Leadership Assignment: Demonstrating True Effects of Nelson Mandela’s Leadership

Question

Task: Your leadership assignment:
1.1 Description of leadership practice and consequence
There are two leadership quotations that you will need to consider when you write this report. The first is by Douglas MacArthur who states: “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent”.

The second is by Rosabeth Moss Kanter who states:
“Leaders must wake people out of inertia. They must get people excited about something they have never seen before, something that does not yet exist ”. What do you think are meant by these two quotes and why might they be important for a leader To help with you with your consideration of this matter you will be required to either read the book ‘Playing the enemy’ by John Carlin or to watch the movie ‘Invictus’ that depicts the leadership displayed by Nelson Mandela (you are free to do both). Please note that in your assignment write up there will need to be demonstration of proof that you have actually read the book or watched the movie as there are some differences between the book and the movie. (You can buy a copy of the e-book from Amazon and rent/buy the movie from the same). You should note that reading the book may actually be more helpful for you for the perspective of this assignment as the printed word does afford you more time to ponder the points being made – but that choice is left to you.

You should look at a number of scenes from which you have derived learning and lessons about leadership as a result of watching the movie and/or reading the book insofar as they are relevant to these two quotes above (note that neither quote actually occurs in the movie or in the book). Please note that this is not about whether or not you agree with Mandela’s brand of politics. This is about leadership and how the two quotes above have helped you to learn about leadership and what you need to do to develop yourself in the area of your own leadership as a result of this learning. You will be expected to describe, in sufficient detail, the scenes that you are going to use to derive your leadership learning from. Make sure that your discussion is linked with both the quotes above.

As an alternative, if you prefer, you may peruse the film ‘The Lady’ instead (2011 release, directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh). If you decide to use ‘The Lady’ as the basis of your discussion, then please just replace Nelson Mandela’s name (throughout this document) with that of Aung Sang SuuKyi. 1.2 Critical analysis of the situation, theory identification, integration and application Having looked at the scenes you will need to critically analyse how leadership demonstrating the essence of the two quotes were displayed and demonstrated by Nelson Mandela. You should then identify relevant theories and concepts (from leadership, motivation, team building, personality, communication, relationship capital and so on and as appropriate and relevant) that are pertinent to the scenes chosen and described and link them to the analysis.

Do remember that the reliance on one theory alone is unlikely to be sufficient as leadership is multi-faceted. A very important aspect of this section is that you must integrate and apply the theories and concepts into the analysis. For example, merely stating that such-and-such a scene demonstrated the two quotations will not put you in good standing where marking is concerned. You will need to identify and to provide a good level of breadth and depth of discussion and justification to support your assertion.

1.3 Reflection on changes required using theory and LDAs to support arguments presented Reflect on the changes that you will need to make in your own life, in the short- and long-term, so as to become a more effective leader as a result of having learned about leadership from Mandela and the consideration of the two quotations above. Remember to use theories and relevant LDA to support your arguments. You must include the lessons derived from relevant LDA to support your discussion. In addition to your reflection on the changes required you should also consider how these changes, once identified, might be practically implemented.

1.4 Identification of lessons learned and overall experience
Comment on possible leadership gaps for the future that you may have identified as a result of your learning through this learning and discuss the areas that you might need to work on for the future. You might write about how this situation has demonstrated the need for such skills and what the insights derived mean for the development of your own leadership abilities.

Answer

Executive summary
This report on leadership assignment is a congregation of the degree of leadership practices and its consequences that are required to be a transformational leader; change, to bring a revolutionary impact on the society. There are two vital quotations based on the confidence, courage, and compassion of a true leader required to be the change in the society and bring about a transformation. The other quotation is based on the leader's ability to wake up people from inertia and raise their conscience to bring about change.

Introduction
This report analyzes the topmost qualities of a leader who can transform a society and influence people in masses to bring about sustainability in the social, economic, and cultural domains. Here on the basis of the “visioncourage and inspiration”, the whole report will be discussed.This quote actually taken from the movie named as “Invictus". A true leader is instrumental in taking decisions based on his own confidence and perceptions with a detailed view of the opinion of others. He needs the compassion and patience to listen to the requirements of his fellowmen and the needs of the hour and Mandela was one of them. Transformational leadership is the point of focus that is described in the report.The two quotes mentioned in the assignment are integral to the leadership of the greatest quality. The first is by Douglas MacArthur, who states: "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent".The second is by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, who states: “Leaders must wake people out of inertia. They must get people excited about something they have never seen before, something that does not yet exist”.Leaders must wake people out of inertia for a cause that is of significant importance. The leader should do something new and innovative that no one has dared to do in the past. He should have the vision and courage to establish reformations that are path-breaking. A detailed critical analysis of the present situation that demonstrates the true effects of mandela’sleadership and the integration and application of leadership traits are described in the report.

1.1 Leadership practice and its consequences
"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent"

“Leaders must wake people out of inertia. They must get people excited about something they have never seen before, something that does not yet exist”

These two quotation means that true leaders always have the courage to stand alone even if his followers befriend him in dire consequences. The sheer determination and positivity of a leader emerge as the strongest aspect of qualification. A leader's decisions should also be bold and courageous that can bring about transformational changes in leadership values and integrity. Compassion is also a virtue a great leader must possess to impart the traits and qualities' maximum effectiveness. The intention and motive of a true leader should always be honest and integrated (Terrell et al., 2018). Influencing people is another main aspect of a true leader. He should wake people out of inertia and make them realize the true value and meaning of the transformation and change he is fighting for. Inspiring people and getting them engaged in a positive motive and intent is required by a transformational leader.

Theory integration
The film INVICTUS is basically sporting biographical drama film that is based on the life of Nelson Mandela as the first black president of South Africa after he was released from prison in 1990. The film revolves around the development of a rugby team with a leader of white skin descent. The rugby team's unification that consisted of both players of white and black descent is the main plot of this movie (Hawkins, 2017). In a country with withstood so many violent clashes regarding the racial tensions, it was a sheer challenge for Nelson Mandela to end the disturbances and bring about harmony. It was of utmost importance for him as a nation's leader and President to end the tension successfully. The sheer strength of Mandela's character, along with the supreme leadership skills and impartial thoughts regarding every citizen, is being highlighted in this report.

Some several traits and qualities made Nelson Mandela an exceptional leader. The integral traits that made him unite a rugby team in the film INVICTUS were optimism and self-confidence. Ha had a constant belief that South Africa will not remain under an Apartheid System forever. The nation could get out of the Apartheid system. Honesty and integrity were the other two important traits of the leader. Despite the extreme challenges he faced as a prisoner, he never compromised his integrity and honesty towards his belief and ideologies. There was a time when he refused conditional release from prison in exchange for retribution of violence. His supporters and followers helped him achieve the status of being the first elected black president of South Africa due to his truthfulness and integrity. His style of leadership was people-oriented. He cared for the people of his nation as well as met their demands and requirements. He had a constant drive as he was motivated by the constant goal of fighting against apartheid and other racial discrimination issues, even though he was jailed for 27 years because of the revolts against the Apartheid. He is classified as a transformational leader in the history of South Africa (Andriani et al., 2018).

Leadership traits and approaches
The transformational leadership approach is a model in which a leader motivates, inspires, and achieves accomplishments through intellectual charisma and stimulation, and focused attention. This particular approach examines the ability and certainty of leaders with the motive of achieving a specific purpose. Empowerment of leadership skills for goal attainment to be the best in every field is a part of transformational leadership. The transformational leadership approach is associated with examining the characteristics of the leader, the situation, and the supporters/ followers. Connection and engagement with the followers and supporters are basic intrinsic properties of a transformational leader. It creates an atmosphere of positive influences with an urge to change accordingly in those who follow this specific leadership style.

Transformational leaders are generally enthusiastic, energetic, and passionate about the things they want to accomplish (Bolman& Deal, 2017). The particular leaders are not only focused on helping the group members achieve success but are also concerned and involved in the process. There are some basic components of transformational leadership. They are intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influences. Providing support and encouragement to individual followers is called individualized consideration. Transformational leaders keep lines of communication open so that followers are free to share ideas for consideration. The leader achieves direct recognition for every follower in this process. This is called individual consideration. Having a clear vision to articulate the followers and helping followers experience similar motivation regarding fulfilment of goals is inspirational motivation. A role model's image is required for the followers to trust and respect the leaders for idealized influence. The effects of transformational leadership are varied accordingly. The leaders create a niche for themselves and their followers, developing their own leadership capabilities (Western, 2017).

Transformational leaders tend to help their followers grow and develop into future potential leaders. Alignment with the objectives and empowering the followers are counted among the primary positive effects of transformational leadership. Research-based evidence clearly depicts enhanced performance levels and satisfaction by groups led by transformational leaders rather than groups led by other forms of a leader (Priest &Gass, 2017). Moreover, transformational leadership positively impacts the group associated

1.2 Critical analysis and evaluation
In the case of this movie INVICTUS, the protagonist here is a transformational leader who can achieve what he wanted with his collective skills and leadership qualities. A national leader is someone who is always concerned about the general wellbeing of the citizens. Transformational leadership is the main form of leadership associated with this case. The leader successfully brings a sense of unity among his team, which was divided by racism before. It was possible only because of his sheer determination and honesty (Rock, 2017). Integrity, providing inspiration and courage to the rugby team members to fight with unity was the main motto, instead of fighting with each other on racial discrimination. To achieve positive results, the power of transformation plays a vital role. The leadership qualities in Mandela got the better of Francois Pienaar by completely transforming his mentality. Here Francois Pienaar is the rugby captain of South Africa. The psyche was loaded with the negative aspects of racial discrimination with violence as a regular part. Therefore, a powerful leader can transform the entire mentality of a person irrespective of the hostile thoughts he can carry (Bratton, 2020). The leader not only has the power to transform a single person but also an entire team. This is achievable because he can inspire and motivate his followers and supporters and who are against his views and decisions. This conversion of a negative response to a positive response is the key aspect of transformational leadership.

1.3 Theory identification and application
The movie scene where the Rugby captain of South Africa Francois Pienaar, visited the cell in which Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years was instrumental in transforming the mindset of the captain and helped him to inspire his team get out of the racial discrimination mentality (Sanders, 2017). The poem, INVICTUS that was written by Mandela during his imprisonment, was read by the captain of the rugby team. The poem itself was an inspiration to the man in transforming the minds of his fellow teammates. A chain reaction was seen when the team began to play as a unit, and the players bonded like there was no discrimination and hatred changed the views of the audience and they too rejoiced to their fullest. This particular movie scene was integral in transforming the entire mindset of the people of South Africa.

Courage, vision, and inspiration are sometimes all a person needs to achieve leadership success. We need to be brave and have the courage of the convictions. It took 25 years of learning for a man who fought all his life for the right against discrimination on racist grounds. Still, eventually, his experience and leadership skills earned him the status of a game-changer for an entire nation. A leader's ways can influence his team, and the detailed thinking of positive and creative reflections have been portrayed in the movie. It all became possible for the poem that Mandela wrote on a piece of paper during his imprisonment that entirely changed the rugby team captain's thought process (Mendenhall et al., 2017). The captain gets into the leader's character to experience what went through Mandela's mind for a whole 27 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The trait theory is also integral in the case of Nelson Mandela. The type of person who makes a good and efficient leader and the traits and characteristics are described in the trait theory. Common collective personality traits and patterns similar to many leaders are known as trait theories (Rosenbach,2018). This type of theory helps identify traits and qualities like empathy, decision-making skills, and integrity. External behaviours that emerge from the things that engulf our minds and the internal beliefs and methods integral to efficient leadership are classified among the trait theories.

Changes in mindset
The sheer qualities and leadership skills of Nelson Mandela was a perfect example of the display of courage and fearless approach in transforming the minds of an entire nation. The views about racialism which existed in South Africa were a hindrance in its growth and development. The entirely new approach in transforming the minds of people and waking them out of inertia, along with the firmness to do something courageous that has not been achieved before yielded sustainable results and a positive impact on the minds of people.

Reflections
These experiences changed my entire conception and perception, as in the case, the hatred carried for years as a result of racial discrimination slowly faded from the mind of the captain completely. As per me, Pienaar was challenged to think positively, and the outcome was a unified team and spectators. Moreover, after watching the movie, it is clear to me that the trait theory of leadership is also suitable for application in context to the movie because Mandela is interested in each of his staff members as individuals, and he knows everyone by name. He is seen asking about the wellbeing of their families and appreciates every work they do for him. These are the qualities that very few leaders possess nowadays. As seen, the byproduct of the film is the love and admiration shown by the rugby team captain and all his teammates, along with all the audience and spectators who are bonded by unity irrespective of caste, creed, and race( Martin et al ., 2017). The behavioural theory of leadership is also portrayed in this movie because Nelson Mandela is shown as a democratic leader, yet assesses the views and decisions made by his support staff. As a leader, I want to change the thought process of people on racism. I want to promote education over other things. As I know proper education system can change the morality of people and can change the views of people on others.

1.4 Identification of lessons learned and overall experience
The report is based on the primarily with the leadership qualities of Nelson Mandela portrayed in the movie. Like many other viewers, I have been captured by the sheer leadership qualities and skills that Nelson Mandela possessed despite spending 27 years of imprisonment. The sharpness of the mind and the rock-solid determination of attaining his goals and objective reflect his character's strength not only as a leader but also as a human being. This movie is all about management, bravery, and building a sustainable relationship. It displays the skills and attributes of the positive impact that leadership can generate with the proper vision and commitment to building a unified country against many odds and adversities. Leaders are often in a circumstance where they need to show power. The very own theory of exercising power can either reinforce the impact as a leader or be the opposite. It has the potential to compromise as well as undermine power. It ultimately depends on the intent, context, and compelling communication between the persons concerned or involved. As the name suggests, INVICTUS means being unconquered; it is a perfect example of freedom at its sheer best form without any deliberate attempts of forcefulness over the mind and body.

Conclusion
The result of the display of transformational leadership that has been portrayed in the report has been revolutionary. The power to transform the mindset of people is not an easy task to achieve. It is possible only for a leader of the stature of Mandela, who has shown the courage to do something unconventional for his countrymen. A courageous decision was taken alone that has the power to make an impact on the psyche of people, and the need to wake people out of a stereotype was the most decisive part of this particular leadership.

References
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