The Movie, Invictus, portrays various leadership qualities among two national icons between characters played by Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar (Invictus). The movie is an inspirational piece of art; it portrays post-apartheid racial divisions that existed in South Africa between the Blacks and the White South Africans immediately after the country attained independence.
Morgan Freeman acting as the Country’s President, Nelson Mandela, exhibits essential leadership qualities that unites the Whites and Black citizens (Invictus). One of these qualities is Wisdom; immediately after taking office as the first Black President, he wisely recognizes the fact that the country is experiencing various economic and social challenges. The President recognizes that the country is experiencing serious incidences of crime, low currency rates as well as a great psychological division. Through his Wisdom, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) realizes that the two different ethnic communities can be united by engaging them in sports, particularly, rugby, which is a favorite local and international game (Invictus).
Besides, the President exhibits sensitivity, which is a key leadership quality. He is sensitive to every staff member and ensures that he compliments them when they exhibit excellent performance. He also engages in racially divided bodyguards in discussions geared towards the knowing the welfare of their family members. Also, Morgan Freeman (Nelson Mandela) is portrayed as a open-minded and free-thinker; in fact, this is one of the reasons he decides to donate a third of his salary to charitable organizations. The president is also portrayed as a leader characterized by belief and human touch; through the belief that he can unite his country, he takes an initiative to create a positive rapport between the Black and White communities in South Africa. He is also presented as a risk taker; in fact, many of his Black supporters and advisers remind him that he is risking his future as a leader, although, he refutes such claims and states that he is not afraid to take such risks.
As mentioned earlier, the other main character is played by Matt Damon, acting as South African Rugby captain (Francois Pienaar). He acts an open-minded team captain; he even though he is of the White race, he shows willingness to engage in a conversation with the current President on how they can unite the two communities. Also, Francois Pienaar is presented as a visionary leader; perhaps this is the reason he is willing to engage in a conversation with a black President, believing that Rugby could create unity between the two divided communities (Invictus).
The Essence of Leadership as Portrayed in the Movie
The essence of leadership as portrayed in the movie is to identify challenges and strategize on how they can be resolved. Upon taking the office as President, Nelson Mandela recognizes that the country is in an economic and social turmoil (Invictus). Through his wisdom, he is able to recognize that the country is extremely divided in terms of racial affiliation. In addition, the President recognizes that the country is currently experiencing serious economic challenges characterized by a depreciating value of the currency. Besides, he identifies the fact that there is high level of poverty that needs the attention of development stakeholders. He takes an initiative to the engage various leaders in constructive discussions geared towards formulating strategies which could enhance the resolution of identified challenges.
Leadership Traits Exhibited by President Mandela that makes him a good Leader
President Mandela is portrayed as a compassionate leader; upon realizing that many charity organizations experience inadequate funds, he decides to donate a third of his salary to support charity organizations. In addition, he exhibits a positive relationship with his staff members; from time to time, he is seen making inquiries from his staff concerning the welfare of their family members.
Wisdom is one of the most essential qualities that are required among conventional leaders. The current society is characterized by existence of various challenges; the management of resolution of various socio-economic challenges experienced in the current society requires proper skills, knowledge and wisdom. President Mandela portrays wisdom by recognizing that his country is experiencing socio-economic challenges and that some of these challenges could be resolved by engaging the Black and White communities to support rugby (Invictus). This is a wise approach; identifying both the black and white populations appreciates and enjoys rugby even though, they are divided by racial affiliations. In his opinion, encouraging both the communities to show support to their national team is one of the strategies that could enhance the resolution of the identified challenges.
Leadership Qualities Portrayed by Francoise Pienaar
Francois Pienaar is an open-minded leader; despite the fact that the country is experiencing serious racial differences between the White and Black communities, Francois Pienaar decides to respond to the President’s call to engage in a constructive discussion so that they could resolve issues that have led to the poor performance of the team. Also, Francois Pienaar portrays proper coordination skills; it is through his ability to coordinate his team members to concentrate on improving the performance of the team, that he manages to steer the Springboks through success.
Meaning of the Invictus Poem to Nelson Mandela and to the entire South African Nation
According to President Mandela, the poem Invictus, is an inspirational source of information. He shares the information with Francois, describing how the poem inspired him during his prison time (Invictus). Francois is amazed on how the President could have a proper mastery of a British poem as well as how the President was inspired by a simple poem throughout his prison life. Concerning the entire South African Nation, the poem could be considered a source of change; it is through the concepts acquired from the film that the President develops ideas on how the country could be steered towards cohesion and positive development.
Importance of Unifying Team Members even in times of Toughness
Unity is a key factor of success regarding the resolution of common challenges; during periods of toughness, it is apparent that teams are usually subjected to common challenges. For instance, in the case of the Springboks, it is apparent that they were experiencing lack of support from their racially divided local communities. Encouraging unity during such periods creates a platform for the application of a collaborative approach to resolve common challenges. In fact, unity portrayed by the Black and White communities is one of the key factors that facilitated the success of the Springboks and overall success of the overall South African communities.
How Team’s performance may be affected by Larger Institutions
Larger institutions have a significant impact on the psychological performance of individual team members. For example, the Springbok was facing challenges as a result of lack of adequate mental support from their local fans; team members were not psychologically motivated because of inadequate support from their local teams (Invictus).
What can taken from the Movie as Leaders
Proper leadership qualities are important for the development of every community. The movie Invictus, exposes its audience to certain leadership qualities that are essential for proper socio-economic development. For example, leaders must exhibit wisdom and encourage cohesion between different communities. Cohesion ensures that common challenges are resolved through a collaborative approach.
Work Cited
Invictus. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Warner Home Video/Clint Eastwood Collection, 2009. DVD
