Invictus
As depicted in the movie Invictus, Nelson Mandela is able to accomplish enormous milestones within South Africa due to his character and leadership style. Mandela was able to unite a nation and to restore peace by bringing both the white and black population together to support the country’s rugby team – “One team. One country” (“Invictus,”2009). With his strong morals, Mandela used transformational leadership to unite South Africa by embodying inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, and individual consideration.
Mandela’s strong values, which were the underpinning of his character, fuelled his drive and passion to unite the broken and divided nation. It is truly remarkable that a man, who was imprisoned for 27 years without reason, embodied compassion and forgiveness. It illustrates the integrity and character he had, as he did not seek revenge once he gained power. Instead, he remained devoted to his cause and utilized transformational leadership philosophies to encourage others to forgive what the white community has done. He was motivated to bring about change because he deeply valued justice and humanity. He wanted to restore peace to South Africa, which he understood would take a great amount of forgiveness from each side. His trial and tribulations in prison provided him with the knowledge and wisdom to accomplish the seemingly impossible. He illustrated this by stating, “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon” (“Invictus,” 2009). Mandela emerged as a leader with idealized influence due to his high moral standards and his inspiring vision for South Africa, which resulted in monumental change that transformed the nation (Northouse, 2017: 171).
It takes a man of great courage and temperance to enter a room with a hostile, angry population and call them to serve a higher purpose. Mandela used inspirational motivation as he challenged the Sports Commission in regards to their unanimous vote to change the rugby team’s name. Risking political capital, Mandela came to the meeting in person to challenge their beliefs and persuade them that revenge was not the answer for the injustices, he did this by stating, “I believe you have made a decision with insufficient information and foresight” (“Invictus,” 2009). He used intellectual stimulation because he challenged the Sports Commission’s decision and therefore, their beliefs and values on the matter, persuading them to think differently. Evidently, Mandela eloquently raised their level of consciousness by inspiring them not to become what the white community expected. Instead, Mandela encouraged the Sports Commission to embody forgiveness, compassion, generosity, and kindness. These were all of the things that the white community denied the black community, Mandela stated, “In order to build our nation, we must all exceed our own expectations” (“Invictus,” 2009).
Although Mandela is leading 42 million people, he has individualized consideration for everyone that he meets because he listens to those without power and appreciates everyone for their work and contribution. Mandela embodies transcendence and humility because he fully understands that he can learn something from each and every individual, regardless of their status. He is open-minded and reflective to others’ perspective and thoughts. He asks his daughter for her opinion on the matter as she looked at the newspaper picture of Mandela shaking hands with Francois. She responded by saying that her thoughts did not matter. He encouraged her that “of course” her opinions matter (“Invictus,” 2009). However, when she answered, it was evident that her opinion was underpinned by years of racial tensions. This likely represented what the whole of the black population was thinking as he began to mend relations.
It was truly inspiring to learn about a great leader that had endured such hardship, was able to forgive those that imprisoned him for many years, and ultimately united a divided nation as a result of his character. Mandela’s character and values are inspiring. I will take many aspects of his leadership qualities and incorporate them into my own leadership journey.
Christina
References
“Invictus”. (2009). “Watch Invictus Online | Stream Full Movie.” DIRECTV. Retrieved from www.directv.com/movies/Invictus-WlBLVEVpYUFWLys2bUtrenFpbFhZQT09
Gandz, J., Crossan, G., Seilts, G., & Reno, M. (2013). “Leadership Character and Corporate Governance.” Ivey Business Journal. P: 15-21. Retrieved from https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/leadership-character-and-corporate-governance/
Northouse, P. G. (2017). Leadership: theory and practice (Eighth ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.