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Nelson Mandela

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Nelson Mandela’s Values
It will be hard to believe if a person says “A man who served twenty seven years in prison, turned out to be one of the greatest presidents our world has seen”. Well this did actually happen and this former president is still living today. Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Transkei, South Africa, he was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in the 1940s. Mandela was jailed for 27 years for acts of sabotage against the South African state, and shortly after his release from prison he led a multi-racial party for the first time ever in South Africa’s history. By doing this he was elected as the first black/democratic president of South Africa. Throughout his years as a president he has been widely …show more content…

Throughout his battle against apartheid and helping to bring democracy to South Africa, Mandela adopted a democratic leadership style (Johnson).And according to Johnson “Democratic leaders set policies through group discussion and decision, encouraging and helping group members to interact, requesting the cooperation of others” and this was exactly what Mandela did (Johnson).
Mandela’s other key value that supported his leadership and democratic style was his strong disapproval for injustice. Mandela never tolerated injustice; he believed that justice was the only path to success. For instance, when Mandela got to Robin Island where he was to be imprisoned, he was told to jog to the prison gate. He firmly refused and started a hunger strike with other inmates to condemn the condition they were living in. This worked out in their favor and the conditions improved (Hume). This example highlights Mandela’s value for denouncing injustice and oppression. Nonetheless, Mandela believed Consensus to be the superior decision making process to build commitment and motivation in group members toward group objectives. Using Consensus meant that justice would be served at its best when making a decision and Mandela fully supported this process (Johnson).
Ultimately, Nelson Mandela is viewed as a revolutionary leader for his ability to empower and motivate others using his strong regard for consensus and the

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