Critical Synthesis of Contemporary Leadership Models paper

RUNNING HEAD: HISTORIC LEADERSHIP

Historic leadership

NELSON MANDELA’S HISTORIC LEADERSHIP

Amenia Payne

University of Phoenix

NELSON MANDELA’S HISTORIC LEADERSHIP

In my study of the greatest leaders, I find Nelson Mandela the greatest of them all. He had the attributes that made him great. He was the president of South Africa who spent a lot of years in prison and still had the energy to strive for his nation thereafter. I really admire him because he has the actual attributes of a good leader. He serves as an example to the world leaders (Pietersen, 2015).

He was a man who could endure any hardness he went through. If only you could travel to see a cave he used to take a bath, plus the quarry where they used to toil with his fellows while in prison and in the hot sun, you could agree that he had remarkable endurance of whichever harsh treatment he faced (Pietersen, 2015).

Mandela’s leadership characteristics

He was so much focused on goals and missions beyond himself, he even ended up having damaged lungs and ears, his ear ducts got so damage that he could never ever cry. He was in the front line in the anti-apartheid movements in South Africa. His main goal was to unite his country among others, he successfully achieved the unity of his nation after the thirty years of imprisonment. He became the very first president of South Africa elected in the fully democratic elections. He was full of determination, focus and the willingness to achieve his set goals (Pietersen, 2015).

He was a man of peace, he fought to ensure that peace was prevailing and the nation was united in peace and harmony whenever people wanted to revenge against the assassination of Chris Hani, he called for peace. He was positive in all he did and could see the big picture, the success he was going to achieve some day if he fought for his dreams. He was humble and forgiving, the whole world witnessed his forgiveness plus lack of bitterness (Sternlight et.al, 2017). He was always patient as he worked on his goals and missions, he never hated and as a matter of fact he could disarm his enemies with a smile. He suffered for his dreams but never lost hope (Pietersen, 2015).

Mandela’s actions

After Nelson Mandela achieved his set goal, he did not even seek glory. He did not revenge to his enemies and never hid his weaknesses. He is a leader whose style was motivational. He was not perfect, but he is a role model to several individuals in the world. The other leaders should at least emulate some of his leadership skills and character in order to deliver effectively to their subjects. He molded his country and the world as a whole.

The determination and hope that Nelson Mandela had in uniting his nation motivated his people to also do their part in nation building, his efforts did not go to waste they built the nation as a united nation, of course a nation cannot be built by a single person. His good leadership encouraged other leaders to keep his legacy. He stood out among the other prisoners and the prison guards and fought for what he believed was right, he believed was rightful. His endless efforts finally led to the call for democratic elections in the year 1994 where he won peacefully and transitioned South Africa from the white rule to the black rule. With the help of other mobilized leaders, he terminated the apartheid regime.

He could use sporting activities to mobilize people to heal and believe. He believed that sports had the power to bring people together. This brought people together so that they could talk freely and communicate with flexibility. In several statements of his speeches, he used the terms we us and our nation, this made people feel so good and motivated since they felt they are a part of the nation plus decision making part. He put into consideration other people’s opinions since he knew that success is achieved through unity and togetherness. He encouraged people to work with unity in order to achieve a new world that everyone desired. This won him several individuals since people felt part of it. He did not make his decisions alone or forcefully but fully involved the nation (Northouse, 2017).

Mandela’s leadership style. He always desired to learn why things were as they were, he had strategies that he wanted to execute. He adjusted his plans apart from motivating people and creating political support for his strategies (Northouse, 2017).

There are some of his leadership practices that as an aspiring leader, I will definitely want to develop for the success of my career in leadership. Motivation is a key thing in the achievement of success in whichever setting. Organizational, political and even the religious leaders need to have good leadership for them to achieve their set goals. There are various ways in which the subjects or people one is leading can get motivated to unite and strive hard towards achievement of the goals and missions set. Motivation starts by making the people you are leading part of something you are trying to achieve (Kalungu- Banda, 2006).

Nelson Mandela involved people of his nation in decision making, he listened to their opinions and later succeeded in his goals. Everything is achieved when there is unity and togetherness, a leader cannot do it alone. That is a lesson I learn from this famous leader and I intend to listen to the opinions and views of the people I will lead, I will always value unity for unity is strength. Nelson Mandela organized a sporting activity, from this he was able to mobilize several persons. Organizing of activities that bring people together so that they can freely communicate without tension encourages them to work with determination and unity towards achievement of the set targets. Other ways of motivating individuals include recognizing and awarding best performers and I believe all these motivations will work best for my leadership (Kalungu- Banda, 2006).

Conclusion. The other leadership style that I and other aspiring leaders are encouraged to emulate from Mandela’s leadership is the determination and unwavering hope for success. Every leader should be ready to endure all hardships in his or her struggles towards achievement of the set goals. This makes the people you are leading feel confident with you, leadership has got all sorts of challenges and require that one does not lose hope easily. Not every task is easy to achieve, just like Nelson Mandela went through several difficulties, each leader will face whichever hardship that comes his or her way. Boldness is necessary or else one can fail everyone. The people are looking up on their leaders and they have expectations on them, therefore they need to be determined and not to lose hope (Kalungu- Banda, 2006).

References

Kalungu-Banda, M. (2006). Leading like Madiba: Leadership lessons from Nelson Mandela. Juta and Company Ltd.

Northouse, P. G. (2017). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage Publications.

Pietersen, W. (2015). What Nelson Mandela taught the world about leadership. Leader to Leader, 2015(76), 60-66.

Sternlight, J. R., Schneider, A., Menkel-Meadow, C., Mnookin, R., Goldstone, R., & Andrews, P. (2015). Making Peace with Your Enemy: Nelson Mandela and His Contributions to Conflict Resolution. Nev. LJ, 16, 281.