Essay

Running Head: LEADERSHIP 1

LEADERSHIP 2

Nelson Mandela

Sonya Hatfield

South University Online

LEA5125

Professor Freimuth

March 29, 2021

Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest presidents that the African continent and the entire globe lost to old age and death. Mandela was a person of patience and dedication to all that he did for his country's benefit. He was the first president of South Africa elected democratically by all people. As a politician and an activist, Mandela was the first black president for South Africa who fought to make a difference for black people. Nelson Mandela is from the colonial period, where Africans were fighting for their freedom from the whites. He fought to bring back sanity and end South Africans' oppression under the rule and control of white people. He was also involved with the apartheid period in South Africa from the beginning to the end. As the first president of South Africa, Mandela's leadership and wisdom will not be forgotten by South Africans and the world.

Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, was a politician and an activist. He was the African National Congress leader, which has been the governing political party since post-apartheid. As the president, Mandela served as the leader of the political party for six years. The African National Congress was initially identified as the Black Nationalist organization founded to maintain voting privileges for colored and black people in Cape Province. He was also the Nelson Mandela Foundation founder, which he founded to promote Mandela's vision of equality and freedom for all. Nelson Mandela is a great leader full of wisdom and passion for education and with an idea of equality for everyone. He is in every bit a great leader worth studying and learns essential life matters through his wisdom.

The leadership of Nelson Mandela will go down in history as a better example of a transformational leader. Transformational leadership occurs when followers and their leaders motivate and give each other morale to make them successful (Cicak, 2016). Mandela exemplifies a transformational leader who encourages his followers to have exceptional charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualized attention. A transformational leader can influence and inspire followers showing high levels of intelligence (Northouse, 2013). Nelson Mandela was a charismatic leader who shared his vision of ending the apartheid, thus gaining millions of followers sharing the same idea. He was also known for a strong moral conviction which he demonstrated through self-sacrifice and personal examples. Mandela also inspired his followers to act for the great good and their self-interest. Nelson Mandela is also an example of a transformational leader because he did not have greed for power and lasted for five years as the president of South Africa.

Ethical leadership is required for transformation and development to occur; thus, the leader must have moral intelligence and credibility. Several African leaders lack the moral intelligence and credibility of leadership hence the lack of development in most countries. "Ethical leadership 'is the result of a tough, and often conflict-ridden process of institutional design," (Mayanja, 2013). Nelson Mandela, however, demonstrated emotional and moral intelligence through all his activists might be the reason why South Africa is a leading African country in terms of development. He presents a high level of emotional intelligence by inspiring others to have self-awareness, self-regulation, confidence, empathy, and motivation. Mandela was also known for a firm moral conviction, especially when he knew his vision would land many people in incarceration centers. Mandela stayed faithful and committed to his idea of equality and freedom that came true.

Nelson Mandela, the African National Congress leader in South Africa, demonstrated all the values that pertained to the party or organization. One of the African National Congress requirements is that the members should be non-racial and non-sexist as the group is purposely meant for democratic liberation. Nelson Mandela satisfies this characteristic as he is a global symbol of resistance to racial inequality and injustice (Lieberfeld, 2014). To unite all South Africans from any forms of discrimination, is the first objective and goal of the African National Congress, which Mandela as the leader satisfies. According to Lieberfeld (2014), after his release, Mandela did not limit his reconciliation efforts on whites and tried to bridge the rift between the African National Congress and the Zulu Nationalist Party. In all these instances, Mandela remains true to the organization's rules, goals, values, and objectives that elected him as the leader.

Nelson Mandela is a motivational speaker and more excellent influencer whose wisdom would reign in people's heart for a long time. One lesson learnt from Mandela's history as a leader is to be a transformational leader who wants to see all his followers succeed. Mandela urges people not to live a mere life but to ensure that one has made a difference in others' lives to determine the significance of the life that one leads. Another leadership lesson gained from Nelson Mandela's leadership story is that leaders are not supposed to be arrogant, uninformed or superficial but critical thinkers and eager to learn.

Reference

Cicak,T. (2016). Factors and characteristics of transformational Leadership. Idealized Influence as an important role for the practice of Nelson Mandela, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/379818

Lieberfeld D. (2014) Nelson Mandela: Personal Characteristics and Reconciliation-Oriented Leadership. In: Jallow B.G. (eds) Leadership in Postcolonial Africa. Palgrave Studies in African Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137478122_7

Mayanja, E. (2013).Strengthening ethical political leadership for sustainable peace and social justice in Africa: Uganda as a case study. ACCORD. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajcr/article/view/101867

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.