Leadership - Nelson Mandela ( Invictus )

Leadership can be defined as the capability in leading the people in any organisation or society by using your inherent skills, knowledge and talents towards achievement of the goal. According to the scholars a successful leadership relies on acquiring and using all the sources of power that he possesses. Leadership can be classified into two types: Transactional and Transformational Leadership. A transactional leader is the leader who can guide or motivate his people towards the well set goals by putting across their role and the requirements. A transformational leader is the who can inspire their followers for the benefit of the organisation or the society using the follower’s skills and knowledge. These leaders can have an extraordinary effect on the followers. This assignment is based on the leadership movie Invictus released in the year 2009. The story is based on the leadership quality and the skills of the great known president Nelson Mandela, the first Black president of South Africa and his vital role in uplifting the country and his dedication and efforts he put on towards uniting the nation. He is also described as an icon of forgiveness to the world. According to the view of leadership in Mandela, he states that a leader without any follower is same like anyone having a casual walk.

Before the release of Mandela from the prison on February 1990 South Africa was a country that was restricted by apartheid.  However, after his release, by his leadership qualities, and his dedication towards the country, helped him to reconcile the country that marked the transformation of the present known South Africa. In the movie INVICTUS they have clearly picturised this transformation by showing Mandela’s support towards the country. He wanted to prove his nation that he neither supports the blacks nor whites and he treats all the citizens of his country as one. He also wanted the same unity within the citizens of his nation. He foresees this unity can be achieved through Sports. So, he realizes that sports as a tool for unity in South Africa. To prove his dedication, as an initial step towards this unity he initially supports the Rugby team of the country. As a part of this support he uplifts the team by his leadership qualities and by his different ways of inspiration that helped them to lift the Rugby World Cup of the year 1995. In the movie, it expresses that by the prediction of Sports council the team can progress till the Quarter Finals and cannot get through further. By his leadership qualities, the team progressed to the finals and the entire team was taught about how to achieve the impossible through inspiration.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela generally known as Nelson Mandela the first democratic elected president was born on July 1918 in South Africa. He was the son of a chief counsellor to the chief of Thembu an Eastern Province in South Africa. He graduated his Bachelor’s from the University of South Africa in the year 1941. During his entire span of life, he was actively committed to the anti-apartheid movement and later joined ANC in 20th century. Due to his participation in this movement he was jailed for 27 years by the South African government. In the year 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts against the apartheid system of his country and for his contributions and efforts towards peace and unity. In the movie, it clearly depicts that when Mandela is elected as the president, the Whites makes up that he might take revenge against the Whites and his rules might be favourable for the Blacks. But the output from Mandela that the Whites expected was entirely different. Mandela as a leader was a person with great endurance, he challenged for everything and everyone that was against his decisions and he also believed that changing within self is more important prior to change the society. He also realized that anger and animosity will give rise to apartheid further that can result in a civil war. He also taught the world the value for forgiveness and its results.

In the movie, around the 48th minute the leader clearly states that his inspiration was from a Victorian poem, that helped the leader to stand when all he can do is to lie down. Also, he states that when he was invited to the Olympics in Barcelona he was treated with the song that inspired him to do better for his nation as well as it allowed him as a leader, to expect more within self. The vision of Mandela’s leadership was all about patience and treating your enemies with a smile. He was also a leader who demanded for peace throughout the nation. In the movie Invictus, the leader proves himself as a humble, polite and a leader with great vision. Extracting scenarios from the movie, he proves as a humble leader by pouring and thanking, the women who brought tea to him during his meeting with the Rugby team captain. He also proves his nation that he is a humble leader by donating one-third of his salary to the charity. He proves to be a polite leader by addressing and exhibiting his behaviour with his subordinates, office as well as his residential staffs. A leader with great vision, he wants to prove the citizens of his nation that he foresees the country as a unified South Africa that is all the people are treated as one irrespective of their colour or caste and he valuates himself as the president of a unique nation. Also, he invites the foreign companies of the world to come and invest which will result in a better economy of the country. He also values that unity within the citizens can help in building a strong nation with a high economy. One of the remarkable quality on Mandela’s leadership quality was that he taught his nation that forgiveness has a big role on the leadership.