Nelson Mandela was the first president of the Republic of South Africa elected in fully democratic elections. He served as president from 1994 to 1999. Before his presidency he was an outstanding fighter against apartheid and African National Congress (ANC). He was convicted and imprisoned for participating in an underground armed struggle. Mandela was a supporter of peaceful way of solving problems, although in the beginning of his political struggle armed resistance was the only effective type of fighting the regime.
How much powerful is the leader? What makes him powerful?
Nelson Mandela is a prominent leader. He decided to serve his term in prison rather than submit himself to the political slavery of apartheid. He was ready to sacrifice his life for his beliefs, being a man of outstanding dignity and strong principles. He managed to change the political situation in the country and convince the people even while being imprisoned, through his words and deeds. He understood that dictatorship will lead to the destruction of the country and will have severe negative effects on the multiracial society of South Africa. He carefully studied the example of the bordering Zimbabwe where the brutal dictatorship brought the country to collapse.
Nelson Mandela had his own individual views on the way that society has to function. He did not want revenge and did not suppress the previous leaders of the country. He understood that peace can be only established through forgiveness, and that revenge leads to anger, violence and degradation. Although South Africa has a diverse population comprising black as well as white people, he wanted to unite them and did not make any difference by the racial identity of the person. His inaugural presidential speech addressed all the citizens of his country and he often used the words “we”, “us” and “our”, to unite the considerably divided nation with a common vision.
Also, Nelson Mandela learned and explored, which is very peculiar of his leadership style. He was ready to change his views and beliefs if this helped the country to become more successful. For most of his life Mandela was a supporter of socialistic and even Marxist views. He did not recognize the benefit of free markets and private entrepreneurship. But years after he has studied the economies of the countries of the former Soviet Union and changed his opinions. The meetings with leaders of the Communist Parties of China and Vietnam made his thinking make a sharp turn. This is a great example of a strategic leader changing his political strategy to adjust it to the challenges of society, economics, and politics.
How do you evaluate the leader on Big 5 model? What do you see in him w.r.t. Locus of control, Machiavellianism, Emotional intelligence, Selfefficacy, Subjective well-being (SWB)?
As for analyzing the leadership of Nelson Mandela according to the Big Five Personality Traits, the following should be stated:
openness to experience: as it can be understood from the previous paragraph, Nelson Mandela was always open to new experiences and was not afraid of learning new strategies and adapting them to the needs of the South African society. Nelson Mandela had a high degree of intellectual curiosity and was in favor of novelty;
conscientiousness: Nelson Mandela showed outstanding self-discipline and self-control in the years of serving his sentence as well as when he was a president of South African Republic. He was able to act dutifully and controlled his emotions, preferring the logics of thoughtful decisions over the unpredictability of desires;
extraversion: Mandela has often pictured himself as an introvert leader. When he talked with his biographer, he told the story from his childhood about his friend called Justice: “Justice and I became friends, though we were opposites in many ways – he was extroverted, I was introverted; he was lighthearted, I was serious” (Mandela 143). Mandela has often pictured himself as an introvert leader. Introverts, like Mandela, have the capacity to make the best leaders, says Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference (78), because they are more perceptive to their own shortcomings and so tend to compensate for these through “preparation and practice, and by pushing themselves”. Mandela was very disciplined and attentive, and preferred listening and thinking over speaking and expressing his opinion;
agreeableness: Nelson Mandela was a prominent consensus-builder. He was able to accept different people around him and respected their opinions. Nelson Mandela once told that being a leader he followed the principles he first saw in the behavior of the regent of the Great Palace. He also said that he endeavored to listen to what each person says in the discussion before expressing his own opinion. “ I always remember the regent’s axiom: a leader, he said, is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind” (Mandela 52);
neuroticism: Nelson Mandela was an example of a person with great emotional stability. Irrespective of the bitterness of his imprisonment he was able to control and manage his emotions.
Which of the three skills do you see the leader is very much rich intechnical, human or conceptual?
Nelson Mandela was very rich in human skills, he never made a difference between people regardless of their background and identity. He was always open to communication. It is known that while serving his term in prison he helped the sick and wounded. He was always manifesting a strong belief into people’s equality.
Is he/she more task-oriented or people oriented?
His leadership style was people-oriented. He always tried to engage with his people to make them more tolerant and supportive.
How much favorable or unfavorable generally the situation has been for him/her? Why? Do you think his/her style was always appropriate w.r.t. the favorability/un-favorability of the situation?
The political situation for Nelson Mandela was not favorable as it can be seen from his abovementioned imprisonment which could possibly break his personality and deprive him f his voice and vision. But Nelson Mandela, showing great discipline and self-control, managed to save himself from despair and negativity that surrounded him in prison. He was ready to adapt to the environment and people around him.
Was he/she behaving the same way with people from in-group vs. outgroup? Could you present any evidence of one or more instances when he/she moved a relationship along the stranger-acquaintance-partner continuum?
Nelson Mandela has shown good communication skills and it was easy for him to move along the stranger-acquaintance-partner pattern. He is famous for the following quote: "If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner”.
Discuss any five instances when you saw him/her making some political maneuvers to achieve his/her objectives? Could you present at least two instances when he/she displayed some kind of defensive behavior(s)?
Nelson Mandela has made different political maneuvers in order to achieve his goals. Firstly, he fought for establishing the so-called Rainbow Nation Ideals, meaning that irrespective of the person’s individual features (race, gender, social situation etc.) human dignity will be always respected. Also, Nelson Mandela promoted democracy and the right of people to choose the priorities of the political course of their country.
Nelson Mandela is also known for fighting crime and corruption in his country. During the years that he was a president the government of the Republic of South Africa has passed many anti-crime and anti-corruption laws. Before Nelson Mandela became president South Africa showed one of the highest crime rates in the world.
Nelson Mandela reformed the tax system and achieved equal taxation. During the years of his rule South Africa has experienced a considerable inflow of investments that developed the economy immensely. South Africa became the continent’s leading economy in those years.
Could you please present some evidence proving him/her to be more of a transformational or a transactional leader?
Nelson Mandela was a truly transformational leader. He was generous in forgiveness and believed in the energy of symbolic gestures. He wanted his country to recover from the negative consequences of the apartheid regime. Although his predecessors were all members of the apartheid, he showed respect to them and visited the widow of the former South African Prime Minister who was famous as being an “architect of apartheid”. In one of his interviews he has told that after years in prison “I am working now with the same people who threw me into jail, persecuted my wife, hounded my children from one school to the other and I am one of those who are saying: Let us forget the past, and think of the present” (Mandela 98).
How well did he/she lead his/her team towards bringing change? How did he/she try to overcome resistance to change? How did he/she move the change process through unfreezing-moving-refreezing phases?
Nelson Mandela has a talent to effectively communicate his vision of the country to the country’s most influential leaders and businessmen. Even today, Nelson Mandela’s transformational style of leadership inspires the leaders all over the world for a more democratic, peaceful and wise leadership. The main way that helped him to realize the vision he has maw his unique magnanimity towards those who were his enemies in the past. For example, his former prison guards were invited to his inaugural ceremony. These peculiarities of Nelson Mandela’s style have inspired leaders all across the globe.
Works Cited
Kahnweiler, Jennifer. Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference. London: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition. Print.
Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom. Pretoria: Macdonald Purnell, 1994. Print.
