The leadership of Nelson Mandela
Rinizn Chophel
[Name of the Institution]
April 17, 2019
The leadership of Nelson Mandela
Introduction
Leadership is ‘the ability to lead or guiding individuals, teams or organizations'. It refers to the practical skills of a person and their capability of supervising or controlling their followers. Every individual cannot become a leader because it requires high commitment, honesty, integrity, and passion to supervise others and bring a change. Good leaders have effective communication skills and are influential in making decisions. They play an important role in the success and failure of organizations and countries. However, there are few specific leaders, who have a passion to transform societies and bring a positive change. Some leaders take the initiative to challenge the structures of societies because they have strong personality traits. Nelson Mandela was one of those leaders, who struggled his whole life to improve the lives of Black Africans. He was a visionary leader, who mobilized people against the discriminations of White Africans in different paths of life.
Biography
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African revolutionary leader born to the royal family of Thembu on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare, and while working as a lawyer, he got involved in African Nationalist Politics and joined the African National Congress in 1943. He observed racial discrimination of White against Black Africans in schools, colleges, and workplaces. Discrimination on the basis of racial identity has lead to excluding blacks from receiving benefits and opportunities. Thus, Mandela started a movement known as ‘The Anti-Apartheid Movement' against the racial segregations faced by the Black Africans. His strong commitment and passion lead to the success of a democratic government and Mandela was elected as the first black President on May 10, 1994 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"kvoztKPW","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Boehmer, 2008)","plainCitation":"(Boehmer, 2008)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":64,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/JCFG6XSN"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/JCFG6XSN"],"itemData":{"id":64,"type":"book","title":"Nelson Mandela: A very short introduction","publisher":"Oxford University Press","volume":"188","ISBN":"0-19-280301-8","author":[{"family":"Boehmer","given":"Elleke"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Boehmer, 2008).
Discussion
Mandela served the Presidential position from 1994 to 1999 and worked for anti-apartheid movement by segregating the racial discrimination against the Blacks. The national party was based on White representatives only who established apartheid, a system of racial seclusion that privilege whites. Mandela made attempts for equal rights for all the people without racial discrimination and started a campaign known as the ‘Defiance Campaign' in 1952, and the ‘Congress of the People’ in 1955. However, he was repeatedly prosecuted by Congress and arrested for his subversive activities. He then joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) and co-founded a militant group known as ‘Umkhonto we Sizwe' to launch a campaign against the government. Resultantly, he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962 for conspiring against the state (Kalungu-Banda, 2006).
However, due to international pressure and the threat of emerging domestic civil war, he was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison. After release, Mandela leads the movement against apartheid and negotiated to end the discrimination against blacks. His commitment and dedication resulted in multiracial general elections, which lead to ANC victory and Mandela became the President. He immediately emphasizes reconciliation between the racial groups and introduced land reforms, investigated the human rights violations, and provided opportunities to the blacks in workplaces. He was a mediator for the poor and underprivileged people and worked to overcome the miseries of people. He formed the ‘Nelson Mandela Foundation’ to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS through his charitable organization. It was his leadership characteristics that people trusted him whether he was in politics, social activism or social work. His followers supported him in all the situations.
Personality Traits of Effective Leader
Mandela was a well-respected figure and has made a place in the heart of his followers. He believed in freedom of expression and asked his followers to do the same. His dominant nature has empowered him to take charge and challenge his opponents. Even after spending the most important years of his life in prison, he was never afraid of anyone and did not refrain from his ideology of equal rights. Before Mandela, the blacks were considered as subordinates to the white and were subjected to lower level jobs. Mandela made a strong decision to challenge the paradigms of power. The constant stability in his personality has never deviated him from the desired goals. Although, he suffered a lot due to constant pressure and criticism he never gave up. He wanted equality for his people at all levels and strictly disregarded the racial differences. Due to his continuous struggle, he was able to achieve these goals.
A good leader is the one who believes in himself as well as his followers. He constantly gets motivated by the appreciation of his followers. This was the main reason that kept Mandela going and achieving greater success. Mandela believed that change can only be achieved through continuous struggle and passion regardless of the possibilities. Mandela challenged the apartheid and fought for equality through continuous struggle that resulted at the end of such segregation. The characteristics of visible self-confidence in leadership are extremely important, the leader needs to believe in himself. Mandela always trusted his decisions and judgments because he was on the right path. An inspirational leader works hard for his mission, Mandela did the same by supervising his followers from prison to achieve his mission. He was an inspirer and provided great support to his followers. It was his charismatic nature that the followers continued his mission in absence as well. He was an educated person and knew to implement his best knowledge at the right time. He was an idealist leader, who presented the ideology of two racial groups that needed to be treated equally ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"qu7mkzEX","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Von Krosigk, 2007)","plainCitation":"(Von Krosigk, 2007)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":59,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/8GAH7WH7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/8GAH7WH7"],"itemData":{"id":59,"type":"article-journal","title":"A holistic exploration of leadership development","container-title":"South African Journal of Business Management","page":"25-31","volume":"38","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"Von Krosigk","given":"B."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Von Krosigk, 2007).
Leadership Styles
Democratic Leader
The leadership style of a leader holds significant value to his followers. Many leaders may be successful but it not necessary that their team will support and appreciate them. Mandela strongly believed in democratic structures which shows the representation of all the people irrespective of racial or ethnic differences. He believed that we need to involve all the people in the process of change so that they can own the new system. He believed that negotiations for the change are not possible without involving people. It was his connection with the masses that he succeeds with full representation in the elections and become president. While representing the national assembly, he gave importance to the opinions of the opposition. When Mandela decided to reduce the voting age to 14, he was not supported by the opposition and thus he did not change the policy ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"FwFHqKy4","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Choi, 2007)","plainCitation":"(Choi, 2007)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":63,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/G3WIBYVK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/G3WIBYVK"],"itemData":{"id":63,"type":"article-journal","title":"Democratic leadership: The lessons of exemplary models for democratic governance","container-title":"International Journal of Leadership Studies","page":"243-262","volume":"2","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Choi","given":"Sanghan"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Choi, 2007). Although he was the president and have the legitimate power to make any policy he did not initiate anything without full support. He believed in the support and prosperity of his followers. Influential leaders gain prestige and have influenced all over the world. Mandela has got worldwide recognition and a positive reputation, he not only had an impact on South African people, but he influenced the discriminatory structures worldwide. Political leaders were made responsible for discrimination against racial groups globally. Due to his strong impact on international organizations, they formed laws for the protection of minority groups and safeguarded them against any discrimination.
Charismatic Leader
Effective leadership requires to think for the betterment of their people and organizations. Mandela made self-sacrifices by giving up his personal and professional time to promote the vision of equality. His struggle for anti-apartheid continued even when he was imprisoned. His commitment and dedication towards the cause have got him immense success. Even when he was president, he used his powers to benefit others. He devoted his life for the comfort and prosperity of the masses. Effective leadership requires the head to think about the ultimate benefit of their organization or people, thus Mandela did the same by keeping the people a priority ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"h7coZSBO","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Verschoor, 2006)","plainCitation":"(Verschoor, 2006)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":57,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/CVKDB29X"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/CVKDB29X"],"itemData":{"id":57,"type":"article-journal","title":"Strong ethics is a critical quality of leadership","container-title":"Strategic Finance","page":"19-21","author":[{"family":"Verschoor","given":"Curtis C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Verschoor, 2006).
Managerial Qualities
Strong leadership needs to show strong managerial qualities in order to fulfill their goals. They bring innovation in the ideas and policies which can reflect the needs of all people. Organizations or countries face strong challenges in order to bring a challenge, it requires strong analysis of people perception, the area of intervention and the capabilities of managers. However, Mandela was firm on his decisions and struggle hard for the change to occur ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"iko6u5yq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Chopra, 2002)","plainCitation":"(Chopra, 2002)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":62,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/FG8FBP2S"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/FG8FBP2S"],"itemData":{"id":62,"type":"article-journal","title":"The soul of leadership","container-title":"School Administrator","page":"10-13","volume":"59","issue":"8","author":[{"family":"Chopra","given":"Deepak"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Chopra, 2002). He transformed the whole societies and changed their minds to think about the inequalities they are facing. For effective leadership, it is essential to pinpoint a problem and highlight it to the people so that they engage in the process of change.
Criticism of Mandela's Leadership
However, Mandela was accused of involving himself so much into international politics. For the new administration, it was hard to build foreign relations with other states. Thus, Mandela based the future of foreign relations on the notion of human rights which was greatly appreciated by the international world. As a result, he was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement. He believed that conflicts should be resolved with negotiation and reconciliation. His diplomacy did not stop here and also criticized Israel for their ‘narrow, chauvinistic interest' against Palestine. He was thought to be too much concerned about other countries which deviated his attention from the core issues of South Africa. He was also criticized for not giving priority to combating HIV/AIDS, as the country has reported higher cases of the disease. Later, Mandela justifies that South Africans people are not that open to talk about controversial issues. He said that the disease is related to sex and people are not ready to respond to taboo issues. Mandela was also criticized for the prevailing poverty in South Africa, where people were dying of hunger. Mandela did not initially focus towards the social issues prevailing in the society. He focuses on discrimination but ignored other related concerns of poverty, health, and education ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YplcCsXT","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Eubanks et al., 2010)","plainCitation":"(Eubanks et al., 2010)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":65,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/QBI59SIG"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/QBI59SIG"],"itemData":{"id":65,"type":"article-journal","title":"Criticism and outstanding leadership: An evaluation of leader reactions and critical outcomes","container-title":"The Leadership Quarterly","page":"365-388","volume":"21","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Eubanks","given":"Dawn L."},{"family":"Antes","given":"Alison L."},{"family":"Friedrich","given":"Tamara L."},{"family":"Caughron","given":"Jared J."},{"family":"Blackwell","given":"Lauren V."},{"family":"Bedell-Avers","given":"Katrina E."},{"family":"Mumford","given":"Michael D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Eubanks et al., 2010). Thus, a leader should be concerned about all the interdependent issues, if he wants the growth of a country in a true sense. Mandela ended the apartheid and have done major contribution to the lives of blacks but then he was required to focus on their miseries which were developed due to apartheid.
Recommendations for Change Management
Mandela changed the face of racial discriminations forever, which were largely felt in the United States as well when the country selected their first Black President Barack Obama. He changed the structures from aristocracy to democratic rules and regulations where everyone was given the authority to choose their representatives. Equal opportunities were presented to all individuals irrespective of the culture of the race. The transformed the lives of people who were oppressed and deprived of their basic rights. He maintained a strong relationship with the Congress leaders to fulfill his vision. Connections played an important role in the powerful influence of Mandela. Any leader alone cannot achieve success but one needs to make strong communications with the stakeholders in order to get support from them. The struggle of Mandela does not end here. Besides racial discrimination, he worked for social problems such as poverty alleviation, eradicating HIV/AIDS, and the provision of equal educational and employment opportunities. He also formed the ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission' to inspect the injustices committed under the apartheid. The commission issued a report in October 1998, declaring all the hearings concerned with the issues. Mandela praised the commission and stated that the intervention was very important to solve the matters of the past in order to better respond to the present and future challenges. Mandela’s administration inherited a devasted country with a strong prevalence of disparities in services between the racial groups. The population lacked education, electricity, sanitation, and clean drinking water. 33 percent of the people were unemployed, and half of the population was living below the poverty line. Also, the country has one of the highest crime rates. The problems need to be addressed immediately thus he proposed a Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and welfare fundings were increased ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Kfru1EMq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Khoza, 2006)","plainCitation":"(Khoza, 2006)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":61,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/SJSAJ2ZC"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/SJSAJ2ZC"],"itemData":{"id":61,"type":"book","title":"Let Africa lead: African transformational leadership for 21st century business","publisher":"Vezubuntu","ISBN":"0-620-35503-4","author":[{"family":"Khoza","given":"Reuel J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Khoza, 2006).
Conclusion
Mandela is an internationally acclaimed leader for his activism against racial differences. He was also a controversial figure as critics referred him as a communist terrorist, but he never got disheartened. He strongly believed in his perspective and decisions which made him a powerful influential leader. Mandela never answered racism with racism. After coming into power with high representation, he did not discriminate against the white but make changes that would benefit all groups. He never answered brutality, violation, and criticism against him, but change the perspective of people through his strong leadership qualities. Mandela believed that “human actions [were] dictated by social conditions and racial heritage, not by the will of the individual” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"gYljogJc","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Todorov, 1997)","plainCitation":"(Todorov, 1997)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":66,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/64XDHJYH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/5651625/items/64XDHJYH"],"itemData":{"id":66,"type":"book","title":"Facing the extreme: Moral life in the concentration camps","publisher":"Macmillan","ISBN":"0-8050-4264-4","author":[{"family":"Todorov","given":"Tzvetan"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1997"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Todorov, 1997). He got international recognition for his work which made him an influential personality globally. The struggle of Nelson Mandela is an example for leaders to transform their societies, eliminate the negativities and bring a positive change.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Boehmer, E. (2008). Nelson Mandela: A very short introduction (Vol. 188). Oxford University Press.
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Chopra, D. (2002). The soul of leadership. School Administrator, 59(8), 10–13.
Eubanks, D. L., Antes, A. L., Friedrich, T. L., Caughron, J. J., Blackwell, L. V., Bedell-Avers, K. E., & Mumford, M. D. (2010). Criticism and outstanding leadership: An evaluation of leader reactions and critical outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), 365–388.
Khoza, R. J. (2006). Let Africa lead: African transformational leadership for 21st-century business. Vezubuntu.
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