Nelson Mandela: Transformation and Servant Leadership Theories Coursework

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Introduction

Mandela has been recognized by the entire world as one of the most influential, effective, and democratic leaders, who have left after himself a great legacy. His individual actions and political ideology portrayed crucial leadership attributes that are now envisaged in various theories. As a result, this essay will focus on how transformation and servant leadership theories were reflected in his life as a leader.

Mandela’s Transformational Leadership

In essence, transformational leadership is grounded on four dimensionalities, including intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence (Morse and Buss, 2007). Intellectual stimulation is the capability of a leader to encourage their followers so that they be committed to a common objective and task. In this regard, Mandela was the source of confidence for the people of South Africa, especially during the great fight for freedom. For example, his resolve, courage, and tolerance were portrayed when he was jailed by the colonialist and it was a crucial source of encouragement for the South African people in regard to fighting for their national freedom.

In regard to inspirational motivation, which is essentially related to the capability of a leader to articulate a vision, Mandela evidently defined the true vision for his nationals during the struggle for freedom. He articulated fluently the importance of regaining their independence and stopping oppression of innocent people in South Africa. He, therefore, played a pivotal role that portrayed his capability to provide inspirational motivation. It was also evident that Nelson Mandela had managed to create idealized influence among citizens, especially during his academic life and the period in which he was fighting for the country’s freedom. In this case, Mandela was a role model for all his fellow citizens, including the young and the old people. When he was schooling in Stellenbosh University, the vice chancellor of the university known as Russell Botman congratulated him on completing his master’s course successfully amidst many difficulties. In this regard, students can consider him as a role model based on the premises that went through and overcame all setbacks. He, thus, can be an example for all academicians who might be discouraged owing to challenges that they face in their academic lives.

Mandela’s Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is based on six aspects that include authenticity, building community, sharing and providing leadership, as well as valuing people (Trompenaars and Voerman, 2009). In this regard, Mandela played an important role in providing leadership to his people before and after independence. When the country was struggling for freedom, he became the main activist that was later jailed by the colonialists for 27 years. He then served as the president of South Africa for five years. These five years are considered a great page in the history of the country (Mandela and Wyk, 2009). He was a perfect portrayal of a leader who was prepared to share his leadership with others rather than deny them a chance to lead. Additionally, he committed himself to community building whereby communism was one of his main political ideologies, although he had denied that because of public concerns. This implies that Mandela valued people and tried to unite them rather than dividing them along tribal lines and capitalism.

Conclusion

It is evident that various theories of leadership were essentially manifested in Mandela’s life. In this regard, it cannot be disputed that major aspects of transformational and servant leadership were envisaged in his actions and ideologies. In fact, it could be argued that he is one of the legendary leaders in the world.

References

Mandela, N., & Wyk, C. (2009). Long Walk to Freedom. New York: Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press.

Morse, R., & Buss, T. (2007). Transforming Public Leadership for the 21st Century. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

Trompenaars, F., & Voerman, E. (2009). Servant Leadership across Cultures Harnessing the Strength of the World’s Most Powerful Leadership Philosophy. Oxford: Infinite Ideas Ltd.

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