8 Lessons in Leadership From Nelson Mandela

Leadership lessons for creating really good trouble.

Stengel concluded the article with the following statement:

The man who walked onto Robben Island in 1964 was emotional, headstrong, easily stung. The man who emerged was balanced and disciplined. He is not and never has been introspective. I often asked him how the man who emerged from prison differed from the willful young man who had entered it. He hated this question. Finally, in exasperation one day, he said, “I came out mature.” There is nothing so rare — or so valuable — as a mature man.

Here are the first 7 lessons:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear—it’s inspiring others to move beyond it
2. Lead from the front—but don’t leave your base behind
3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front
4. Know your enemy—and learn about his favorite sport
5. Keep your friends close—and your rivals even closer
6. Appearances matter—and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black or white

Like Miki, I encourage you to read the whole article. To encourage you to do that I have purposefully left number 8 out so that you will go and read the article by clicking here.

Photo Credit: tribute to Mandela by http://flickr.com/photos/observatoryleak/436392502/