Leadership Style of Nelson Mandela - Literature review Example

Leadership Style of Nelson Mandela Leadership style of Nelson Mandela Introduction Nelson Mandela was a South African leader born in the year 1918 and died on December 2013 (Hollingsworth, 2012). Mandela is considered the symbol for the fight against the apartheid rule in South Africa. What makes Mandela stand out from other leaders in the world is his leadership style. Charteris-Black (2006) depicts him as a "Transformational and charismatic leader" (p. 80) and supports his assertion by noting the fact that Mandelas leadership style enabled a nonviolent transition from the apartheid rule to egalitarianism or the rule of the people. This paper offers a description of the leadership style of Nelson Mandela and a further analysis of why he is considered a leader. In addition, this paper describes the effectiveness of his leadership as well as his strengths and weaknesses. The Leadership Style of Nelson Mandela and its effectiveness Transformational leaders according to Charteris-Black (2006) influence their followers to achieve a specific objective, are dedicated to their vision, knowledgeable, inventive, and incorporates a variety of strategies to achieve resolutions. All these characteristics defined Nelson Mandela. We cannot explicate Mandelas leadership style without explicating his leadership traits. According to Charteris-Black (2006), his traits included creativity, practicability, respect and appreciation, inspiration, willpower and self control, and ability to form relationships with others. A leader is defined by his ability to take a position and defending it (Okoth-Okombo, 2011). This notion is reiterated by Hamalainen and Saarinen (2007) who posit that a great leader must be a risk taker and hence take a position that is not necessarily acceptable at that particular time. Taking a political position during the apartheid rule in South Africa was unacceptable. This is what exactly Mandela did. Conversely, he started mobilizing people with an intention of creating a movement to offer resistance to the repressive, domineering, and cruel apartheid government. A great leader must also have the zeal to stand his ground and defend his beliefs and opinions as Mandela did. At several occasions during his incarceration, as noted by Okoth-Okombo (2011), Mandela was offered liberation but he ultimately declined as the conditions for his freedom were in contradiction to his belief. Okoth-Okombo (2011) also posit that Mandela accepted and considered all people as equal regardless of the color of their skin. South Africa is a country comprising of individuals from all backgrounds and he was able to bring them together. To be a great leader, it is also imperative to exercise patience in relation to listening. Okoth-Okombo (2011) brings forward the fact that Mandela was a good listener. For a leader to be successful in his or her endeavors, teamwork is also a critical component. Mandela viewed the struggle for independence in South Africa as a communal effort. He never viewed himself as the sole liberator of South Africa from apartheid. This can be proved by the many speeches he gave whereby he acknowledged that the struggle was a collective effort (Okoth-Okombo, 2011). This also made him stand out from other leaders. Another aspect that defines a great leader related to transitioning power. In other words, Rego, Cunha and Clegg (2012) asserts that true leaders do not stick to power but prepare other skilled and equally capable individuals to take over after they are gone or have retired. This is also one of the features that made Mandelas leadership style exceptional. As Okoth-Okombo (2011) brings forward, Mandela prepared his successor to take over from him in advance. Additionally, true leaders do not overshadow other leaders in relation to leading others (Rego, Cunha and Clegg, 2012). In achieving this role as a leader, Mandela is credited for implementing action plans that ensured that other leaders around him prospered and as well developed their skills under his supervision. For instance, towards the end of his term as president, Mandela gave all the power to control the government to his second-in-command i.e. Thabo Mbeki (Hollingsworth, 2012). Compromising is also another aspect that defined Mandelas leadership style (Okoth-Okombo, 2011). As a leader, it is imperative to listen to all stakeholders and consider their input in the decision making process. There will always be divergent views between group members and how such situations are handled is what defines a leader. According to Rego, Cunha and Clegg (2012), Mandela ensured that all individuals involved in resolving a particular issue discussed in length and subsequently come into an agreement on how to work together to achieve the intended objective. As mentioned earlier, motivation is also a key element of leadership evident in Mandelas style. According to Hollingsworth (2012), Mandela looked-upto Mahatma Gandhi as a source of inspiration. Gandhi used the concept of peace in India and Mandela was convinced the same strategy could as well work in South Africa. According to Rego, Cunha and Clegg (2012), great leaders have in the past identified the importance of being a peoples person. To achieve this, a leader must understand and comprehend the way of life of his followers and also understand their problems. Mandela as explicated by Charteris-Black (2013) was able to achieve this aspect of great leadership. While in Prison, he recognize and understood the substance associated with comprehending peoples way of life and as a result, he studied the Afrikaans language, and historic accounts relating to the Afrikaans (Charteris-Black, 2006). Subsequently, he studied how people had divergent viewpoints and as well researched on how to address these problems. All this knowledge and skills gained in prison contributed to his ability to motivate people into considering the option of a nonviolent hand-over of power from the apartheid system to a democratic system (Charteris-Black, 2006). This shows that being skilled and knowledgeable is also a vital component of leadership characteristic of Mandela. Adair (2002) mentions in his book Inspiring Leadership-Learning from Great Leaders that Mandela was an exceptional leader for his character that included forgiveness. Leaders should not hold grudges as having enemies can affect progress. For instance, having enemies increases the likelihood of having a strong opposition. In the example of the workplace, poor relationships or rivalry will definitely affect how people relate, collaborate, engage in activities, and even socialize. Mandela forgave those who jailed him and considered them as friends. Strengths of Mandela as a leader Courage is an example of a strength that can be used to delineate Mandelas leadership. Rego, Cunha and Clegg (2012) define courage as "The mental or moral strength to venture and persevere to withstand danger and difficulty" (p. 69) and also as "Doing the right thing despite costs, dangers, and threats" (p. 69). Though he knew there was a risk of incarceration, delivering South Africans from the apartheid rule was what drove him to do the right thing. He was dedicated to achieve impartiality and reunite South Africans despite race or color of the skin through honesty and truthfulness. In fact, he endured in penitentiary for twenty seven years as he knew fighting for freedom was the right thing to do. His second strength is his negotiations skills (Ladkin and Spiller, 2013). He was able to negotiate with the apartheid government to hand over power peacefully and he succeeded. The fact that Mandela was a trained lawyer can also be considered a strength. Ladkin and Spiller (2013) posits that his speeches were always rational, well defined, and also symbolic. This as well can be linked to his ability to convince South Africans to join his course. Communication is also a strength of a great leader. For one to be an effective leader, he or she must have the capacity to communicate their vision to the general public. Communication must also be conducted in a way that convinces the listener to join their course. Charteris-Black (2006) labels Mandela as an orator, meaning that he was able to communicate his vision for South Africa in a clear and concise manner. Weaknesses of Mandela as a leader One of the weaknesses of Mandela outlined in his biography and restated by Ladkin and Spiller (2013) is that he had a bad temper. However, he was able to conquer bad temper as a weakness in his long stay in prison. He taught himself how to exercise restraint and self-discipline. The fact that he did not back down or compromise is enough proof that he had learnt self-discipline in prison (Hollingsworth, 2012). At one time, Mandela was irritated and aggravated by the viciousness and cruelty characteristic of the apartheid government and in fact went across Africa trying to source for funds in order to finance an aggressive movement to topple the apartheid government (Charteris-Black, 2006). This shows that just like any other human being, Mandela also had weaknesses. Conclusion Mandela was a transformational leader. He was an imaginative and courageous leader who had the capacity to convince South Africans to join his course to fight for freedom. He considered all people as equal regardless of the color of their skin and in fact advocated for a multi-racial form of government. In other words, his government did not discriminate against people on the basis of race or color. His strengths included effective communication skills, negotiation skills, and rationality contributed by his training as a lawyer. One of his weaknesses included a bad temper that was effectively dealt with while he was in prison. By the time he was released from prison, he was a transformed and flawless man whose vision was a liberated South Africa. References Adair, J. (2002). Inspiring Leadership: Learning from Great Leaders. London, UK: Thorogood Publishing. Charteris-Black, J. (2006). The Communication of Leadership: The Designs of Leadership Style. Abington, OX: Routledge. Hamalainen, R. P., & Saarinen, E. (eds). (2007). Systems Intelligence in Leadership and Everyday Life. Espoo, Finland: Systems Analysis Laboratory. Hollingsworth, T. (2012). Nelson Mandela: Leading the Way. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials. Ladkin, D., & Spiller, C. (2013). Authentic Leadership: Clashes, Convergences and Coalescences. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Okoth-Okombo, D. (ed). (2011). Challenging the Rulers: A Leadership Model for Good Governance. Westlands, Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers. Rego, A., Cunha, M. P., & Clegg, S. R. (2012). The Virtues of Leadership: Contemporary Challenges for Global Managers. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Read More