Leadership in Hospitality: Nelson Mandela's Impact on Leadership

This essay delves into the leadership of Nelson Mandela, examining his profound influence and impact, particularly within the context of hospitality. It explores his qualities of courage, determination, and reconciliation, highlighting his ability to inspire and lead, even under imprisonment. The e...Read More

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN HOSPITALITY
LEADERSHIP IN HOSPITALITY
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“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”- Nelson Mandela
While observing certain perspectives such as political, religious, economic, social, and
ideological these viewpoints played a significant role in the process of perceptions, beliefs and
opinions. It has often been wondered whether individuals have developed in emerging as an
effective leader in the society or have transformed by leading other people to achieve an
improved future (Senge, Hamilton & Kania, 2015). Significant revolutionary leaders have
successfully inspired as well as encouraged people with particular action that involved utmost
uniqueness and exclusivity. The essay intends to explore the powerful and significant leadership
of Nelson Mandela and his influence on his people.
The term leadership has been defined as the competence to influence a group of
individuals towards the accomplishment of certain aims and objectives. Significant leaders such
as Nelson Mandela, who is known as a symbol of courage, determination, strength, compassion
and reconciliation has further been recognized as a role model not only for South Africa but for
the world (Allison & Goethals, 2014). Mandela despite of serving a life imprisonment possessed
the competence and ability to lead and conduct his supporters through note or written
correspondence. His immense passion and dedication was strongly felt by his followers as well
as other political leaders further reinforcing his belief that no one could imprison his sprits and
compassion towards his people and nation (Olesen, 2015). Mandela during his imprisonment
demonstrated to the people the significance of three essential factors, firstly, the power and
ability of taking action whereby he underpinned the consequence of taking risks for purposes and
ideas one believes in. It is important to recognize his ability of individualism and rapport which
had the power to hold the nation together when the country was losing its significance
(Denenberg, 2014). Such a distinctive quality has not been possessed by many, which has led to

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conclusion as to why several individuals have still been gaining insights from his experiences
and leadership styles. Secondly, the connotation of perceptions, rationale, disagreements had
been taught by Mandela whereby he showed that an individual must not specifically gain
knowledge through conformity but must engage into the construct of competition that would
facilitate one to comprehend the confronting perceptions in order to permit one to make
improved decisions for oneself (Pietersen, 2015). A leader like Mandela never expressed any
forms of apprehension to make conciliations for the sake of his purpose and further preferred to
show practicality and review his ideologies for the majority authority, rights, and fundamental
freedom of every citizen of South Africa (Beresford, 2014). Finally, Mandela comprehended
and identified that individuals are bound together in such a way that will reflect transparency to
the naked eye. Though, there were few who perceived Mandela as a hideous individual and has
further been given accusations of implementing aggressive acts in order to determine or resolve
conflicting situations that had been occurring in his nation.
Mandela through his famous quote, “Lead from the back-and let others believe they are
in front” had intended to demonstrate his followers to effectively perform and to learn to gain
trust and loyalty in order to gather people to follow the similar paths (Olesen, 2015). He further
believed that leading from behind or shifting the focus to others facilitates the subordinates or
followers to understand their significance and ability and further identify themselves as an
integral part of the process (Weisse, 2013). Mandela further depicted his constructive ability
related to visionary leadership in order to create as well as articulate a pragmatic, credible as well
as striking vision of the future that would enhance the current circumstances. His vision and aim
to implement transformations in the then situational contexts of South America for his people
further demonstrated them with potential betterments and what could be better about the state of

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apartheid at hand. Furthermore, his techniques of democratic leadership involved several people
into the nation’s decision making procedures and develop consensus from his team and
subordinates (Gini & Green, 2014). Mandela had also been recognized for being immensely
responsive to several various aspects of disagreements and disputes thereby providing effective
supervision and guidance and offering his analysis. Thus, leading his people to yearn for such a
genuine and distinctive leadership that encouraged, inspired, and elevated the people in the
shared journey. Most of Mandela’s effective leadership styles dependent on his style of team
building and sustaining team collaboration (Beresford, 2014). His techniques of cultural and
ethical implementation in order to develop effective collaboration are being executed by many in
recent times that has further led to establish effective teams in order to succeed and establish
goals and objectives that one set in the initial phase of leading people.
Nelson Mandela has represented the epitome of soft power whereby as a President, his
ethical standpoints as well as political stature and importance in the world surpassed and further
suggested by the size of the military services or the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of South
Africa (Olesen, 2015). Being identified as a prototype of a successful leader his power and
influence emerged from military or economic from the competencies to capture the interests and
perceptions of people across his nation as well as across the world (Senge, Hamilton & Kania,
2015). Within the construct of several observations, it has been comprehended from the life as
well as legacy of Mandela is considered as a fact that peacekeeping and diplomacy increasingly
is reliable on ethical ecology which further cannot be found in the forces or economic authority.
Mandela’s leadership style was honed in the biased or political culture of the African
National Congress along with its prominence on mutual and consultative leadership (Olesen,
2015). Mandela was thus considered as a champion of a suitable distribution of wealth as well as

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technology between the affluent and deprived classes but effectively believed to sought business
and expansion aid rather than engaging into charitable activities. His dedication towards
reconciliation as a shared procedure has been considered as one of his significant contribution to
global concerns (Allison & Goethals, 2014). However, the ones who have been seeking to
emulate Mandela’s ideologies and beliefs related to leading people and nation towards healing
must take into consideration that the idea of reconciliation was regarded as a continuum that
involved factors related to confession, explanations along with other forms of reinstitution.

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References
Allison, S. T., & Goethals, G. R. (2014). “Now he belongs to the ages”: The heroic leadership
dynamic and deep narratives of greatness. In Conceptions of Leadership (pp. 167-183).
Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Beresford, A. (2014). Nelson Mandela and the politics of South Africa's unfinished
liberation. Review of African Political Economy, 41(140), 297-305.
Denenberg, B. (2014). Nelson Mandela:" no Easy Walk to Freedom". Scholastic Inc..
Gini, A., & Green, R. M. (2014). Three critical characteristics of leadership: Character,
stewardship, experience. Business and Society Review, 119(4), 435-446.
Olesen, T. (2015). Global political iconography: The making of Nelson Mandela. American
Journal of Cultural Sociology, 3(1), 34-64.
Pietersen, W. (2015). What Nelson Mandela taught the world about leadership. Leader to
Leader, 2015(76), 60-66.
Senge, P., Hamilton, H., & Kania, J. (2015). The dawn of system leadership. Stanford Social
Innovation Review, 13(1), 27-33.
Weisse, W. (2013). Introduction. Scriptura, 83, 189-191.