGROUND

Mandela was born into royalty and was groomed from early childhood to follow in his
father’s footsteps as a counsel for the regent. It was from this early age that he learned a great
respect for the culture, traditions and customs of his people. He was one of 13 children and
the youngest of 4 boys. This large extended family also cemented his traditional upbringing
and gave him a strong sense of community. Mandela’s father died when he was 9 and his
uncle became his guardian. Mandela recounts in his autobiography how he first learned about
leadership from sitting and listening to the eld

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PERSONAL LIFE

Mandela was a private person who often concealed his emotions and confided in very few
people.Privately, he lived an austere life, refusing to drink alcohol or smoke, and even as
President made his own bed,he was also renowned for his mischievous sense of humour. ] He
was known for being both stubborn and loyal,[ and at times exhibited a quick temper.He was
typically friendly and welcoming, and appeared relaxed in conversation with everyone, including
his opponents.[Constantly polite and courteous, he was attentive to all, irrespective of their age or
status, and often talked to children or servants. In later life he always looked for the best in
people, even defending political opponents to his allies, who sometimes thought him too trusting
of others. He was highly image conscious, and throughout his life always sought out fine quality
clothes, with many commentators believing that he carried himself in a regal manner. [His official
biographer Anthony Sampson commented that he was a "master of imagery and performance",
excelling at presenting himself well in press photographs and producing soundbites. ] In describing
his life, Mandela stated that "I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader
because of extraordinary circumstances.

Mandela was married three times, fathered six children, had 17 grandchildren, and many
great-grandchildren. He could be stern and demanding of his children, although he was more
affectionate with his grandchildren.His first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase in October 1944;
[61]
they divorced after 13 years in 1957 under the multiple strains of his adultery and constant
absences, devotion to revolutionary agitation, and the fact that she was a member of
theJehovah's Witnesses, a religion requiring political neutrality.[94] The couple had two sons whom
Mandela survived, Madiba "Thembi" Thembekile (1945–1969) and Makgatho Mandela (1950–
2005); his first son died in a car crash, and his second son died of AIDS. The couple had two
daughters, both named Makaziwe Mandela (born 1947 and 1954); the first died at the age of nine
months, the second, known as "Maki", survived Mandela. Makgatho's son, Mandla Mandela,
became chief of the Mvezo tribal council in 2007.[

Mandela's second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also came from the Transkei area, although
they, too, met inJohannesburg, where she was the city's first black social worker. They had two
daughters, Zenani (Zeni), born 4 February 1959, and Zindziswa (Zindzi) Mandela-Hlongwane,
born 1960. Zindzi was only 18 months old when her father was sent to Robben Island. Later,
Winnie was deeply torn by family discord which mirrored the country's political strife; separation
(April 1992) and divorce (March 1996), fuelled by political estrangement.Mandela's third wife
was Graça Machel whom he married on his 80th birthday in 1998

POLITICAL CAREER

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LEADERSHIP STYLE

29. Therefore, 3 leadership styles are as follows

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Nelson Mandela demonstrated remarkable leadership qualities:

1. He was a man of peace.

2. He had a powerful presence and disarmed enemies with his smile.

3. He showed the world what forgiveness looks like.

4. He was positive, thinking about what could be.

5. He was a visionary and could see the big picture.

6. He was focused on goals and a mission beyond himself.

7. He had remarkable endurance.

8. He showed grit and determination.

9. He was humble.

10. He was full of hope, not hate.

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11. He was patient

What are the leadership lessons we can learn from this great man’s legacy. ers around the
fire as they reminisced. “As a leader, I have always followed the principles I first saw
demonstrated by the regent at the Great Palace. I have always endeavored to listen to what
each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion.
Oftentimes, my own opinion will simply represent a consensus of what I heard in the
discussion. I always remember the regent's axiom: a leader, he said, is like a shepherd. He
stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow,
not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” Richard Stengel,
Mandela’s collaborator on Long Walk to Freedom wrote of him: “…there is a kind of
natural "aristocratic-ness" about him, a kind of natural princeliness... Even his fabulous
posture comes from as a little boy observing the way the king stood. In a way, he was a
natural king ...” As a result of the circumstances of his birth and the role models he grew
up with, Mandela developed many of the personality traits of a natural leader, but over the
course of his lifetime, he also learned and fine-tuned many leadership skills and strategies.
Stengel believes that it was the deference he was used to receiving as a result of his royal
upbringing, combined with his 19th Century English preparatory school education that
imbued in him the sense of dignity that is still a key element of his personality today. He
recounts: “Someone once said about him that he is a combination of an African aristocrat
and an English gentleman. I think the English gentleman was the beau idéal for him that he
had learned as a child, that he had learned from school, and in a strange way because he
lived in this bifurcated world – a black world and a white world. In the white world, he was
an English gentleman. That was the best way for an African to be.” Mandela himself
stated: “In so many ways, the very model of the gentleman for me was an Englishman”
Mandela was sent away to Healdtown boarding school and later, attended Fort Hare
University near Umtata. He discovered the importance of education as a tool for
understanding both his own people's history and culture and those of other groups. Luisa

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Mazinter – Nelson Mandela Page 3 He retained a life-long thirst for education and
knowledge, continuing to study through his years of imprisonment on Robben Island.
Mandela was also instrumental in encouraging fellow political prisoners to continue their
education, so much so that warders there would sometimes refer to his prison block as
"Mandela University". “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is
through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a
mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the
president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given,
that separates one person from another.” In the early days, when Mandela was a member of
the ANC Youth League, he would get up at rallies and give fiery emotionally charged
speeches. But his behavior was always consistent with the values he had learned from his
upbringing – even when he went to see Chief Luthuli, to remonstrate about the armed
struggle with the then head of the ANC who had renounced violence, he was utterly
respectful. According to Stengel: “He would never in a million years say something to
Chief Luthuli that the chief might find offensive, even though he was this hot-headed
young man of the ANC Youth League. He was a very polite young man.” Walter Sisulu
became a very important leadership role model for Mandela. He observed the way Walter
operated and the fact that he was very calm. “On the island they called Walter, "Allah"
because he was so wise and calm, and at an early age Nelson saw this is one way to be as a
leader. He wasn't that way, he was volatile at this stage, but in fact, Nelson was looking at
Walter and saying, "This is one way for a leader to be and I will factor this into my
persona." Mandela’s height, natural charisma and sheer physicality had an equally
profound effect on Sisulu. As Stengel recounts: “What Walter told me that we could never
use in the book, was that what he realized as he got to know Nelson, was, "Here is our
natural mass leader. I am a leader. I am a short man. I have a soft voice. I am shy. There
are other people like me, who are in the ANC and dedicated. I cannot stand in front of a
room full of people and get them excited. This man, this boxer, with a beautiful smile, who
is so winning – he is our mass leader. We need to be a mass organization." While he had

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the physical stature of a leader and was highly emotive in his youth, Mandela was, first and
foremost, a pragmatist. When non-violence seemed like the most practical solution, he
embraced it until it had proved itself fruitless and then he could see no practical solution
other than an armed struggle. Stengel elaborates: “He has no love of violence, as he would
say many times. He tells that lovely story when he was at the farmhouse in Rivonia, and he
was trying to teach himself how to shoot a gun. He had never shot a gun before. And here
was the head of Umkhonto we Sizwe, who didn't even know how to hold a gun, and he had
this BB gun and he shot a sparrow on the tree in the farmhouse. It died, and he was
stricken. He felt miserable and ghastly about it. He is the guy who in prison ... if there was
an insect in his cell, he would pick it up and carry it out and put it outside. So there was
nothing about him that liked Luisa Mazinter – Nelson Mandela Page 4 violence. He just
saw it as the most expedient way of toppling the government.” Linked to this charismatic
persona was also a flair for the dramatic, as Stengel puts it: “…there is a lovely
mischievous side to Nelson Mandela. In a strange way, when he was underground, he was
playing cowboys and Indians ... He liked that aspect of it. The little bit of recklessness in
him was piqued by this - the close calls, the fact that he would be there in his uniform, in
his beard, next to a police station, and they wouldn't know who he was. He was a little bit
tickled by that, and that is also what created the image of the Black Pimpernel. Mandela
has a tenacity and self discipline that are essential skills of leadership. He began cross-
country running in high school, and later took up boxing which he particularly enjoyed
because for him, it was “a place above the rules”, an arena in which he could achieve
regardless of his color. Throughout his life he maintained a consistent exercise regimen,
which served to relieve the tension and stress of his every day life, and also helped him to
maintain excellent physical health – even during his 27 years in prison. Instead of allowing
it to damage him, Mandela claimed that his experience on Robben Island actually matured
him. Stengel recounts: “There were so many times when I was talking to him and
interviewing him, and in effect his answer was, "both." It's never just one reason, or this or
that reason. It's always some combination, and what happened to him on the island, in a

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way, is that he began to see things in the round, in three dimensions. He began to see that it
was both ways. Nobody is all good or all evil. Nobody operates purely out of selfish
motives, or purely out of unselfish motives. It gave him a more rounded view of humanity
and life. That's what maturity is. That, in fact, in some ways, is his maturity. That he sees
things from both sides, and that really happened, for all kinds of reasons, on the island.
That firebrand as a young man, didn't see things in the round at all. The man who walked
out of prison, who says, "I came out mature," saw things from both sides.” Many factors
contributed to Mandela’s personal growth on Robben Island. He was a large man and he
lived in a tiny little cell, this constraining environment taught him a great level of self-
control. In an interview for a BBC documentary he also commented on his need for routine
that emanated from the 27 years of prison life: “What keeps me alive is the fact that I have
a program – it stops me thinking about all my problems.” Mandela integrated a wide range
of leadership styles. Coming out of the disciplined training ground of the ANC, his
political leadership style was very clear and defined. He always knew exactly what he
wanted and he had the ability to manage key stakeholders very effectively, persuade first,
negotiate second and coerce if necessary. He knew how to use social networks to his
advantage, as illustrated by the way he ensured that on the Island, he developed
relationships with the prison guards who had a direct influence on how the prisoners were
treated, demanding basic human Luisa Mazinter – Nelson Mandela Page 5 respect from
them so as to ensure that the strategy of dehumanisation encouraged by the Apartheid
regime was undermined. “The best way to effect change on Robben Island was to attempt
to influence the officials privately rather than publicly… I tried to be decent to the wardens
in my section: hostility was self-defeating. There was no point in making a permanent
enemy among the warders. If a man was considerate, we were considerate in return.” Also,
his decision to allow certain things to pass during discussions with the government so that
he could keep the negotiations going, despite them conflicting with his principles,
illustrated his keen political savvy. Stengel feels that this insistence of his to be treated
with basic human dignity was key to his realisation that he could expand this into the

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greater solution: “One of the things that Robben Island taught him in a way that he hadn't
learned in the outside world, is that if he maintained his dignity, if he insisted they are
treated the way a man should be treated, and he could bend the authorities on Robben
Island to his will, which he did. Then he thought, "Mmm, this can work in the outside
world. These are the most unrepentant racists in the world, and if they can treat me with
dignity, and be taught to treat me with dignity," as he did teach them, then he realized he
could do it in a larger way. Again it's the same ... the personal becoming political, then he
realized he could do it in a larger way.” He saw himself as a political mediator and unifier
from the start, discouraging faction fighting amongst the different interest groups in prison.
“I regarded my role in prison not just the leader of the ANC, but as a promoter of unity, an
honest broker, a peacemaker and I was reluctant to take a side in this dispute even if it was
the side of my organisation. If I testified on behalf of the ANC, I would jeopardise my
chances of bringing reconciliation among the different groups. If I preached unity I must
act as a unifier, even at the risk of alienating some of my own colleagues... I wanted to
show the young Black consciousness men that the struggle was indivisible and that we all
had the same enemy.” This set the stage for the role he played later in becoming the honest
broker between the government and the liberation movement. Mandela always looked for
the middle ground, the position where both sides needed to compromise a little to achieve
what would ultimately be the best solution for both. “In prison my anger towards whites
decreased but my hatred for the system grew. There was a middle ground between white
fears and black hopes.” Stengel comments on this ability: “Mandela, is naive about a lot of
things, innocent about a lot of things, and ordinary about a lot of his perceptions, but when
it comes to politics, he is a laser beam genius. So he's sitting in there, and he's a wounded
man. But he is thinking ... he is doing the political calculation, and he's doing it at a level of
subtlety that is hard to imagine.”Luisa Mazinter – Nelson Mandela Page 6 Symbolic
leaders lead by example; use symbols to capture attention; frame experience, communicate
a vision, tell stories, study and use history. Mandela inspired his fellow inmates in prison
by telling them stories. He had a vision of freedom for the people of South Africa, and

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inspired others to achieve that vision. The language, humour and symbols he always used
clearly emanated from his traditional upbringing and his emotive speeches had the power
to move people to follow him in achieving the vision he painted so eloquently In a letter to
he wrote to the newspapers on 26th June 1961, he asserted his connection with the people
and his commitment to dedicating his own life to the struggle for freedom for all: “I shall
fight the government side by side with you, inch by inch and mile by mile until victory is
won. ….The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my
days.” Another indication of his symbolic style was the kaross he wore to court on 15th
October 1962 to symbolise that he was literally carrying the history, culture and heritage of
African nationalism on his back. Mandela’s love for metaphors is clearly illustrated in his
autobiography, where he talks about starting a garden on the Island. “I saw the garden as a
metaphor for certain aspects of my life. A leader must also tend his garden; he, too, sows
seeds and then watches, cultivates and harvests the result. Like the gardener, the leader
must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work, try to repel the
enemies, preserve what can be preserved and eliminate what cannot succeed.” Mandela
always believed in the basic humanity that lies beneath the surface of even the most avid
racist behaviour. His struggle throughout his time on Robben Island was to find the
humanity in people, to get to know his enemy better so that he could find a way in to reach
the human heart beneath the surface: “My country is rich in gems and minerals that lie
beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is in its people, finer and
truer than the purest diamonds.”… “Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but
never extinguished.” Structural leaders do their homework, rethink relationships of
strategy, structure and environment and focus on implementation where they experiment,
evaluate and adapt as required. Mandela always relied on the structures of the ANC to
know “his place”. He always abided by the traditional Xhosa leadership structures, and
respected those in more senior positions within the ANC. Although he was in a leadership
position himself from early on, he always placed great value on the voice of the masses to
democratically make decisions. Stengel elaborates: “I think the great, great love of his life

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– more than Winnie, more than his family, more than his children – is the ANC. He loves
that organization; that organization made him. That was his mistress, his mother, his wife.
He loves the ANC. He really had to struggle within the ANC towards the end of his time in
prison, because I think that here this thing that he loved, that he'd spent his Luisa Mazinter
– Nelson Mandela Page 7 whole life working for, were ... people in the ANC thought he
had betrayed the organization. That was hard for him.” People leaders believe in people
and communicate that belief, are visible and accessible and empower others. Nelson
Mandela was always concerned for people – he was concerned about the people he helped
in his legal practice, his first concern when they arrested him for high treason was his
children, and he has always placed others before himself. He even showed concern for the
people who looked after him in prison, and he was insistent that he wanted to say goodbye
and thank you as he left Victor Verster. “I saw that my loyalty was to my people as a
whole”. This compassion for people even extended to those that represented the system he
hated so much: “Men like Swart, Gregory and Warrant Officer Brand reinforced my belief
in the essential humanity even of those who had kept me behind bars for the past twenty-
seven and a half years” As Stengel puts it: “One side of maturity, one thing that he learned
in prison, was you set your sights in the far distance, and he did. I am not sure that he was
conscious of it in the very beginning. But fairly soon he was when he decided to learn
Afrikaans, when he decided that he needed to have some kind of relationship with those
guards. In a strange way, he realized, and it may be even unconsciously that the
relationship between him and his Afrikaans guards was a microcosm for the whole South
African experience. If he could somehow come to some modus vivendi with his guards,
then he could maybe bring South Africa to the promised land. So he realized that and it's
the same – the personal becomes the political with him as a theme that's been throughout
his entire life.” Mandela always lived by his values. He believed deeply in democracy,
equality and human rights. And although his family was extremely important to him, the
struggle to liberate the country was more important. He always repressed his own desires
and sacrificed his own needs for the greater good of the people. This is a responsibility that

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comes with leadership and he not only felt it, but lived by it. He was a man of great
integrity who always lived according to his principles, and even if it meant making a
personal sacrifice, he would not compromise on them. He believed very strongly in the
notion of fairness as illustrated by the fact that he was willing to accede to the wishes of his
prison warders if he felt that they were treating him fairly. Mandela embodied the universal
values of honesty, integrity, fair play and truth, not just in word, but more importantly in
deed. “I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessary
cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonouring them.” Luisa
Mazinter – Nelson Mandela Page 8 He believed in preserving human dignity not just his
own, but that of the people around him and he insisted on this even when he was in prison.
Family was vitally important to Mandela, and even though he chose the “struggle” over his
family, later when asked if he had any regrets, they were that he could not be a better son,
father and husband. Above all Mandela demonstrated an undying loyalty to the struggle for
freedom: “I am the first accused…During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this
struggle of the African people. I have fought white domination and I have fought black
domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons
live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal I hope to live for and
to achieve. But if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”. Mandela stated
that he was fundamentally an optimist. He never once allowed himself to believe that he
wouldn’t one day achieve his vision for a fully democratic South Africa. “Part of being an
optimist is keeping one’s head pointed to the sun and keeping one’s feet moving forward.”
Stengel says: “The genius, in a strange way, of Nelson Mandela is that he was able to
transfer the personal to the political. We ordinary folk might feel personally angry,
aggrieved if somebody does something to us, don't think about it in a larger context. He
managed to, at some point, think about it all in a larger context. Not take it personally.
Even though he so often was personally offended and harbors a tremendous amount of
bitterness, which he has managed to shield and protect. But he didn't, at the end of the day,
take it personally. He realized it wasn't directed at him personally. ‘If it is directed at me

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personally, think how much worse it is for everybody else.’ ” In summary, Nelson
Mandela demonstrated all the Leadership competencies that a modern leader needs to
display. He always inspired a Shared Vision through his speeches, communication with
ANC members and his friends and comrades in the struggle: “No man or women who
abandoned apartheid will be excluded from our movement towards a non-racial, united and
Democratic South Africa based on one-man, one-vote on a common voters role.” Mandela
always challenged the process. He challenged the prison authorities and he challenged the
legal system when he believed it was unfair. It is core to who he was not to accept the
status quo but to fight for what he believed in: “why should I obey laws made by a
parliament that I was not allowed to vote for”. He was organiser in chief of the defiance
campaigns and although it involved considerable personal risk, he didn’t think twice about
it.Luisa Mazinter – Nelson Mandela Page 9 His bravest step was to challenge the
movement itself, knowing that he was acting against the wishes of the majority of ANC
members, he decided that the only long term peaceful solution was to initiate secret
negotiations with the government. Mandela always modelled the way, not just in word
through his impassioned speeches and writings, but more importantly through the ultimate
sacrifice he made, spending 27 years of his life in prison. When he initiated discussions
with the government he knew that he had to create a new model of operation in order to
move things forward. He said: “ there are times when a leader must move ahead of the
flock”. In Robben Island too, when issues were taken up with the authorities, he led from
the front, never shying away from his responsibilities as a leader, and certainly not
bothered by the possible consequences. He encouraged the heart, he was always letting
people know when they had achieved gains, and tried not to focus too much on the
negatives. Stengel explains: “…if you refuse to be treated with indignity, you teach people
how to treat you with dignity. He never bent. He never groveled. He always walked upright
... when I interviewed the people who'd been on the island with him, and they'd talk about
how just seeing him walk across the courtyard, with that great posture, was inspiring to
them ... it bucked them up. He is a great actor in that way.” He enabled others to act in so

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many ways. He involved other people and delegated a lot. Whether it was in organizing
defiance campaigns, or delegating men to befriend certain warders on the island. He led the
way and showed them how it should be done. This was also clearly illustrated in his
determination to allow others to express their opinions, even when they differed from his,
and even when a more forceful stance by him would have pushed things his way. He
always sought consensus. Once again Stengel gives us an understanding of the man behind
the public face: “Here to me is a man – and I spent so many hours with him, thinking about
the past – a man who cannot forget the past. A man who is suffused with the past saying,
forget the past. That was, in a way, his greatest acting moment. He is haunted by the past,
but he knows that if South Africa is to move into the future, people have to forget the past.
He has tremendous, tremendous bitterness about the way he was treated in all kinds of
ways, but his great achievement as a leader, is the ability to hide that bitterness. To show
the smiling face of reconciliation, not the frown of bitterness and lost opportunity.” He
goes on to explain: “…he has the virtue of his flaws, and his flaws were exactly the right
flaws for that time, of being too trusting, of seeing the glass half-full. That's what South
Africa needed at that time. The man who'd been the leader of the Luisa Mazinter – Nelson
Mandela Page 10 underground movement, the firebrand who actually is too trusting, who
errs on the side of thinking we are men of goodwill, acting out of good motives just as I
am. Those are kind of Christ-like qualities that he has, that he isn't able to see bad motives
in people. And he errs on that side, and he makes mistakes on that side. But those were
precisely the kind of mistakes that South Africa needed at that time. But he's hard as
steel ... he has a nice smile, but iron teeth.” On the 2nd May 1994 Mandela proclaimed to
the world: “Free at last! Free at last! I stand before you humbled by your courage with a
heart full of love for all of you. I regard it as the highest honour to lead the ANC at this
moment in our history. I am your servant… It is not the individuals that matter but the
collective… This is a time to heal the old wounds and build a new South Africa.” Stengel
believes that one of the most revolutionary and extraordinary things that Mandela ever did,
was that in his inaugural address, he forecast the end of his presidency. That had never

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been done before in the history of Africa. He says: “that is the capstone of his brilliance
and genius as a leader. That he forecast the end of his reign at the very beginning of it, and
that changed the whole dispensation. There was no danger after that, that what was
happening in the rest of Africa was going to happen here. Even though he is the most
enlightened leader and even though, in a way, he is the benevolent despot that Plato said
we should have. He said, "No, that's the end." Nelson Mandela was a visionary and a great
leader, but most of all he was a human being. A man who overcame great personal
suffering, and yet emerged with his vision for the future still intact and his determination to
forgive the past and build a future with all the people in his country so compelling, that he
swept the nation along with him in his quest. “Vision without action is merely a dream;
action without vision just passes the time; vision with action can change the world.” – Joel
Arthur Barker

LESSON LEARNT

RECOMMENDATION

RECOMMENDATION

One of the most important lessons in history is that the great and kind people who
lived in the past are sources of inspiration and encouragement for us who live today. Nobody
would deny the fact that the heroes and humanitarian individuals who lived in the past have
left us a lasting legacy in terms of courage and social commitment. From the viewpoint of this
observation, Mandela’s legacy will be imprinted on the hearts of all Africans who know the
value of living responsibly on the African continent. As it is proven by the theme of our essay,

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the things we learn from Nelson Mandela, champion of the people, will stay with us centuries
in and centuries out. If the lesson drawn from Mandela is effectively practiced by the present
generations in Africa

Nelson Mandela was an amazing leader because of his dedication, inspiration, and his
vision of change. He was one of the leaders to put an end to segregation/apartheid rule of
Africa and the first black president of the country. As president, his main goal was to unify
Africa. He made sure that everyone clearly knew and understood his goal of equality, and
took all the steps possible in order to reach that goal. He encouraged the actions of others, and
motivated others towards acceptance of people that are different. From integrating his own
staff, to the desire for the rest of Africa to also get along with people of a different race,
Nelson Mandela made sure he accomplished his goal as much as possible. So basically he
modeled the way, inspired a shared vision, enabled others to act, challenged the process, and
encouraged the heart, which are all 5 parts of leadership. All these qualities, and his peaceful
tactics for dealing with the issue, are some of the many reasons why Nelson Mandela was
such a great leader. This review has shown that Nelson Mandela was a great Transformational
Leader, that he fulfilled most of the requirements of Transformational Leader Theory, and that he
had some failures when regarding decision-making.

2. Nelson Mandela and his Social Context When the National Party achieved power in South Africa in
1948, the government usually composed by “white people” created a policy of racial segregation
under a legislated system denominated by apartheid. According to this regime the black South
Africans were forced to live in separate areas from whites and to use separate public facilities.
Despite consistent struggles to defeat the apartheid regime, its laws persisted in effect for the most
part of 50 years. It is within this environment that Nelson Mandela was born and raised. Mandela is a
South African lawyer, prominent activist. He was also the leader of African National Congress (ANC)
party and the first black President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. EUSEBIO AFRICANO DOS REIS
VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories And Issues 2 Mandela is famous for his dedication and
struggle against Apartheid regime in South Africa. In 1993, he was rewarded the Peace Nobel Prize. 3.
Historical Background about Leadership Theories Leadership is defined as the capacity that one has
to guide others to achieve a desired goal, (Marshal, 2011). Therefore, throughout the years the
attempt to an effective leadership performance has originated different theories. According to
Horner (1997) the theories of leadership were born in the first few decades of the 20th century.
Horner (1997) explains that originally leadership was described in terms of traits, qualities and beliefs
held by individuals. Consequently, this theory held that leaders possess positive qualities and
personality traits, which distinguish them from their followers. Horner (1997) clarifies that leaders
were viewed as being born not made and were superior to employees. 4. Theory of Leadership as
career Gronn (1999) suggests that leadership as career is a means that helps individuals understand
the conditions in which the leader led as well as the factors that contributed to the leaders’ birth.
Gronn (1999) defines these factors as the historical background, the cultural aspects and the social

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issues that surrounded the formation of the leader. The historical aspect has to do with the time in
which the leader lived. Therefore, Gronn (1999) states that every person is a product of their own
time. In terms of culture, the individual tends to act according to the ideology, norms and values
asserted within his community. The social aspects refer to the pressure of media and groups. All
these together are substantial elements to shape the individuals and motivate the birth of leaders.
EUSEBIO AFRICANO DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories And Issues 3 Additionally,
Gronn (1999) suggests that leadership as a career should be analysed in four complementary stages.
These stages are Formation, Accession, Incumbency and Divestiture. The analyses of these stages are
essential to understand the leaders' trajectory. This framework will be used to analyse Nelson
Mandela's leadership journey. 4.1. Formation This stage consists of input that an individual receives
at an early age. These inputs can come from family, school, church, peers and social media (Gronn,
1999). These inputs are responsible to raise the person's awareness of his expected roles and
responsibilities. When analysing Mandela's formation, three important factors can be identified as
key turning points for his transformation into a leader. First, according to Mandela’s (1994, 1995),
Mandela was inspired by both his own father and by the king Jongintaba. His father was a community
leader and the counsellor of the king. After his father’s death, he was raised by king Jongintaba,
(Mandela, 1994, 1995). During this time, he observed how the king carried his kinghood. He was
captivated by the way the king listened to all the counsellors and then made a decision in the end.
Therefore, during Mandela’s leadership, he always tried to lead from behind, (Mandela, 1994,1995);
(Stengel, 2012). Furthermore, some important individuals such as Abraham Lincoln had contributed
to his formation. Stengel (2012) explains that Mandela stated in one of the interviews with him that
he had learnt a lot from Lincoln through his textbooks. He considered Lincoln’s leadership style as the
best. Lincoln defended dialogue and peace. This influenced Mandela to believe that persuasion is
better than violence. Therefore, it is noticeable as part of his leadership he always sought negotiation
and dialogue with his opponents. EUSEBIO AFRICANO DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts,
Theories And Issues 4 According to Stengel (2012) the schooling he received had also greatly
impacted his life since the values praised by the British schooling system were different from the
tribe's where he came from. Stengel (2012) explains that the contrast of values immensely affected
his behaviour and perception of the world. For example, because of the contrasted values, Stengel
(2012) views Mandela as a man of many contradictions. Stengel (2012) explains that although
Mandela was indifferent to material possessions, he is capable to send his bodyguard for an hour
drive just to get his favourite pen. Stengel, (2012) highlights that Mandela’s persona is a combination
of the simplicity of African Royalty and the British Aristocracy. Perhaps the greatest factor that
shaped Mandela’s character and perception, as a leader was the time spent in the prison. According
to Stengel (2012), Mandela's friends describe him as an emotional, passionate and sensitive person
before he went to prison. However, after the incarceration, Mandela revealed to be as more mature
and disciplined person. Stengel (2012) explains that the hardship of prison conditions allowed
Mandela to learn about life from a different perspective. These new perspectives have strengthened
and sharpened him to become the person and the leader he is today. 4.2. Accession According to
Gronn (1999) accession is a test phase. Aspiring leaders are usually disposed to test their capacity of
leading. They are aware of the opportunities and they strive to prove that they have the necessary
tools for the leadership activities. Mandela's first leadership ability probation happened at Fort Hare
University when he was elected president of students' council, (Mandela, 1994,1995).EUSEBIO
AFRICANO DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories And Issues 5 4.3. Incumbency At this
period the leader is publicly recognised. They usually have respect from authorities, because they
have normally had various achievements, (Gronn, 1999). Gronn (1999) states that at this level of
leadership, leaders seek to bold more their personalities. According to the wide literature in the field,

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Mandela has significant achievements along his leadership career. For example his achievements
range from the presidency of students council at Fort Hare University to the Presidency of South
African Republic, and head of ANC Party. 4.4. Divestiture Gronn (1999), states that this phase is the
end of the leadership life cycle. This end can be triggered by different reasons. For example, age, lack
of performance, illness, and/or overthrow. However, after this period leaders can reinvent a new
trajectory. Mandela had formally divested in 1997, as the president of ANC, and in 1999 he also
divested from the Presidency of South Africa, claiming the age factor, (Boddy-Evans, 2013). 5.
Transformational Leadership Theory According to Burns (1978), transformational leadership occurs
when individuals interact with each other in a form that both the leader and the follower can achieve
high motivation and morality. This idea is also supported by (Anne M. Barker, 2006). Similarly,
Marshal (2011) reinforces that transformational leadership is a “style of leadership in which the
leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and
executes the change with commitment”, (p.11). Additionally, Bass (1990) argues that within the
transformational leadership there are four vital elements that constitute this leadership theory:
Idealised Influence, EUSEBIO AFRICANO DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories And Issues
6 Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Simulation and Individualised Consideration. Bass (1990)
explains that Idealised Influence is the ability that leaders have to inspire trust, respect and
commitment to a cause. Concerning the Inspirational Motivation, the leaders create and share a
vision towards the future and highly encourage the followers to achieve it. Relating to the Intellectual
Simulation, the leaders are highly educated and well informed. They always find new creative
solution to the problems. Finally, the Individualised Consideration is when the leader recognises and
values the contributions of the followers. These explanations are also supported by (Marshal, 2011).
6. Analysing Mandela’s Leadership Style Analysing Mandela's leadership performance under the
scope of these elements of transformational leadership discussed above, his leadership ability fulfils
these requirements. For example, concerning the Inspirational Motivation, Stengel (2012) refers that
Mandela was publicly recognised as a visionary and charismatic leader. Another example refers to
1943 when he and his friends organised a group to convince the President of ANC that something
must be done in order to prevent the ANC from being marginalised, (Mandela, 1994,1995). This
vision was shared within the ANC and it became the group's vision in which everyone was committed
to its achievement. As a result, they managed to form a Provisional Committee League and recruited
new members to ANC, (Stengel, 2012). Additionally, Sinclair (1995) notes that Mandela had a
charisma, an ability to motivate others to be the hero and to guide the country. Mandela particularly
possessed the ability to appeal to others through his individualised consideration, (Sampson, 1999).
For example, he would remember people’s names and infuse warmth and energy, relating to people
closely. This supports Sinclair’s third leadership characteristic of Interpersonal Skills where the
individual possesses human EUSEBIO AFRICANO DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories
And Issues 7 resource management capability, listening skills, clear and open communication and the
ability to lead people (1995, p. 30). Mandela's leadership transformed common people into the
extraordinary people. According to this site, great leadership consists of the capacity to inspire others
to greatness. Concerning, intellectual simulation, Sampson (1999), states that Mandela particularly
possessed the ability to be creative and innovative. He demonstrated an above-average memory, and
the ability to learn and remember things quickly. He always saw the issues from positive and negative
sides and strategically approached them. However, despite these great characteristics that Mandela
presented as a leader, the principle of shared vision as defended by the Burns (1978) was sometimes
severely violated. As an example, Stengel (2012) explains that Mandela had decided and initiated the
negotiation process between ANC and the Government secretly. This attitude first violated the ANC
policy concerning negotiations. Second, even the President of ANC was not aware of this negotiation.

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Stengel (2012) considers that this attitude could have deepened the country into even worst chaos,
such as a civil war, since some members of ANC were not comfortable with his attitude. Curiously,
the harsh social and political context of that period, and the growth of ANC were putting high
pressure on the government. Mandela as a great visionary understood that the government would
not reject a negotiation proposal at that moment, (Mandela, 1994,1995). In fact they did not. So, this
shows that he had substantial arguments to convince his fellow prisoners and the President of ANC
that it was the right time to take actions. However, he started the negotiation alone. Why? EUSEBIO
AFRICANO DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories And Issues 8 Mandela was not thinking
as a transformational leader when he said that his colleagues would condemn and fail the idea of
negotiating with the government: “I knew that my colleagues upstairs would condemn my proposal,
and that would kill my initiative even before it was born”, Mandela as quoted in (Read, 2010). First,
Transformational Leaders don't use possessive words such as “I” but “we”. Second, he relates to that
initiative as “my initiative”. Under Transformational Leadership principles, this sort of language is
avoided at all cost. Instead, Leaders share the vision, encourage the group to get involved and
assume the vision as a common goal. However, when reading Mandela’s autobiography or pieces of
interviews, there is a sensation that Mandela boasts himself for this act as his exclusively, in which
without it no such achievement would have been conquered. In Stengel (2012) Mandela tries to
justify this attitude, saying that if the negotiation had gone wrong, the group (ANC) would know
exactly who to blame. Based on this argument, it can be concluded that if the negotiation was
successful, the group would also know clearly who to praise. However, in the light of
transformational Leadership Theory, the leaders and the followers share the responsibilities. The
successes and the failures belong to the group, not to a particular member. Additionally, Stunner
(2007) explains that although Mandela adhered to the idea of collective leadership, he normally
believed that leaders must decide and do things without consultation. He argues that Mandela's
personality often clashed with ANC's political trend. This had often led to some internal conflicts
within the party. Based on these facts, the following questions may arise: Why did he act alone to
begin the negotiation? Did he want to be the only protagonist in the process of negotiation? Did he
want to take all the credit as the only promoter in the change of South Africa's EUSEBIO AFRICANO
DOS REIS VARELA Leadership Concepts, Theories And Issues 9 destiny?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela#Personal_life

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Okt 2014

AUDRY A/P RAMADASS

KAPT
UNIT COMMANDER COURSE SERIAL 21/2015

PULMAT

Annexes:

A.

Bibliography

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