LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT

INVICTUS IMPORTANT TRAITS, SKILLS, AND BEHAVIORS

OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER
NELSON MANDELA

By Bhavani Singh Rathore

Section B,
Roll No- 141206

INVICTUS - Nelson Mandela

The biographical drama of how Nelson Mandela finds inspiration

of uniting a nation, torn by the ravages of the Apartheid era,
through an all-white rugby team Springboks brings out to me a
certain traits and behavior depicted by the character of Nelson
Mandela, which makes him a great leader.
The trait in him that stands over the others for me is his ability to
forgive what all happened in the past and treat everyone in the
country equally. Despite the years of ill treatment faced by him in
the apartheid era, he still had the humbleness to forgive for the
greater good of the country. The way he steered a nation from
hate based on races to a country united by sports was
remarkable.
They were instances in the movie where he had to take a stand
against people has he felt it was necessary to let people know
what they were doing was wrong. One incident shows a sporting
organization where all committee members are black natives, and
they agree to pass a motion to change the name, colour and logo
of the rugby team to suit a different and blacker South Africa.
Currently, the rugby team represents the pride of the Afrikaners
and is despised by the black natives as they see it as a symbol of
apartheid. However, President Mandela who arrives at the
meeting just after the voting process asks the committee
members to rethink their decisions in the context of unity for the
country and the good of the population. In the end, when he
manages to get a small minority of the group on his side, he sees
it as a small win instead of a defeat and enough for him to keep
the Springboks. This depicts his clear vision and way of doing
things. He knew that in order for his nation to grow he would
require the combined efforts of both the group of people.
The other thing that stands out is his people centric approach.
Throughout the movie it is depicted through various scenes of
how he gives importance to the people around him. The

importance that he gives to people in achieving the task show his

approach of his leadership being more people centric.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS
Behavior of a leader: The behavior of a leader is extremely
important to successfully lead teams in organizations Globally
Accepted Types of Leadership Behavior:
Task oriented
People oriented
President Mandela excellently displayed both task-oriented and
people oriented styles in his quest to build the nation. He
intended to transform the image of Springboks in the eyes of the
black natives and sought the help of Pienaar. Through Pienaars
leadership, the team members successfully won the hearts of the
black natives and garner their support which steered the team to
victory.
Comprehensive team building Mandelas ability to building a
comprehensive team around him comprising of black and white
South Africans. Mandela wanted a unified country and he
intended for his team to set the perfect example for that cause
Performing the role of a change agent Mandela performs
the role of a change agent by leading from the front, leading by
example and motivating all the people regardless of the colour of
their skin who come in his presence.
Setting audacious goals Setting audacious goals is key
aspect of management skills. Mandela sets an audacious goal to
captain Piennar to win the Rugby World Cup (1995). He believes
(Mandela) that by winning the Rugby World Cup, the Apartheid
torn nation will unite.

Supporting the team Apart from setting audacious goals, a

key management skill is to believe in your team and stand behind
them regardless of how steep the mountain is and the challenges
posed to the team. Mandelas undying belief in his team,
inspires them to go beyond the call of duty and win the world cup
against all odds