Theory A: Preliminary Perspectives on an African Model of Leadership

It must have been quite tempting for Mandela to absorb and claim the powerful spirit associated with his work and accomplishments. He could easily have taken full credit for what was done and could have embraced a fair amount of justifiable narcissism. Yet, he chose instead to not take himself too seriously and to always turn away from “I” to “Us”. Sampson (2000, p. 415) offers the following vignette:

[Nelson] seemed to enjoy and adjust his own icon, while not being fooled by it, as though he were watching a play with himself as the hero. He liked to tell stories about being cut down to size: about the American tourist in the Bahamas who recognized him but then asked: “What are you famous for?” Or about the two white women in South Africa who asked for his signature and then said: “By the way, what is your name?” His aides tired of the repeated anecdotes, but they were part of Mandela’s determination to remain an ordinary man, and they delighted his audiences, particularly children. He loved telling stories about being put down by children. “You know what the kids at school say about you?” a· girl of thirteen asked him. “That when you were young you were handsome. They say you are now old and ugly.” When a. girl of five asked him why he spent so long in jail, and he explained, she replied, ” You must be a very stupid old man.” With children everywhere—despite or because of his own family problems—he could descend from his towering image to rediscover his own· simpler self. But while he could sound like an innocent abroad, his instinctive ability to relate to all kinds of people made him a master politician.

We can look upon Mandela’s life and work in a somewhat broader perspective that takes us out of Africa and moves us to a more global perspective. First, I find that the leadership exhibited by this dedicated servant to South African welfare is aligned with Jim Collins’ (2001) recipe for effective leadership. Like Collins’ successful leaders in late 20th Century and early 21st Century American organizations, Mandela was both persistent and modest. We are looking at a man who fought against apartheid for many decades, both when out in the world and when in prison. It would be hard to find an example of someone with such willpower and focus (other that perhaps Gandhi). And with all of this, as we have been noting, Mandela refused to take credit as an individual for his achievements. He remained humble and never took himself too seriously. Perhaps we should add Collin’s insights to our model of Theory A leadership, much as William Ouchi brought in American models of leadership when formulating his Theory Z.