Leadership and Responsibilities Nelson Mandela

Question: Discuss about theLeadership and Responsibilities for Nelson Mandela. Answer: What makes one a leader? Is leadership innate or created over time? These questions are among those which have given people a lot to think about. Both factors can influence the leadership qualities of a person (Gujral, 2013). For instance, through education, individuals gain more skills on management of resources. Proper management is what good leadership is all about. How many people in the world can fall in the list of good leaders? The list is endless. People like Malcolm X of the US, Mother Teresa of India, and Nelson Mandela of South Africa among several others. A good leader always takes responsibility (Krass, 2017). Nelson Mandela was a great leader who is well-known in the world history. He was a politician, anti-apartheid revolutionary and later the President of the South African Republic from 1994 to 1999 (Hollingsworth, 2013). Nelson Mandela was able to end the apartheid system in South Africa. Nevertheless, he set an example for the rest of the world. People are all equal regardless of their race, gender, age or position in the government. The apartheid system began when South Africa was under the colonial government. There was discrimination of people by race (skin complexion) to the extent whereby the blacks were made slaves in their country. As a courageous leader, Mandela rose to form groups which would fight for human rights. There are several leadership qualities which can be attributed to Mandela. They include: Mandela was positive thinking, he always thought of how to improve the lives of all the communities living in South Africa. Mandela was a visionary leader. He was able to see the big picture of South Africa, the suffering the community went through and the way forward to solve all the challenges. A good leader should be able to identify the needs of his people and how each one of them can be helped to achieve what they desire. Nelson had a commanding He was a brave leader who showed up whenever his people needed him. He never liked violence and easily worn enemies with a smile. He was focused on his mission and vision. He never stopped the fight till he achieved what he wanted. He had hope. Good leaders should have hope in whatever they do. A leader with no hope is a failure. Determination was also part of his strategy leading South Africa to independence in 1994. A determined leader believes in himself. Believing in oneself leads to improvement of self-esteem. A person with self-esteem will always mind the lives of others. There are many things which can be learned about leadership from Nelson Mandela. Individuals can tell the difference between a leader and a ruler. Mandela was a leader. A leader always thinks about other people, unlike a ruler. To be a significant leader for your people, you need determination. One should be ready to take responsibility as there are several challenges that leaders face. For instance, Mandela was imprisoned. There are times leaders face hardships. A good leader will take advantage of the challenges to strengthen his team to carry on fighting for what they believe. From Nelson, leaders learn the significant of being focused on their project. Be it business, political or sports; focus is the most important. For instance, when students are in group discussions, those with leaders without focus end up failing to achieve their main objective. A less focused individual is easily swayed aside by others. Making decisions become a big problem for such a leader. Exercising patience is also another thing which leaders learn from Mandela. Things do not come as fast as most will expect. Nevertheless, the easy way of doing things is not always the best way. Strategies need to be involved for a leader to make a decision (Strategy and leadership, 2016). In the strategy, consultancy is essential. A team leader should form a group to help in running the management. Two heads are better than one, diverse opinions from several individuals lead to the development of a sound decision. The nature of the influence of a leader depends on a number of factors like for instance, how well does the society know the leader? Nelson was able to influence almost all people from South Africa to fight in ending the apartheid system (Sadler, 2013). This set a good example for most leaders in the African Continent who decided to put their efforts together to end racism. In fact, the whole world was moved by the struggle of this man. His strength, voice, humbleness and peaceful way of handling disputes motivated many people. From that, we learn that peaceful negotiations can also solve issues, violence is not the only way of approaching serious issues in the society. The presence of a leader when addressing matters affecting the community is important. People do not need virtual leaders. They need leaders they can see, leaders who can make decisions on their behalf. Nevertheless, brave individuals who are ready, to tell the truth, call a spade a spade and not a spoon. If things are bad, they are bad, no need to hide. A leader who brings things into the light of many often gets the support of the majority. Having a majority by your side is an assurance of success. Personal traits contribute much in making a good leader. From the way you handle things, the way you conduct your businesses and the way you interact with people, it is easy to tell the kind of leader you are. References Gujral, G. S. (2013). Leadership qualities for effective leaders. Hollingsworth, T. (2013). 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