A public leader is an individual who can influence, motivate, and inspire a community towards a noble course of action. Each leader enters administrative positions based on energy, planning and adapting, and understanding public sentiments. Leadership can be direct coaching, or public ruling, while an available leader is a person who holds a public office, guides, and serves a whole community. Examples of public leaders in the world’s history include Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and Mother Teresa. These leaders were proactive in times of tremendous change and upheaval.
Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, and Golda Meir, Israel’s first female prime minister, embodied ideal leaders as the two held public offices and put people first before their interests. Winston Churchill was a prime minister between 1940 and 1945 during the Second World War. He led Britain and conquered the Nazis during the Second World War and established the post-war peace that contributed to prosperity in the western world.
Golda Meir served on various government roles in Israeli, and she once stayed in Palestine to fight Israelis statehood. She focused and determined to help the Israeli people and was once described as the only man in the cabinet. Moreover, her wisdom, upright character, strong personality, and honesty made her a great leader (Humphrey, 2020). As a leader, she pressed for the peace settlement in the Middle East through diplomatic ways.
Transformational leadership theory involves a leader working with a team, identifying a problem and its solution then working towards the vision to fulfill it. Their followers are motivated to change through inspiration and behavior change (Humphrey, 2020). Both Winston and Golda manifest the transformational leadership theory as they worked with teams from different government positions towards a shared vision. Besides, the two manifest affiliative style of leadership which involves serving people first. The two leaders were able to connect with people, especially in crisis times, thus encouraging harmony.
Most of the countries in Africa fought for their independence from the mid-1950s to the end of 1990. South Africa was not an exemption in 1990; they had not attained their independence. Besides, during this decade, there were various events and tremendous social and government changes. During the 1990s, Nelson Mandela is released from prison after twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven townships were declared unrestrained areas concerning the Public Safety Act No 3 of 1953 (General South African History, 2019). One of the social changes that happened was between March 25th, 1991, and March 4th, 1998, where there was the prohibition of mixed marriages due to immorality and banning of diverse marriages Act no 6.
Around the same time, commissions were set to investigate unlawful acts of alleged violent murders such as the death of Clayton Sizwe Sithole. Racial segregation was still going on, and the teachers formed the South African Democratic Teachers Union (General South African History, 2019). After that, the government gave out conditions under which white schools could admit black students under the Clase models.
Such women who got the privilege include Patricia de Lille, who was appointed secretary of the PAC, and foreign and relief aid secretary. Lindiwe Sisulu of South Africa saw her appointment as a personal secretary to Dr. Jacob Zuma (General South African History, 2019). Other prominent women leaders include Ruth Mompati, who was a part of a delegation program in South Africa; Baleka Kgositsile, who was elected secretary-general at the first national conference of ANC women’s league, and Geraldine Fraser, who was the personal assistant to Chris Hani and Joe Slovo.
At the opening of parliament on February 2nd, President Klerk made a speech and announced the lifting of a 30-year ban on ANC and PAC. After Nelson Mandela was released, he met the ANC officials in Lusaka (Garba & Akuva, 2020). Later in 1994, when he was elected as the deputy president of the organization. In the same year, Mandela and de Klerk were involved in negations to end apartheid. The talks resulted in a general multiracial election where Nelson Mandela was elected as president.
Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and F.W de Klerk were vocal in facilitating change, recognizing diversity, and leading courageously. The three worked together after 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected as president, de Klerk as deputy president, and Desmond Tutu was the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In gender diversity, he appointed over one-third of women in the cabinet in health, social affairs, and public enterprises. The trio worked courageously in ending apartheid and serving the interests of South Africa at large.
Gender diversity, which is an equal representation of males and females in the workplace, has been embraced in the 21st century. Gender diversity in any workplace positively impacts operations and stakeholders (Vickers, Grace, & Coilers, 2020). With it, companies can attract customers and clients of all genders as they have embraced diversity. Companies have encouraged women to apply primarily to positions that are mainly considered to be occupied by men during.
Recent studies show that women’s empowerment has contributed to the rising number of women in leadership. For example, 12 women serve as head of government, and 11 women serve as head of state (Vickers et al., 2020). Hence women have continued to demonstrate their desire to help by fighting for gender equality and serve to their countries. Therefore, women’s diversity in leadership is visible through politics, entrepreneurship, and religion.
While working at an organization managed by a woman, there were lessons to be learned from it. First, women are caring and attentive to people’s needs due to their more developed sense of empathy, making the employees believe in themselves. Secondly, their interests come as second, they put others’ needs in the first place, and they strive to address those issues. Lastly, in a world dominated by men, women have used education and their skills to prove that they can lead society. Nevertheless, despite their strength and ability to lead, most women find it challenging to submit to their homes.
A key strength that could influence the ability to be a public leader is to value people and prioritize their interests. Public leaders do not have the first mentality; instead, they seek to address the pressing matters that their community has. Also, it is easy to be in harmony with the community by showing them that they are loved and trying as much as possible to connect with each of them personally.
In conclusion, public leaders are those who lead with wisdom and believe in selfless service to others. Both male and female genders can lead if they possess leadership qualities. Similarly, any of the genders can make good leaders if they collaborate with other team members and work towards a shared vision that seeks to make society a better place. Equal empowerment should be given to both genders to ensure that one is not favored and disrespects the other.
References
Garba, D., & Akuva, I. I. (2020). The Leadership Styles of Nelson Mandela as a Pattern for African Leaders. Covenant University Journal of Politics and International Affairs, 8(1).
General South African History Online. (2019). General South African History Timeline: 1990s.
Humphrey, R. H. (2020). Transformational Leadership, Change, and Sensemaking Perspectives. In Effective Leadership: Theory, Cases, and Applications, pp. 401-428. SAGE Publishers.
Vickers, J., Grace, J., & Collier, C. N. (2020). Handbook on Gender, Diversity, and Federalism. Gloucestershire, England: Edward Elgar Publishing.