Nelson Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo in Umata, South Africa in 1918. After the death of his father, who was the principal counselor to the Acting King of the Thembu people in 1930, Nelson Mandela was brought up under the supervision of Thembu regent, Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo. Since early in his childhood he dreamt of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his own people who lived like slaves under the British who had occupied their country since 1652. (Biography.com)
The world we live in today is as it is because of the endless efforts and sacrifices made by great leaders who fought for what they believed in. some fought for women’s rights while others for human rights. The most important and admired leaders of the world are the leaders who fought for the nation, the freedom and independence of their people. Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest leaders the world has seen. Mandela led the struggle to reinstate the apartheid rule of South Africa against racial discrimination. He believed that every human being is of equal value.
A great leader should possess certain qualities such as determination, courage and confidence. He should be able to inspire people to work towards achieving certain goals. Nelson Mandela was a dedicated leader, who dedicated his entire life fighting for the freedom of his nation. Maranyelin wrote in her blog ‘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 as the first black president of the country’. Mandela was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1993 for his work to repeal the apartheid and to stop the growing violence in South Africa. (Maranyelin 2010)
As to Paul J.H (2014) Mandela was a gifted visionary. He exercised a full range of cognitive, emotional and behavioural abilities to bring about profound change in South Africa. Mandela’s six key behaviours that distinguish him as a true strategic leader. They are: anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align and learn.
Anticipate: Mandela looked forward that South Africa’s system of apartheid would not survive into the future. From his custodial cell, he tactically assessed his direction and anticipated reactions. When offered freedom in exchange for renouncing opposition to the government.
Challenged: Mandela had stood out among prisoners and guards as a man of principle and dignity, willing to sacrifice his life for his beliefs. In spite of harsh prison life, Mandela got energy to challenge his guards. He was unwilling to accept the status quo and his attendance on Robben Island held a mirror up to the face of apartheid’s leaders. Through word, deed and symbol, he defied the system that denied him liberty.
Interpreted: Mandela studied the mistakes of Robert Mugabe in bordering Zimbabwe whose brutal autocracy resulted in the country’s death. He recognized that South Africa could follow in Zimbabwe’s footsteps, without he practiced racial harmony. Forgiving without forgetting and sharing power a master of symbolism, Mandela invited his prison guards to the high-level swearing-in ceremony. Mandela’s interpretation of history was spot on.
Decided: In 1993, a white man assassinated Chris Hani, a leader of the South African Communist Party, activating a widespread demonstration against the de Klerk government. Mandela, recently out of prison, had the guts to call for peace when people required revenge. He also made a brave decision to use sports as a means of healing, believing.
Aligned: After being elected as the first black president of South Africa’s, Mandela announced that he would serve only one term, though two were permissible. He understood rallying the country and linking varied interests meant making room for others. Black supremacy was as debauched as white supremacy, in his view. Mandela knew that from the World over a billion people would watch his inaugural presidential address and used this speech and key plural pronouns we, us, and our, to align a deeply divided nation around a common vision: ‘We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. None of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.’
Learned: Mandela was a socialist and furthermore a Marxist. He was suspicious of free markets and private ownership, given the abuses he witnessed. Mandela said, ‘The nationalization of the mines, banks and monopoly industries is the policy of the ANC [African National Congress], and an alteration or modification of our views in this regard is inconceivable.’
But He came to learn what decades of socialism had ended to the states of the former Soviet Union. His thinking took a sharp turn when he met Communist Parties of China and Vietnam leaders, who were determined to privatize state enterprises. ‘They changed my views altogether,’ Mandela told a biographer.
Nelson Mandela was willing to take risks and making sacrifices made him the great leader. The African National Congress (ANC) challenged the racist political system of a partied and under Nelson Mandela’s leadership, organized labor strikes and nationwide protests and demonstrations during the 1940s, 1950s and the 1960s. As a result, Nelson Mandela and other key leaders of ANC were arrested and charged with treason in 1964. He sacrificed the comforts of life, family and professional success and spent 27 years in jail as a prisoner. During that lengthy detention period, he never wavered from his dream of racial equality. (southafrica.info reporter 2015)
Eventually, in February 1990 he was released from prison. He started his fight against the oppression to achieve the goals that he and the others were put in to jail for decades. May 1994, Mandela was inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa. He held this post for five years. During his presidency the country moved away from minority rule and apartheid, he earned the respect throughout the world for the work on conflict resolution both within the country and internationally. However, Mandela spent only one term in office, despite being viewed as a father of his nation by his people, he selected to hand over all his power voluntarily rather than keep a lifelong grip as many other strong leaders do.
Great leaders are found to be having certain characters that others do not have. Skip Prichard(n.d) has mentioned some of the great and remarkable characters that Nelson Mandela has that differs from many other leaders such as having powerful presence and deactivating enemies with his smile. He also showed the world what forgiveness looks like. He had no intention of taking revenge from his enemies. He only needed to make Africa a peaceful place without racism. Prichard(n.d) has also mentioned that he was a positive thinker saying that he has the courage and will power to change the Africa and he believed that he would do that and the dream would come true.
Mandela had a huge impact on South Africans and the whole world; he focused on goals and mission and also showed determination. Schoemaker.P(2013) has mentioned that President F. W. Botha offered Mandela freedom if he refused violence and other illegal activity. The President tried to shift the blame for detention to Mandela himself. He felt that it would betray his principles, his leadership and the long struggle if he fell for that transparent ploy. While in prison the people’s respect for him grew more and more and people happily celebrated his release from the prison at home and abroad. Integrity is a very important trait in leaders in order to rise motivation and organisational commitment. Mandela was known as a straightforward, honest and respected man who was effectively able to move South Africa to fair and free elections. He was a man of quiet, self-respect to match his soaring achievements; a man with an ever radiant smile and immense and humble sense of humor. Mandela was an infrequent visionary who would see beyond the current struggles and pain. He was convinced that one day the greatest parts of humanity would prevail over the nastiest parts. He even inspired his enemies to be better than they had been through forgiveness and reconciliation. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission he established is a great model for accomplishing justice in all nations where human rights abuses happened and pain needs to be healed. (Ray Williams 2013)
One of the clear things that pushed Mandela to greatness amongst his suffering and depersonalization in prison, was forgiving his jailors, feeling sympathy for those who had caused him pain and his desire for reconciliation. Mandela had the capacity to exceed himself for the sake of those around him and higher causes. His personal pain at causing his family to suffer, seeing the nation he ran sink into corruption, and admitting his own mistakes, after all he fought for after his release from prison, never overcome him nor stopped his resolve to make things better.
Mandela was able to transform needs, values, preferences and aspirations of his followers from self-interest to collective interests. He also says that Mandela has strong personal inspiration and patience. His set-backs fueled his motivation to achieve his objectives and his motivation was inspired by his dedication to his country and its people. He shared his problems with group and having group discussions and group decisions enhanced the follower interest and commitment.
What Mandela offers aspiring strategic leaders is a powerful example of how complex societal forces, uncompromising values and main moments of decision can be woven over time, and across political, legal and economic landscapes, into a compelling vision that can transform a political party, a nation and even the world. Strategic leadership is not just about executing an initial strategy by engendering followership, but above all about adjusting that strategy when necessary to sustain broad support.
Resilience is a critical trait for leaders. Leaders must have the capability to remain committed to a vision even when logic suggests the vision will never be more than a dream. The path to attainment will never be easy, and leaders must stay strong when events don’t break their way. Nelson Mandela never gave in. Because of his resilience, he’s one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known.
Nelson Mandela powerfully believes in democracy, equality and learning. Despite being constantly provoked, he never answered racism with racism. He has always been an inspiration, in South Africa and to the rest of the world, to all who opposed deprivation and oppression. Mandela personifies struggle, still leads the fight against apartheid with extraordinary vigour and resilience after spending close to three decades in prison. For his people, he sacrificed his personal life and his youth, and is South Africa’s loved hero.
Nelson Mandela reinforces the fact that leaders have very different capabilities and that leadership achievement is more complex than just classifying few traits or preferable behaviours.
He’s endowed with several personality traits; this makes him a natural leader and also has developed numerous leadership skills and policies in his lifetime.
Mandela’s consensus attributed to his leadership achievement. Consensus is considered as a superior decision making process to build inspiration and commitment in group members towards their objectives. Using consensus aids in building the best possible decision and utilizes the resources.
In conclusion, Nelson Mandela is considered as a revolutionary leader with an ability to empower and motivate others using his strong regard for consensus and the democratic process. His life is one the most remarkable in the past 100 years on earth. Today Nelson Mandela, affectionately known by many as ‘Madiba’, stands as a beacon of hope for all generations across the world and a symbol of freedom, justice, democracy and exemplary leadership.
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