He was already legendary, a figure seemingly bigger and bolder than life itself. But it was his hands I remembered most when first we met. Big, thick, meaty hands. Lennox Lewis hands. Muhammad Ali hands. Fighters’ hands. You can’t look into a man’s heart, but following 27 years of imprisonment, it was clear that he had a fighters’ heart as well. And while today Nelson Mandela shuffles with the hesitancy of someone approaching a millennium, it is that deep reserve, that total conviction, that belief in self that has been his strength, and which exemplifies his brand of leadership.
In business circles and academic think-tanks, we currently enjoy a fixation with leadership. It’s the hot button everyone presses to explain success or failure. “Leadership matters” the gurus convincingly say, but having said that, they find leadership difficult to define.
In Mandela’s case, the cloak of leadership falls gracefully from his shoulders for all to see. His radiance comes from his inner light; a man who has grown comfortable within himself, and whose comfort warms a nation and a world seeking reassurance. It is only a person who is true to himself that becomes a beacon in times of distress. For a country like South Africa with its violent past and uncertain future, Mandela’s simple words and moving gestures, became a guiding light of reconciliation and promise. Mandela came to epitomize and indeed, personify what this country wanted most desperately to believe, and that is the possibility of forging a nation based on compassion and goodwill. That is what leaders do. They make the improbable seem possible. They provide hope when hope is necessary; guidance when guidance is needed.
It is often the question of whether leaders are born or made. I’m not certain it matters. Leaders rise to the occasion. Some are born, some are made, many have leadership thrust upon them. But whatever the case, they do what needs to be done regardless of the circumstances or their limitations. In Mandela, when inspiration was required he provided it; when all seemed lost he was a pillar of strength and when negotiations were underway his regal bearing bridged the impossible.
But for all of his qualities, I have always been struck by his self-deprecating sense of humour. Only someone, who is comfortable within himself can afford not to take himself seriously. A wise man who leads, is not concerned with outward appearance. He is, who he is, and who he is, is more than enough. To laugh at yourself, to poke fun at your image is to understand and appreciate that while outward appearances can be deceiving, the inner soul is a person’s true reality. Mandela can laugh at himself because he knows who he is.
What people feel when they are around him, and what so endears him so to people, is his inner calmness and tranquility that suggests a virtue that is truly genuine. A person people can trust and believe is one of the key attributes of leadership.
For those of us in the business community seized with this question of leadership, Mandela offers us an array of insightful lessons as to what constitutes a good leader.
Critical to anyone purporting to lead is to have a dream, a goal, an aspiration. It doesn’t have to be a goal as lofty as liberation and nationhood; it can be something as mundane as quarterly sales targets. But it is essential to have, and work for a purpose, because the essence of leadership is to pull a team together to achieve a specific goal.
Mandela has also shown as that a good leader must be prepared and willing to sacrifice virtually everything to accomplish his mission. A leader’s focused single-mindedness and an unwavering commitment to an ideal or goal inspires others and makes it possible to overcome almost any obstacle.
Perhaps Mandela’s greatest strength as a leader is his willingness to take chances, to surprise, to innovate. Not chances for the sake of chances, but calculated, thoughtful interventions that change the dynamics, while maintaining the focus. His donning the no.6 jersey at the 1994 rugby World Cup final was a stroke of absolute brilliance which came as a surprise to most, but was calculated to forge a sense of unity and reconciliation. That one gesture alone, stamped Mandela’s leadership in the minds of many white South Africans who until then had harbored misgivings about their future under a black government. The willingness to take a chance is what leaders do, however for a leader to be able to take such a calculated risk, it is helpful if he or she doesn’t take themselves too seriously, and Mandela has never done that. Mandela has also demonstrated the importance of empathy; the ability to reach out and understand what motivates your competitors and how to use that knowledge to achieve goals.
From a business perspective, the Mandela Leadership Principles are quite straightforward and easily understood. They embrace vision, simplicity, directness, focus and innovation all practiced within an environment based on humour and internal confidence. They are fundamentally sound principles for any leader to follow, and most important of all, they don’t require a person to have big, thick meaty hands.