MINDSPEAK SERIES – MADIBA - THE FORGIVING LEADER NIRANJAN GIDWANI How many of us have seen the film Invictus?

 

After his 27-year imprisonment and subsequent election as President

of South Africa, Nelson Mandela faced the task of unifying a country

divided by race. Only months since the end of Apartheid, divisions still

existed between the country's whites and blacks, something Mandela

noticed during an international rugby match. He realized that his

country’s black supporters were cheering the opposing team when

their white “Springboks” came on to the field.

In 1995, after years of sporting isolation, South Africa hosted the

Rugby World Cup. At that time Mandela’s supporters had demanded

that the white-dominated rugby team be dismantled and renamed.

But Mandela being the person he was, he resisted the temptation. He

thought long and hard. He felt that if he did so, it would only create

more fear and racial paranoia in the Afrikaner population. He instead

decided to use the power of sport to unite the nation.

The Springboks’ World Cup campaign had started with an aspirational

slogan that had a clear message: ‘One Team, One Country’. Mandela

spoke at length with Pienaar, who was the captain of the rugby team,

and told him how ordinariness can be lifted when the captain leads by

example. He gave Pienaar a crumpled piece of paper that had inspired

Mandela during his 27 years in prison during the apartheid regime.

The paper contained a poem by the English author William Ernest

Henley. The speaker in the poem proclaims his strength in the face of

adversity:

My head is bloody, but unbowed…

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

The South African team went on to defy odds to make it to the final of

the Rugby World Cup. But in the final they faced the might of the

heavily-favored New Zealand team.

A few minutes before the final, as the South African team huddled

together in the change room, there was a knock on the door. It was

“Madiba”, as Mandela was fondly called. He wore a Springboks t-shirt

and he shook Pienaar’s hand, then turned around to reveal that he

wore ‘6’ on his jersey. “6” was the South African captain’s number.

Madiba’s gesture galvanized the whole team who went on to beat

New Zealand in the final. That victory, Pienaar said, was not for the

60,000 fans in the Ellis Park stadium that day but for 43 million South

Africans. Mandela used rugby to unite a divided nation.

After Nelson Mandela became President, one day he asked some

members of his close security protection to stroll with him in the city,

and then decided have lunch at one of its restaurants. They sat in one

of the downtown restaurants and all of them asked for some food of

their choice. After a while, the waiter brought them their requests.

While they were waiting and talking about various issues, Mandela

noticed that there was someone sitting right in front of his table,

waiting for his food. He told one of his security personnel: ‘Go and ask

that person to join us and eat with us’. The security person went and

conveyed the same to the man. The man brought up his food and sat

by Mandela’s side. While eating, his hands were trembling constantly.

When everyone had finished their food, the man quietly and

nervously left.

One of the security personnel said to Mandela: ‘The man was

apparently quite sick. His hands trembled as he ate.’ ‘No, not at all,’

said Madiba. ‘This man was the guard of the prison where I was jailed.

Often, after the torture I was subjected to, I used to scream and ask

for a little water. The very same man used to come every time and

instead of giving me water, he would urinate on my head. I found him

scared, trembling, expecting me to reciprocate as I now hold the

office of president…but this is not part of my character nor a part of

my ethics!

The mentality of retaliation destroys states, the mentality of

tolerance builds nations, organizations and families. The weak can

never forgive…forgiveness is the attribute of the strong".

Years ago, when I used to travel to Johannesburg, I met people who

considered Mandela a traitor for not advocating and leading a

campaign of revenge against the former apartheid perpetrators in

South Africa. While thinking about this I realized that leaders, even

when doing what they consider right and morally just, will not always

be accepted by everyone. Leadership is a hard journey.

The lesson I draw from Mandela’s life is that leadership requires

courage in the face of a humble acceptance of one’s inability to be

perfect. What matters is you do your best.