Case Study Analysis

Case Learning Outcomes

By the end of this case study, students will better understand:

• the characteristics of servant leadership;

• servant leadership as a style leaders can use to lead others and organizations;

• how leaders can effectively use the characteristics of servant leadership to positively affect the

leadership process.

Introduction

This case study focuses on servant leadership, specifically the servant leadership of Nelson Mandela.

Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela displayed many servant leadership characteristics, but his

leadership behaviors also cast doubt on his servant leadership at various points in his life. Nelson

Mandela was, without doubt, a great leader, but was he a true servant leader? Before analyzing Nelson

Mandela’s servant leadership abilities, it is necessary to be familiar with the history of South Africa and

the issue – apartheid – that influenced Mandela more than any other.

A brief history of South Africa

When the Union of South Africa came into existence in 1910, African Blacks and other people of color

were barred from becoming members of the new Parliament. In 1912, the African National Congress

(ANC) was formed in an attempt to give minorities a voice and to protest the laws that essentially gave

all political power to the White minority; laws that would eventually lead to apartheid, an Afrikaans

word meaning “the state of being apart”. South Africa gained its independence from Great Britain in

1934, and the Nationalist party, which appealed to extreme Afrikaner nationalists, was formed around

that time.

In 1948, the Nationalist party won the Parliamentary elections and remained in power for the next fifty

years. The Nationalist party made apartheid the official ideology for the new government and for their

fifty-year reign (South African Histroy Online, 2015). Examples of legislation passed by the Nationalist

party to advance apartheid included:

• The Group Areas Act of 1950 (enforced the racial division of land);

• The Population Registration Act of 1950 (classified all citizens by race);

• The Pass Laws of 1952 (restricted movement of Blacks).

The Nationalist party goal was to develop a policy of “separate development”: the division of the Black

population into ethnic nations, each of which was to have its own homeland and eventual

independence. All of this was to be decided, of course, by the Nationalist party in ways that would likely

keep the White minority in power indefinitely (South African Histroy Online, 2015).

The next thirty years featured constant clashes between Blacks and White authorities as the Black

majority attempted to abolish apartheid and gain basic rights. Although Indian and Asian populations

were also involved, Blacks formed the majority of those impacted. In 1961 the United Nations passed

economic sanctions against South Africa to support the abolishment of apartheid, but the Nationalist

Party did not relent. Over the years many members of the ANC were arrested and jailed and acts of

sabotage were frequently carried out against the government. The violence hit a peak on June 16, 1976

when the police fired on a crowd of youth who were protesting the requirement that they be instructed

in Afrikaans; hundreds of children were killed, and the country exploded with violent uprisings. South

Africa and its apartheid policy were at the forefront of world attention because of such actions (South

African Histroy Online, 2015) .

Attempts were made over the next fifteen years to control the violent protests and end the sanctions

that were impacting the country. Finally, in 1990 the Prime Minister of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, lifted

restrictions on thirty-three opposition groups, including the ANC (which had been banned in 1952).

Negotiations led to changes that began to dismantle White minority rule and, in 1993, an agreement

was reached on a Government of National Unity that would allow the old and new regimes to operate

as partners. Apartheid was on its deathbed in South Africa but did not die until the 1994 elections when

the ANC won the majority of seats in Parliament. At that time, Nelson Mandela was elected the

President of South Africa. The theory of servant leadership can be applied to better understand

Mandela’s leadership.

Servant Leadership Theory

Servant leadership theory evolved from the thoughts and writing of Robert Greenleaf (1970, 1972, 1977)

and focuses on a leader’s concern for the needs of their followers, and their ability to empathize with

and nurture their followers (Northouse, 2016); Spears (2002) was a mentee of Greenleaf and used his

writings and conversations to identify ten characteristics of servant leadership.

1. Listening. Communication between leaders and followers is an interactive process that focuses

on servant leaders listening first, before responding.

2. Empathy. Empathy is the ability for servant leaders to understand how their followers feel, their

point of view, and how they truly think and see a situation. Empathic leaders make their

followers feel included and understood.

3. Healing. Servant leaders want to make those they lead whole by helping them with their

problems and having true concern for their well-being. Healing is a two-way process where both

servant leaders and followers help each other.

4. Awareness. Servant leaders have a great sense of their own strengths and weaknesses and the

impact they may have on others. Servant leaders also have situational awareness and

appreciate the many other variables that impact the leadership process in a given situation.

5. Persuasion. Persuasion is the ability of servant leaders to gain trust and have others to

accomplish tasks and goals without using the authority of their leader position. Persuasion is the

opposite of coercion.

6. Conceptualization. Servant leaders create visions for an organization and a clear sense of the

organization’s purpose. Conceptualization requires servant leaders to think beyond day-to-day

operations and provide a compelling future direction for an organization.

7. Foresight. Foresight is the ability of servant leaders to understand future opportunities and risks

and holds leaders accountable for mitigating risks and taking advantage of opportunities.

8. Stewardship. Stewardship is the responsibility of servant leaders to sustain others and their

organizations for the future. Leaders who demonstrate good stewardship strive to leave

whatever they were responsible for in better condition than when they became responsible for

it.

9. Commitment to the growth of people. Servant leaders focus on developing the potential in

others. Personal and professional growth of each person under their leadership becomes a

central point of a servant leader’s actions.

10. Building community. Servant leaders develop within others the sense that they are members of

something that is greater than their selves. Servant leaders create organizations where

everyone feels that their contributions serve a greater good beyond their personal goals and

accomplishments (Northouse, 2016; Spears, 2002).

Greenleaf (1970, p. 15) also provided a definition and litmus test for servant leadership:

[Servant leadership] begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then

conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead . . . The difference manifests itself in the care taken

by the servant—first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.

The best test . . . is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become

healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And,

what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, will they not be

further deprived? (cited in Northouse, 2016)

Since Greenleaf’s research, many others (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006; Dennis & Bocarnea, 2005; Laub,

1999; Sendjaya, Sarros, & Santora, 2008; Wong & Davey, 2007; van Dierendonck & Nuijten, 2011) have

provided insights from their research to servant leadership, most with similar results. Servant leaders

are guided by the central themes of selflessness as a leader and a priority focus on the welfare and

growth of those under their supervision. These leader actions can have a positive effect on the

leadership process given the right context and appropriate leader characteristics.

Servant leadership theory critics

By its very name, servant leadership has a paradoxical nature – being a leader and servant at the same

time – and connotes following rather than leading (Northouse, 2016). The altruistic overtone of servant

leadership leads one to surmise that leaders put everyone before themselves while the true nature of

servant leadership promotes leaders fulfilling others' needs and not their every desire. There is also

debate on the characteristics of servant leadership, similar to debates regarding the trait approach.

Many argue that servant leadership is somewhat of an oxymoron and that leaders should exercise their

rights in their given position of formal authority. Regardless of the view, servant leadership has become

increasingly popular as a form of leadership, especially within non-profit and spiritual organizations.

Nelson Mandela: Background

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then a part of South Africa’s Cape

Province. He was a member of the Thembu Royal tribe of South Africa; the Thembus were part of the

Xhosa people, the second largest cultural group in South Africa. His original forename was Rolihlahla, a

Xhosa term colloquially meaning “troublemaker”, but in later years he became known by his clan name,

Madiba. Baptized a Methodist, Mandela was given the English forename of “Nelson” by his teacher at

the local Methodist Christian School he attended as a youth. After his father died when Nelson was nine

his mother took him to live with a local Thembu Chief and his wife, who raised him to adulthood. It was

during his teen years that he became devoted to Christianity and developed his love of African history.

Legal development

Mandela was interested in becoming a lawyer and he started with the help of Lazar Sidelsky, a White

partner in the Johannesburg firm of Witkin, Sidelsky, and Eidelman (Sampson, 1999, p. 29). The firm

handled cases from both Black and White clients. Sidelsky was impressed by Mandela, describing him as

“. . . conscientious, never devious, tidy in person and mind”. In turn, Mandela remembered Sidelsky as

the first White man to treat him as a human being, and also the man who trained him to serve his

country (Sampson, 1999, p. 29). Here Mandela possibly came to realize that not all Whites were against

Blacks who desired a progression to equality. This example displays Mandela’s ability to have empathy

and awareness.

Mandela worked with Sidelsky while working on his BA degree, which he obtained in 1943. He began

work on a law degree at the University of Witwatersrand, and though he did not complete the degree,

Mandela did work as a lawyer for a number of years while studying law. He did eventually receive his

LLB from the University of South Africa in 1989.

Political development

In 1943, Mandela became interested in politics when his friend, Gaur Radebe, organized a boycott of

Johannesburg buses because of a fare increase (the third one in three years). He recognized the

economic impact such a fare increase had on the lower classes of South Africans, and became active on

their behalf. Mandela and ten thousand Blacks joined the boycott, which left buses empty for nine days

and resulted in fares being rolled back (Sampson, 1999, p. 35). Mandela learned from this event about

the power of the boycott and demonstrated the servant leadership characteristic of building

community. It also brought him into contact with the ANC, and he became familiar with its leaders. At

that time Mandela, along with some of his colleagues, became interested in forming a Youth League of

the ANC, with the goal of pressing the more conservative ANC into action – the kind of action that had

been so successful with the bus boycott. The Youth League formally launched in 1944 and its formation

firmly committed Mandela to ANC politics (Sampson, 1999, p. 38). With these developments, Mandela

was beginning to realize that action, and not politics, was the only way to lead his people to freedom;

that they would never gain equality using the currently established methods of formal protest. As such,

Mandela illustrated his servant leadership characteristics of foresight, conceptualization, and

commitment to the growth of people as he saw the Youth League as a vehicle to mobilize young South

Africans.

Defiance Campaign

In 1952 the ANC and its Youth League, with Mandela’s leadership, launched its Defiance Campaign: a

civil disobedience campaign that would use non-violent means to bring about change. The plan was to

have Black youth deliberately defy the government’s racial laws and invite imprisonment in order to get

the government to repeal six laws that impacted Blacks more than any others (Sampson, 1999, p. 63).

Mandela had high expectations for the Defiance Campaign. As one of the ANC Youth League’s leaders he

was arrested for the first time shortly after the campaign began and spent two nights in jail where he

was appalled by the prison conditions and never forgot witnessing a prisoner fall, break his ankle, and be

left to spend the night in extreme pain.

Despite the ANC’s intentions, the Defiance Campaign eventually backfired. It gave the government an

excuse to impose much harsher laws, and Mandela was arrested again, and he and twenty other

Defiance Campaign leaders were tried and found guilty of violating the Suppression of Communism Act.

Although the leaders only received suspended sentences, the Defiance Campaign was essentially over by

the end of 1952. The Defiance Campaign may not have affected apartheid, but it did establish the ANC

as a force in South Africa. Mandela was credited with helping turn the ANC into a national organization

capable of working against apartheid.

The Defiance Campaign was one of many events Mandela led or participated in whose purpose was to

disrupt the government of South Africa and force an end to apartheid. In 1961, for example, under

guidance from the leaders of the ANC, he formed a military organization, Umkhonto we Sizwe, or “Spear

of the Nation”, to organize acts of sabotage against the government (Sampson, 1999, p. 146). He was

arrested for treason in 1956 but was acquitted in a trial that lasted until 1961. One of his lawyers at the

trial, Sydney Kentridge, came to admire Mandela. “It was then that I first realized . . . that he was a

natural leader of men. He was firm, courteous, always based on thought and reason” (Sampson, 1999, p.

130). Mandela’s ability to listen, empathize with, and persuade others was critical to his defense and

demonstrated key servant leadership characteristics.

Appeal for calm

As already stated, Greenleaf (1970) defined one of the tests of servant leadership as “what is the effect

on the least privileged in society, will they benefit, or, at least, will they not be further deprived?” One

characteristic of a servant leader is the ability to empower others, to encourage personal and

professional growth in followers. An incident in 1993, before he was elected President, highlights

Mandela’s ability to influence his followers. A Black activist, Chris Hani, was murdered by a White

supremacist, Janusz Waluś, who later was arrested after being identified by a White Afrikaner woman.

The murder outraged Blacks who threatened revenge against the White government. Mandela appealed

for calm:

Tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of

my being. A white man, full of prejudice and hate, came to our country and committed a deed

so foul that our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster. A white woman, of Afrikaner

origin, risked her life so that we may know, and bring to justice, this assassin. The cold-blooded

murder of Chris Hani has sent shock waves throughout the country and the world. … Now is the

time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to

destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for – the freedom of all of us. Our decisions and actions will

determine whether we use our pain, our grief and our outrage to move forward to what is the

only lasting solution for our country - an elected government of the people, by the people and

for the people (Shoemaker, 2014).

Waluś later admitted that his goal was to trigger a race war that would derail the negotiations already

underway to create the elections that likely would end White minority rule. Nelson’s speech helped

keep in check the anger Blacks felt because of the murder. He also used this situation to force the

Apartheid government to agree on the election date for the new government, and that helped appease

the angry nation.

Imprisonment and influence

In 1962 Mandela was arrested and found guilty of leaving the country without a passport and was

sentenced to five years in prison. While serving that sentence, police raided a farmhouse near the

Johannesburg suburb of Rivonia, where hand-written documents by Mandela were found that

advocated a guerrilla war against the government (Sampson, 1999, p. 184). In 1964 he was found guilty

of sabotage and was sentenced to life in prison. He would serve twenty-seven years in prison, mainly at

Robben Island. Mandela’s commitment to building community overshadowed his rational thought

process and resulted from his frustration with the lack of progress in eliminating apartheid in South

Africa. This example may leave doubt regarding Mandela’s servant leadership characteristics.

Strini Moodley, an activist with the Black Consciousness movement in South Africa, was jailed in 1976 at

Robben Island in a cell across from Mandela. Interviewed years later, he was asked “What was it about

Nelson Mandela, at that point, before you’d even set eyes on him, how would you characterize that

mystique, that hold that he had over a young activist like yourself?”

He responded:

We, who came out of the universities and were involved, the youth in the mid-to-late ‘60 s,

always held Robert Sobukwe and Nelson Mandela and people like that in awe. We thought

these were the leaders of the revolution. They were the people who had continued the carrying

of the torch, and our job was to pick up that torch and continue with their work. We had

tremendous respect for them. . . In all my discussions in my meetings, I made it quite clear that

we recognized the legitimacy of our leaders on Robben Island. We had often called for their

release. We based whatever we did on what we had read about the work Nelson Mandela had

done in the ANC Youth League (Carlin, n.d.).

Later, he characterized Mandela’s role with the Youth League as being more in line with the Black

Consciousness movement, a move away from pacifism to more action and direct actions. Mandela’s

servant leadership characteristics of conceptualization, stewardship, foresight, and building community

were evidenced in his Youth League leadership.

Mandela’s Motives

As a Black man in South Africa Nelson Mandela suffered from racism, discrimination, lack of legal rights,

and penalties for political activism. Oppressive laws that stripped Blacks of basic freedoms were the

norm, and he experienced these without exception. Mandela’s foresight allowed him to realize that

non-violent protest would never change anything. His law practice revealed to him continual injustices

suffered by Blacks in South Africa, and that the law was his chief weapon to correct those injustices.

“The law was used in South Africa”, Mandela would explain as President forty years later, “not as an

instrument to afford the citizen protection, but rather as the chief means of his subjection. As a young

law student, it was one of my ambitions to try to use my professional training to help tilt the balance

just a wee bit in favour of the citizen” (Sampson, 1999, p. 77).

The Rivonia speech

During his sabotage trial Mandela was permitted to make a statement from the dock; this became his

famous Rivonia speech. For four hours he spoke, uninterrupted, explaining his beliefs and political ideas,

and the reasons he did what he did. He admitted helping to form Spear of the Nation, and he admitted

that he planned sabotage: “I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political

situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by the

Whites” (Mandela, 1964, para. 5). However, early in his speech he provided a major reason for his

actions over the years:

In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days.

Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defense of

the fatherland…. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and

make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle. This is what has motivated me in

all that I have done in relation to the charges made against me in this case (italics added)

(Mandela, 1964, para. 4).

The last statement reveals his empathy, foresight, awareness, and commitment to the growth of his

people – all characteristics of a servant leader. The driving force behind his actions was to create a

better life for Black South Africans through the elimination of Apartheid.

Mandela’s speech further detailed how the ANC tried peaceful, non-violent protest against apartheid

policies and laws, and how the government responded with harsher laws, restrictions, and shows of

force; in turn, Mandela and the other ANC leaders came to realize that violent protest was their only

recourse to force change:

We of the ANC had always stood for a non-racial democracy, and we shrank from any action,

which might drive the races further apart than they already were. But the hard facts were that

fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more

repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights. …

At the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African

situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was

inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace

and non-violence at a time when the Government met our peaceful demands with force

(Mandela, 1964, para. 20–22).

Mandela went on to state that the ANC itself would not engage in violent protest, so the Spear of the

Nation was developed to deploy sabotage and guerilla warfare against the government. He ended his

speech with a strong statement of belief and ideals:

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought

against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal

of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal

opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal

for which I am prepared to die (Mandela, 1964, para. 114).

Mandela’s Presidency

Nelson Mandela was found guilty of sabotage against the government and was sentenced to life in

prison, but remained the symbolic leader of the anti-apartheid movement during his imprisonment. He

continued to believe in the cause of equal rights for Blacks and he continued to preach non-violent

protest by smuggling political statements out to the ANC party whenever possible. He did earn a

Bachelor of Law degree from the University of London during his imprisonment and he spent much of

his prison time mentoring other inmates and even some of the prison guards.

The White government’s strategy was simple: keep Black leaders out of sight, in prison, and the drive to

end Apartheid would cease. This was not to be the case. The desire for Black freedom unleashed by

Mandela and other ANC leaders could not be suppressed. During his imprisonment the anti-Apartheid

protests and clashes against the government continued; the country slowly descended towards what

seemed to be an inevitable race war. Mandela, though cut off almost entirely from the world, became

the most prominent symbol of the fight for Black freedom. In 1985, facing internal and external

pressures, President P.W. Botha offered Mandela a conditional pardon; he would be released from

prison if he renounced violent protest. Mandela rejected this; his response was a rebuke to the

Apartheid government: “What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains

banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts” (Nath, 2013).

International support against Apartheid increased through the use of sanctions and boycotts. These had

a harsh impact on South Africa’s economy, as well as encouraging continued internal resistance to the

government’s policies.

In 1989 F.W. de Klerk replaced Botha as South Africa’s president and one of his first acts was to un-ban

liberation movements and to order the release of political prisoners. Mandela was released,

unconditionally, from prison in 1990. During the next four years Mandela, now the leader of the ANC,

negotiated with de Klerk to hold democratic elections in South Africa, but violent clashes between

Blacks and the government continued. In April 1993 the Chris Hani assassination, described earlier,

forced the government to finally agree on an election date and, in April 1994 democratic elections for all

South Africans were held. The ANC garnered 62% of the popular vote and, on May 9, Nelson Mandela

was elected President of South Africa during the first meeting of the new National Assembly. Mandela

and de Clerk, for their joint efforts to end apartheid, won the Nobel Peace prize in 1993.

Uniting the nation

The pain and long history of apartheid for both Blacks and Whites was difficult to overcome. One

example of Mandela’s determination to unite the nation was the 1995 Rugby World Cup, held in South

Africa. He encouraged both Whites and Blacks to support the predominantly Afrikaner South Africa

team, the Springboks (a team that was basically shunned by South African Blacks because its players

were almost all White). The Springboks won the world championship and Mandela attended the game

and the trophy presentation wearing the jersey (with the same number as that of the White SA team

captain, Francois Pienaar) and hat of the South African team. Mandela thus became one with his own

people and the perceived oppressor, turning his back on old prejudices and promoting conciliation

among all South Africans (Cleary, 2013, para. 3); this became a recurring theme of his efforts to reunite

South Africa while he was in office.

A second example of Mandela’s efforts to unite the country was the creation of the Truth and

Reconciliation Commission, formed in 1995 to review and investigate those who had perpetrated

apartheid crimes during the past thirty-four years. It was a mechanism designed to help all South

Africans deal with the wrongs of the past. However, Mandela’s government created it not to extract

revenge for Apartheid but rather to forgive those who carried out Apartheid practices. It was Mandela’s

attempt to move the country past Apartheid through forgiveness, listening, and healing, demonstrating

again a servant leadership approach to leadership through such a difficult situation.

In 1996 Mandela presided over the enactment of a new South African constitution, which established a

strong central government based on majority rule and prohibited discrimination against minorities,

including Whites.

Although Mandela only served one term as President of South Africa, he remained a champion for peace

and social justice until his death on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95. He stepped down after only one

term because, at age 80 at the end of his term, he believed he was too old to govern. There may have

been another reason for the single term:

"There’s no question in anybody’s mind that if Nelson Mandela had wanted to govern South

Africa for the rest of his life, he could have done it,” said Peter Lewis, director of African Studies

at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. By stepping down,

Mandela “signaled that he wanted a democratic South Africa that wasn’t just multiracial, but a

country that lived by the rule of law and democratic principles" (Wild & Cohen, 2013).

This revealed a belief that others needed to step forward and assume leadership roles, demonstrating

servant leadership characteristics of awareness and foresight that, to promote a democracy, many must

be engaged and involved in its course. He rejected power to enable others to lead. These actions by

Mandela illustrate the positive power servant leadership had on his leadership and how servant

leadership can have a positive influence on the leadership process.

Summary

Throughout his life, Nelson Mandela displayed many servant leadership characteristics and was an

effective leader. His decisions to use guerrilla warfare and violence to overthrow apartheid cast doubt at

times on his ability to exemplify servant leadership. At one point in his life he acknowledged that the

tenants of servant leadership – including empathy – were not advancing the cause of his people and

thus he advocated other methods. While imprisoned, Mandela fortified his servant leadership

characteristics and upon his release from prison, Mandela rose to the higher position of leadership as

the President of South Africa while displaying many servant leadership characteristics. Mandela

embraced forgiveness and holistically embodied the characteristics of servant leadership with a firmly

established moral compass of compassion for everyone. Nelson Mandela was an effective leader, but

was he always a servant leader? Did his servant leader qualities help him in the leadership process

throughout his life?

Discussion Questions

1. Discuss Nelson Mandela as a servant leader prior to his imprisonment in 1962 in accordance

with Greenleaf’s definition of servant leadership.

2. Discuss Nelson Mandela as a servant leader after he was released from prison in 1990 in

accordance with Greenleaf’s definition of servant leadership.

3. Discuss the characteristics of servant leadership that Nelson Mandela best exemplified.

4. Discuss the characteristics of servant leadership that Nelson Mandela least exemplified.

5. Is servant leadership truly a unique form of leadership or a form of leadership to be used by an

effective leader in the right context?

Bibliography

Barbuto, J. E., Jr., & Wheeler, D. W. (2006). Scale development and construct clarification of servant

leadership. Group & Organization Management, 31(3), 300–326.

Carlin, J. (n.d.). Strini Moodley Interview. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/prison/moodley.html

Cleary, M. (2013). Nelson Mandela Seized the Opportunity of the Rugby World Cup 1995.

Dennis, R. S., & Bocarnea, M. (2005). Development of the servant leadership assessment instrument.

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26(8), 600–615.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Westfield, IN: The Greenleaf Center for Servant

Leadership.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1972). The institution as servant. Westfield, IN: The Greenleaf Center for Servant

Leadership.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness.

New York, NY: Paulist Press.

Laub, J. A. (1999). Assessing the servant organization: Development of the servant organizational

leadership assessment (SOLA) instrument. Dissertation Abstracts International, 60 (02), 308.

(UMI No. 9921922).

Mandela, N, (1964). Nelson Mandela's Statement from the Dock at the Opening of the Defense Case in

the Rivonia Trial. Retrieved from http://www.anc.org.za/show.php? id=3430

Nath, V. (2013). Nelson Mandela: He Sacrificed His Freedom so Others Could Be Free. Retrieved from

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/12/11/nelson-mandela-he-sacrificed-his-freedom-

so-others-could-be-free/

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications.

Sampson, A. (1999). Mandela: The authorized biography. New York, NY: Vintage Books.

Schoemaker, P.(2014). Nelson Mandela as a Strategic Leader. Retrieved from

http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/? p=477

Sendjaya, S., Sarros, J. C., & Santora, J. C. (2008). Defining and measuring servant leadership behaviour

in organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 45(2), 402–424.

South African History Online (2015, no author). Retrieved from http://www.sahistory.org.za/

Spears, L. C. (2002). Tracing the past, present, and future of servant-leadership. In L. C. Spears

& M. Lawrence (Eds.), Focus on leadership: Servant-leadership for the 21st century (pp. 1–16). New

York,NY: John Wiley & Sons.

van Dierendonck, D., & Nuijten, I. (2011). The servant leadership survey: Development and validation of

a multidimensional measure. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(3), 249–267.

Wild, F., & Cohen, M. (2013). Mandela’s One -Term Presidency Bucked Decades-Old African Trend.

Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-12-06/mandela-s-one-term-

presidency-bucked-decades-old-african-trend

Wong, P.T.P., & Davey, D. (2007). Best practices in servant leadership. Paper presented at the Servant

Leadership Research Roundtable, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA. Retrieved from

http://www.regentuniversityonline.com/acad/global/publications/sl_proceedings/2007/wong-

davey.pdf