Achievements of Nelson Mandela in Transforming South Africa

Famous Leader Analysis: Nelson Mandela
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Table of Contents
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1.0 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc19246988 \h
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2.0 The Social Context of Nelson Mandela  PAGEREF _Toc19246989 \h
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3.0 Transformational Leadership Theory  PAGEREF _Toc19246990 \h
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4.0 Mandela’s Style of Leadership from the Perspective of Transformational Leadership Theory  PAGEREF _Toc19246991 \h
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5.0 Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc19246992 \h
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Reference List  PAGEREF _Toc19246993 \h
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Famous Leader Analysis: Nelson Mandela
1.0 Introduction
Researchers have formulated different theories to explain the various leadership styles that leaders adopt in different settings. Among the questions that have often emerged in the leadership discourse is whether great leaders are born or made. In other words, researchers have attempted to explain the role of genetics and environment in shaping traits that facilitate effective leadership. While some authors have reiterated that good leaders only emerge through the continuous process of experience, training, and self-study, others believe that such leaders are born with innate abilities. Despite the different opinions on this issue, researchers have generally agreed that great leaders such as Lech Walesa, Mother Theresa, and Nelson Mandela possess certain personality traits: personal integrity, determination, diplomacy, creativity, and emotional stability. Besides, such leaders display intellectual abilities in judgment and verbal communication. Transformational leadership theory is among the most widely studied theories of leadership and its wide scope best explains the relationship between leader traits and skills, situational variables, and performance outcomes. This essay examines one of the most remarkable leaders of our time, that is, Nelson Mandela from the perspective of transformational leadership theory to understand why he was successful enough to become famous. In the process, the essay will highlight Mandela’s leadership through the four elements of transformational leadership theory: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual simulation, and individualized consideration.
2.0 The Social Context of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was born at the end of World War I in 1918. His parents were Hendry Mandela and Fanny Nosekeni. Although Mandela’s father was in the lineage of Thembu kings and was a tribal counselor, Mandela would not become king because he descended from the “Left Hand” section of the dynasty (Crompton 2013). However, there was hope that he might follow his father’s footsteps to become a tribal counselor. As a small boy, Mandela experienced the cruelty of the British rule in his place of birth (Qunu district) when his family lost half of their wealth after his father was stripped of his privileges as the tribal counselor for defying a British official (Crompton 2013). Nevertheless, Mandela was born among warlike people who for centuries had resisted the British, the Dutch, and others.
After years of education in prestigious institutions including the University College of Fort Hare, Mandela became a renowned lawyer. The apartheid policies that segregated South Africans along racial lines were a great concern for Mandela from a younger age. Therefore, he took it upon himself to change the course of the history of South Africa by rallying the black South Africans behind his vision of a country that was free from racial segregation and discrimination. The National Party that perpetrated apartheid ideologies after taking over power in 1948 would soon face a protracted resistance by black South Africans under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC).
The anti-apartheid movement resulted in the incarceration of Mandela for 27 years. However, this experience did not defeat his conviction for a free and democratic South Africa. Even when he was in prison, Mandela remained the most accepted black leader as he represented the means through which South Africans would attain freedom. Four years after his release from prison in February 1990, Mandela became the first black South African president through democratic elections (Choi 2007). Mandela’s efforts to dismantle apartheid were recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in 1993 by awarding him with the Nobel Peace Prize.
3.0 Transformational Leadership Theory
Leadership is the ability of a person to motivate and influence a group of followers towards the attainment of a common objective. Therefore, leadership is not an event, but a process that entails a life-long journey of self-improvement and being an agent of positive change. Consequently, a person’s experiences, social context, political events, and culture are important in shaping the leadership career (Gronn 1999). For example, Mandela was greatly inspired by his father and the king Jongintaba who raised him after his father died (Mandela 2013). Mandela could observe how the kinhood was run, especially how the tribal king allowed everyone to speak before coming in at the end to make a decision. Consequently, Mandela adopted a similar style of leadership in which he led his followers from behind. According to Richard Stengel, Mandela knew when to lead and when to be led: “I don’t enter the debate too early...The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea” (SACAP 2019).
The rise of Nelson Mandela to become a national and global icon is best explained by the transformational leadership theory. According to Korejan & Shahbazi (2016), transformational leadership presents itself where the leader’s interaction with the followers results in a high sense of morality and motivation. Moreover, the leader first identifies the change that is needed in a given setting, develops the vision, inspires the followers, and implements the strategy for change with commitment (Korejan & Shahbazi 2016). Transformational leadership theory functions within the scope of four important elements. The first element is idealized influence. This is where the leader successfully inspires trust, commitment, and respect to the cause by appealing to the moral values that justify the mission and by communicating the vision with clarity (Ahmad et al. 2014). The second element is inspirational motivation in which the leader urges the followers to take ownership of the vision and the destiny it envisages and demonstrates through words and actions his conviction and passion for the mission. The third element of transformational leadership theory is intellectual simulation in which the leader demonstrates the intellectual capacity for problem-solving through creative solutions (Bass 1990). As a result, the leader is regarded as well informed and highly educated. In the fourth element of individualized consideration, the leader is keen to recognize and appreciate the contributions that the followers have made.
4.0 Mandela’s Style of Leadership from the Perspective of Transformational Leadership Theory
Based on the aforementioned elements of transformational leadership theory, Mandela’s performance as a leader fits well into the theory. About the element of idealized influence, Mandela was able to command trust, commitment, and respect from his followers because of his eloquence in communicating the vision for a new South Africa. For example, during his speech after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mandela reiterated “We devote what remains of our lives to the use of our country’s unique and painful experience to demonstrate, in practice, that the normal condition for human existence is democracy, justice, peace, non-racism, non-sexism, prosperity for everybody, a healthy environment and equality and solidarity among the peoples” (Mandela 1993). This section of the speech precisely summarized to the followers, the country, and the world at large about the vision that Mandela had in mind and for which his followers under his leadership would go at great lengths to achieve.
It is notable how Mandela often used the phrase “we” to demonstrate the concept of individualized consideration that involves valuing the contributions of the followers. Moreover, it would not have been possible for Mandela to achieve democracy alone. He needed the millions of black South Africans to rally behind his vision and make the necessary sacrifices for the welfare of all. Apart from using the phrase “we” that instilled a sense of vision ownership among the followers, Mandela demonstrated individualized consideration by mentioning people by their names and relating with them closely. Moreover, he had a sharp memory and a level of intelligence that was acknowledged by both young and old. During an interview in 2008 between Richard Stengel, the editor of Time magazine and one of the closest friends of Mandela (Cyril Ramaphosa), the interviewee summarized how Mandela regarded all his followers in high esteem; “He would pick up the phone and call them on their birthdays. He would go to family funerals. He saw it as an opportunity...” (Barling 2019).
With regard to inspirational motivation, Mandela demonstrated through words and actions his conviction and passion for the mission when in 1943, he and his colleagues successfully urged the President of ANC to implement certain actions to prevent the political party from being sidelined in the making of important decisions for the country (Rodriguez, 2015, p. 55). The vision of Mandela and Walter Sisulu’s group for the ANC party in the early 1940s was to have a Youth League that would push the reform agenda in South Africa. After lobbying heavily and drafting a manifesto and a constitution, the provisional committee of the Youth League succeeded in convincing the party leadership to formally establish the Youth League. Mandela and his colleagues within the Youth League held strongly to African nationalism. Therefore, their main agenda was to unite all South African black tribes behind the visi...