When I saw the most inspirational leader of modern times on the cover page of Time Magazine (July 2008) sharing his Secrets of Leadership, even though Nelson Mandela is 90 years old and retired last century in 1999, I had to pick it up and spend the €4.20.

I bought Time, not because I expected a great insight into leadership but because here was the most inspirational leader of our time. A man able not only to lead his own followers but able to rally his adversaries and lead them also.

Mandela is a personal hero of mine ever since the day he emerged after 27 years of brutal incarceration and showed no desire for retribution rather a single minded determination to lead his country and to heal the wounds of Apartheid.

Here are Nelson Mandela’s eight leadership lessons:

Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it – The article cites as an example an airplane journey where one of the engines failed. Everyone started to panic but when they looked at Mandela he was quietly reading his newspaper, cool as a cucumber. Later after the plane had landed, Mandela told the writer, “Man, I was terrified up there!” Leaders do not need to be fearless, they just need to recognize that they are role models and need to control their emotions.

Lead from the front – but don’t leave your base behind – Mandela took a very brave step in commencing negotiations with the Apartheid regime without the backing of his colleagues and friends, whilst he was being operated on for an enlarged prostate. Once he had started he launched a campaign to persuade the ANC to back him, which they did. Mandela espouses the long run view, in that his end goal never changed but he was able to take pragmatic and opportunistic steps to achieve the inevitable.

Lead from the back – and let others believe they are in front – Mandela claims to have learned about leading from the back whilst herding cattle as a young man. His tribal leader (the Jongintaba) saw his role as leading the tribe into a consensus and as a result at meetings he was always last to speak after everyone else had their say. Mandela’s advice is not to enter the debate too early. The trick of leadership is to allow yourself to be led also.

Know your enemy – and learn about his favourite sport – Mandela spent time learning Afrikaans, the language of his oppressor and getting to understand Rugby. As a result he was able to understand their motivations and strengths as well as their weaknesses. He was also able to defuse situations by talking about his jailers beloved sport. 

Keep your friends close – and your rivals even closer – Mandela believed that embracing his rivals was a way of controlling them: they were more dangerous on their own than within his circle of influence. People act in their own interest – it is a simple fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect. The opposite is being an optimist and trusting people too much. Always put yourself in the others shoes and think of their motivations. How can we get to a win-win situation where their self interest is satisfied and we achieve our objectives. I always try and understand how salespeople get paid and then align my negotiating strategy to take advantage of this information.

Appearances matter – and remember to smile – I remember back to one of my first jobs, David Williams, my Sales Manager always wore a very smart grey suit, except when he went to exhibitions. When David went to exhibitions he always wore a bright red blazer. He stood out a mile. When I challenged him on his dress sense, he told me that it was a bit of theatre, all of the other exhibitors wore grey suits and would blend into the background. Customers always remembered David. Remember it is impossible to look scary when you smile.

Nothing is black or white – Decisions are complex, and there are always competing factors. The human brain searches for simplicity but often it does not correspond to reality. Leaders are comfortable with contradiction and are pragmatic. Mandela learned this lesson under Apartheid where debilitating moral choices were the norm, carry the hated pass or get beaten, defer to a white man or don’t get the job. As leaders carrying the moral high ground is good for the soul but not often a successful strategy.

Quitting is leading too – Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make. Here listening skills are key because if all we can do is push for our ideas and fail to listen to constructive criticism we will expend our efforts on impossible goals. Want-to-be leaders who surround themselves with yes men always come to grief in the end.