SWOT Analysis of Nelson Mandela - Case Study Example

Summary Leadership is one of the most important concepts with wide ranging applications in management, politics and almost every sort of organization which requires a certain degree of direction. It becomes critically important that the organizations must develop critical leadership skills and capabilities which can help them to deal with business and ethical issues. Nelson Mandela is considered as one of the most important and influential leaders in the history of recent times. He was one of the very few leaders who commanded respect and large followership because of his ethical stand on the racism, his struggle to have equal rights for all and above all, his way of dealing with the opposition. This paper will discuss and present the SWOT analysis of Nelson Mandel besides discussing as to how the overall SWOT Analysis is actually linked with the theory on leadership. The first section of this paper will outline the SWOT Analysis followed by a critical discussion on linking theory with the fact. Finally a summary of the results will be presented. SWOT Analysis Considering the overall history and role of Nelson Mandel as a leader, SWOT analysis is as under: Strengths He was relatively humble person with deep respect for all therefore he was able to work with those people who were actually responsible for putting him in jail for over 26 years. This suggests that his overall character was that of impartial and uncontroversial nature thus making it easier for him to work with anyone. (Brown, 2014) Forgiving his opponents was one of his biggest strength and it was also the reason as to why he was considered as one of the rarest leaders to have unitive leadership capabilities. One of the key strengths of Mandela was his closer association with his culture, roots and the people of his country. This clearly outlines that he was too close and attached with his followers while at the same time guiding them through the crisis being faced specially during the peak days of struggle. As a leader, he learned to be happy and satisfied with simple and smaller level of achievements thus building on the overall achievements he made over the period of time. This has actually allowed him to be in more control of himself while making the decisions. Throughout his life, he made decisions and stuck to them thus achieving the required level of consistency in his overall approach. He was not someone who could change his decisions so easily. Weaknesses He was considered as sensitive to the racism and the overall insults. Throughout his life, he remained relatively angry and especially during the early days of his life. He also had some assumptions regarding the role of black people in the struggle and continued to believe that only black population can have a solution to the same. The lack of taking the initiative was also one of his weaknesses especially during the early days as he showed reluctance to take the initiative due to not being sure about the consequences of his actions. He also practiced violence at the early stage of his political career however, he later on withdrawn from such activities. Opportunities He was strongly influenced by his mother as his father passed early on thus offering him an opportunity to remain under the influence of his mother. (Bongila, 2011) One of the key opportunities enjoyed by Mr. Mandela was his access to education as he was the first person from his family to actually attend the school and reach up to the university level. Having access to education was his biggest opportunity which he enjoyed and took advantage of. Since early on his life, he was involving in intervening into the disputes of others and helping them to resolve easily and without any coercive force. He was thus availing opportunities to actually learning the art of how to intervene and negotiate with others. He was the founding member of Youth League of ANC under whose banner; he was able to arrange protests and other forms of agitation. This has actually allowed Mandela to actually learn the leadership skills and become more involved in how to handle the followers and involve them in achieving the desired goals. During his term in prison, he was able to have hands on experience of racial bias at the institutional level. This has allowed him to later on improve this situation by allowing whites to have important administrative positions within his administration. Threats One of the greatest threats was the fact that he was born during the period when racial differences as well as the apartheid was part of the mainstream society. As such the overall threats were based upon strong institutional threats from opponents who were more powerful than him. His organization was declared as terrorist organization and he was not allowed to enter into US except in the UN Headquarters during his days of struggle also outlines the serious nature of threats that he faced. The post-Presidency era also posed threats in terms of making reconciliation with the white population while at the same time ensuring that the transition was smooth and functional in nature. This also posed threats in terms of dealing with those who were in the administrative powers and having control over important administrative positions. Theory Vs Fact Considering the above SWOT Analysis, following is the further discussion on same: Strengths One of the key insights to be developed from analyzing the strengths of leadership of Nelson Mandela is the ability to work with different people at the same time. A leader has to have an ability to deal with people who work with him and as such must be able to have the required level of apathy and compassion for others before leading them to achieve any common objective. It is also insightful that the Nelson Mandel was closer to his roots thus suggesting that a leader must understand and have closer association with the organizational roots is critical. More fundamentally, a leader, in order to make an influence on his followers, needs to make sure that he understands the organization well and its culture and history. Without such understanding, it may be relatively difficult for a leader to bring in any change and ensure smoother transition to the desired state of affairs. For a successful leader, it is also important to make decisions which are strong and based upon taking into consideration all the required facts. What is critical to understand is the fact that leaders must be able to stick to the decisions made until new situations emerges. Decisions once made need to be implemented and followed in order to measure their overall effectiveness. Frequently changing decisions therefore may not point out to the fact that leader is actually enjoying the expert power and influence. Finally, this also shows that success may not come overnight and leaders must have to continue to strive hard towards further improving their strategies and leadership skills before they can be successful. This also applies to the organizations also which need to focus more on improving themselves on consistent basis and build on the smaller achievements to ultimately grow to the desired level. Weaknesses If leaders lack the power to take initiatives, it may be relatively difficult for the leaders to become successful and get respected. A leader must have the ability to envision future and also set up the vision for the future and set the direction to achieve the same. It is therefore critical that a leader must have the ability to take the initiative. The use of coercive force or the manipulative techniques may also not result into ethical standing for a leader. Many top executives including that of Enron and others were accused of using manipulative techniques to inflate the earnings and resultantly pay the price for this. It therefore clearly outlines that leaders must demonstrate a relative degree of ethics in order to lead their organizations. Opportunities Learning is one of the most important aspects for leaders to understand the circumstances under which they have to function and perform. Mandela’s early life suggests that he was the only member of his family with access to education and as such this education has allowed me to better understand the dynamics of leadership, issues faced by the black population in South Africa and what needs to be done in order to achieve the common goal of freedom. Apart from this, a leader must have the ability to actually understand the problems of others and also must also have the skills required to help resolve the conflicts. This requires strong ethical ground based upon a leader has to actually build his reputation and ability to actually mediate into the overall affairs and suggest the solutions to overcome them. Having exposure to the opportunities early on to learn the basics is also another key area for the leaders for opportunities. The expert power and influence of the leader emerge when leaders have access to the systems and procedures which help them build their skills and ability to understand the basics. (Wharton University, 2013) Threats Leaders have to operate in an environment which is not only competitive in nature but is also changing rapidly. New innovations take place every day and as such in order to sustain under such rapid innovation, it is important for the leaders to actually understand the dynamics of their competition and the forces which may an influence on their overall decision making process. As such it is critical for the leaders to develop the understanding about the competition and devise strategies to actually deal with such competition. Challenges emerging from within the organization can also pose as greater threats for the leaders. When a leader actually assumes new position, it becomes critical for them to understand the internal dynamics of the organization and make strategies which can utilize the strengths of all the followers. In case of Nelson Mandela, after assuming the office of Presidency, he was faced with the challenge of using his opponents for advancing his idea. At the time of assuming the Office, black population was neither skilled nor educated and all the experience of running the administrative machinery of the country was with white people. Mandela, despite the fact that they were the same people against whom he struggled, he used that threat to actually his favor by aligning the strengths of his challengers with the goals he had at hand. He was able to harness the strengths and power of his opponents to actually his own advantage by allowing them to run the same administrative machinery. (Stengel, 2008) Summary The above discussion clearly outlines some of the important insights into the way leaders must lead and encourage their followers to become involved in the overall affairs. Despite having the hardships and challenges, Mandela prevailed in achieving his overall mission and remained steadfast in achieving the same. This also clearly outlines that successful leaders must have a clear vision of future and where they want to take their organizations and nations. Without a clearly defined vision, it may not be entirely possible for leaders to lead and achieve the common objectives. It is also evident from the above discussion that leaders must have the ability to actually work with their external opponents and internal challengers. In a situation where leaders face strong internal opposition to their ideas, they must prevail and have a clear direction and purpose behind the same. By being non-intrusive for others, leaders can actually help direct the strengths, abilities and skills of their challengers to their own use. Mandela exactly did the same by aligning the strengths of his internal challengers with that of his overall objectives of ensuring a simple and sophisticated transition during his early days of Presidency. Finally, it is quite evident that the leaders must have the ability to actually understand the problems of others and must be able to resolve them. The servant leadership requires that the leaders must have the ability and skills to actually understand the problems of the followers and must relentless work towards their solution. Bibliography A Personal Experience in the Presence of a Man Who Transformed a Nation and Changed the World: Nelson Mandela2014The ABNF Journal 24-25 Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership Shaping Influences on the Leadership of Genghis Khan, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela: Applications for Educators2011Journal of Leadership Education 211138-154 Wharton University Lasting Legacy: Nelson Mandela’s Evolution as a Strategic Leade Read More