10 Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela

1. Be the Change you want to see!
(Being a leader calls for greater integrity, like Madiba, you have to lead by example and make a track where none has ever walked before.)

2. Choose collaboration over retaliation 

3. Always speak the truth

4. Patience

5. Courage is not the absence of fear – inspire others to move beyond it.
 (Showing team members that you aren’t intimidated by the
challenge will inspire them to overcome challenges.)

6. Lead from the back. 
(Don’t get into a power play over who is the leader. Persuade
uncooperative team members to take responsibility and make them
think it’s their idea.)

7. Know Your Enemy- find something your adversary is interested in.
(By finding a topic or activity a potential adversary is interested in
and becoming knowledgeable of that subject, you can open a
dialogue that can lead to a willingness to listen and possible
acceptance of your ideas.)

7.2 Keep Your Friends Close and Your Rivals Even Closer.
(Using charm and friendliness is more effective than direct
confrontation or acting bossy. By treating “adversaries” with the
same respect you treat your friends, you will gain their trust and
hopefully their loyalty.)

8. Nothing is black or white. 
(Some situations are full of contradictions and competing interests.
Every problem has many causes and many solutions. Realizing this
allows you to keep an open mind to the possibilities and preserve
the participation of everyone involved.)

9. Lead from the front. 
(Once given the role of a leader, it is a position to be respected,
especially by you. It is important that you don’t get too far ahead of
your base supporters who put their faith in you.)

10. Appearances Matter—and remember to smile. 
(Similar to “Don’t let them see you sweat,” a smile can be very
disarming. People who use intimidation to get an edge on a
situation usually don’t expect a response, and if they do, they
usually expect their rival to respond in kind with intimidation.
Acting unfazed and even friendly to a rival sends a message that
you’re not intimidated; you are confident and in control.)