Introduction
The real-life story of a leader called Nelson Mandela, together with his efforts to unite South Africans, is the overall inspiration for the film Invictus. Mandela’s new role as president presents several challenges for Mandela’s aim of eradicating racial prejudice and trying to unite his country. As the nation of South Africa prepares to host and televise the Rugby World Cup through 1995, Mandela believes he could indeed bring the country’s people together through the game of rugby. Founded by the existing Afrikaners people, the Springboks (South Africa’s national rugby team) are predominately made up of white players only. The entire black community despises it because it symbolizes Apartheid at that time. In an attempt to close the divide between these two swaths of societal structure, Mandela has launched several initiatives. He utilizes the ‘Springboks,’ it is national team’s unifying emblem, to his benefit as a unique transformational leader. The leadership style focuses on four critical aspects of transformative leadership: idealized-based influence, charismatic leadership, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Mandela showcased the four dimensions: personality, core values, and beliefs, self-awareness and others, problem-solving ability, expertise, wisdom, and experience. Moreover, there are three core leadership principles, including creativity and imagination, time management, encouragement, and inspiration for one to be a better leader. Transformational leaders like Mandela have the power to change people’s mindsets by inspiring them to believe in their visions. Leadership concepts are also essential in the everyday life of a leader. The concepts include followers, communications, leaders, and situations. Every aspect is covered well in the movie Invictus.
According to Complexity Leadership-based Theory, leadership must work throughout all stages of a complex system. Complexity leadership entails a contextual and participatory procedure that addresses the leadership style. While the approach highlights the function of interpersonal interactions within the workplace, it also demonstrates how important it is for leaders to facilitate change. In contrast to linear causation, complexity theory looks at all aspects of an existing system rather than just a tiny portion. Thus, it is used in the workplace to understand better how effective firms can acquire a competitive edge via leadership strategies and directions.
Transformational Leadership
When followers are moved beyond their self-interest by idealistic influence, intellectual stimulation, inspiration, or individualized consideration, they are a part of an entire transformational leadership team (Ullah & Khan, 2020). Thus, leaders who have a clear goal and often work tirelessly to make that goal a reality inspire everyone around them to do the same. In the film Invictus, the leader, Nelson Mandela’s character, demonstrates a Transformational leadership style. Nelson Mandela gets elected as the head of state of South Africa, his first office since completing 27 years behind bars for the crime of Apartheid. Mandela has the difficult task of bringing the citizens of South Africa together after decades of Apartheid. As the nation’s first black president, he must strike a balance between the goals of the Black community, which has long been repressed by racism, and the anxieties of the entire White community.
Racism was rife throughout his time, and Mandela wanted to do rid of it. After arriving at the workplace, he sets up an appointment with his colleagues to explain his vision for “United” South Africans (Eastwood, 2009, 0:09:14-0:10:51). Mandela reassures the White House personnel, especially the white staff members, that working for the new administration will not be as frightening as they had imagined. For those embracing his vision and who have the guts to remain, he subsequently urges them to do so. As he assumes command and formulates a strategy to achieve consensus amongst his workers, he is laser-focused on doing his job well.
Transformational leaders put the greater good ahead of their interests and “focus on what one could do for their nation” rather than “highlight what one’s country could do for them” (Ullah & Khan, 2020). By hiring four white guards and explaining to the visibly upset Jason, the Chief of Security operations, the reasoning for his choice that “The Rainbow-based Nation begins there,” Mandela is attempting to eradicate racism. This act could be observed throughout the entire movie from 0:14:46 to 0:15:47. “Forgiveness begins here,” Mandela says when Jason argues that the recruits are untrustworthy, “The soul is freed by forgiveness. Thus, it eliminates the dread. The reason it iss so effective is because of this” (Eastwood, 2009). The correct thing to get done is enact the change directly from his absolute authority, and Mandela works tirelessly for the cause.
In yet another case, when there existed considerable resistance from the entire Sports Council to strip the whole Springboks of their distinctive white uniforms, his tremendous mentality as an excellent leader was demonstrated. But Mandela is firm and persuades them to keep the ‘Springboks’ logo and name, arguing that now was never the right time for petty vengeance, but rather for uniting to forge a united South Africa. Mandela convinces the entire committee to pardon the white ethnic group for their previous actions and to reevaluate their choice by holding a second referendum on the issue. This particular component of Mandela’s leadership exemplifies his participative approach to governance. Even though he was well aware that this could upset his supporters, he labored for the broader welfare of the country. According to Ullah & Khan (2020), Mandela persuaded his fellow followers past their immediate or sudden self-interest by using “inspirational motivation and mental stimulation.” In a particular action sequence, which takes place during an entire rugby competition, he expresses gratitude to those who continued to wave the country’s flag amidst security concerns. His overall actions indicate that Mandela is a modest and obedient individual. Every team member must be identified and receive the appropriate acknowledgment and praise for any leader (Phillips, 2022). Mandela goes to great lengths to get to know every member of the entire South African-based Rugby team and wishes them all the best of luck ahead of their tournament. Not only is the whole team participants’ confidence get boosted as a result of their accomplishments, but they will be motivated to perform even better throughout their future problems and projects as well.
People are moved by Nelson Mandela’s overall charismatic-based leadership style. Francois Pienaar, the designated Springboks’ commanding officer/captain, joins him for a cup of hot tea to talk leadership (Eastwood, 2009, 0:48:47-0:51:41). Pienaar’s struggles as the team captain are acknowledged by Mandela, who questions him about the leadership-based philosophy and the manner or strategic stance he motivates his squad to work hard and become the best. The piece of writing “Invictus,” written in the late 1800s, served as an overall inspiration for him while imprisoned inside Robben Island. “People including us need or require inspiration altogether, Francois,” Mandela adds, “Because we should all go above and beyond to build this nation” (Eastwood, 2009). Throughout the wake of meeting Mandela, Pienaar’s perspective on winning the entire Rugby World Cup has shifted. From his standpoints, as readers can deduce, Mandela was a visionary leader who valued each person’s unique perspective. Rather than boasting about his accomplishments, Mandela lauds Francois to lead the entire team towards victory and win it (Eastwood, 2009, 2:05:17). It will be easier for an organization to adapt to change if a leader has these characteristics.
Ancona’s Approach
Mandela utilized Ancona’s approach throughout his leadership style. When it comes to building connections, relating to what entails bringing more people close. Therefore, to do this, one must be able to pay attention to and understand whatever other individuals are saying. That is when they will be able to unite people around their ideals. Sense-making is shared in Professor Ancona’s approach. As a result, the presence of a leader could be comforting to staff. This act informs staff and clients that the institution’s administration is devoted to and effectively managing its present tasks, an essential quality for a competent leader. People worry regarding how they would get affected in an emergency; thus, as a consequence, they would often overlook their responsibilities to commiserate with and vent their frustrations with other work colleagues. Mandela becomes an outstanding exemplary leader who tries to connect with his followers and maintain excellent communication channels. Frequent press briefings and forthrightly addresses to the South African people during times of crisis are some of the ways he accomplishes this goal. He speaks in a laid-back manner, but his confidence shines through.
Visioning and inspiring are two aspects that need to be part of a leader. Leaders should be highly articulate to provide a clear image of whatever the future holds in store and have the power to inspire others. Thus, leaders should guarantee that their overall visions are founded upon the principles they embrace and the corporation’s objectives as a collective unit. As showcased by Mandela, problems and triumphs should constantly be tackled with a “us mentality” to create a feeling of cooperation and cohesiveness. The art of inventing is a notable aspect of leadership explained by Ancona. Creating innovative solutions could indeed assist the leaders in moving an institution forward by enabling others to become more creative and innovative. This act could help the entire organization move forward, as showcased by Francois through Nelson Mandela.
Bolman and Deal’s Approach
Bolman and Deal (2017) proposed that leaders must look upon and address organizational-based difficulties from four viewpoints called “frames.” Through their opinion, if any leader functions with simply a single habitual/occasional frame of future references, the leader risks becoming unsuccessful. The four frameworks they offered involve Human Resources, Structural, Symbolic, and Political frames. Leaders need to maintain an open mind regarding leadership and never limit themselves to a single framework (van der Haar et al., 2017). As a ruler, it is up to one to determine the most appropriate behavior in any situation or organization. Making sure they ask the necessary queries and identify the significant elements is more important than utilizing the exact frame of reference in all cases will be a mistake.
In the movie Invictus, Mandela effectively used the Bolman and Deal approach to address issues that affect South Africans and the Rugby national team. Mandela was swift in addressing these essential frameworks, namely Human resources, structural, symbolic, and political. Structural is a Frame that concentrates on transformation’s apparent ‘expertise.’ It is primarily a job-focused Frame. The frame centers on planning, establishing achievable goals, defining tasks, duties, and overall reporting lines, negotiating benchmarks and timeframes and setting policy and controls.
The Human Resource Frame lays more focus on individuals’ needs. The frame mainly aims to offer staff the ability and chance to execute their tasks effectively and satisfy their requirements for personal interaction, self-development, and job happiness (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Specifically, the Political-based Frame highlights and addresses the question of people and interest-based groups occasionally needing clashing (and frequently hidden) initiatives, which is particularly problematic when expenditures are restricted, and the organization is forced to make tough decisions. A Symbolic-based Frame tackles individuals’ desires for the feeling of significance and meaningfulness. It concentrates on motivating employees and making the institution’s plan feel relevant and unique. The frame includes building an inspiring vision/future and recognizing excellent achievement through workplace celebrations.
Conclusion
Transformational leadership becomes essential for any organization to undergo a significant shift. As depicted throughout the film Invictus, Mandela can bring together the country’s two distinct ethnic groups through the sport of rugby game. He draws his people to him because of his personality and vision/goal. Francois, Springboks’ captain, is an example of transactional leadership. Francois admires Mandela and expresses his dream. He takes the initiative and leads the entire team by example through his desire to win the tournament.
References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations (6th edition). Jossey-Bass.
Eastwood, C. (2009). Invictus. Warner Bros.
Phillips, L. D. (2022). Implicit followership traditions in the new testament: Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. In Followership and Faith at Work (pp. 71-91). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Web.
Ullah, Z., & Khan, M. Z. (2020).The impact of transactional and transformational leadership on job-related outcomes in the nursing profession. Sarhad Journal of Management Sciences, 6(1), 143-160. Web.
van der Haar., Selma., Koeslag-Kreunen., Mieke.,Euwe., Eline.,Segers., & Mien (2017). Team leader structuring for team effectiveness and team learning in Command-and-Control teams. Small-Group Research, 48(2), 215–248. Web.