Nelson Mandela and the Robben Island Legacy

As a leader… I have always endeavoured to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion. Oftentimes, my own opinion will simply represent a consensus of what I heard in the discussion.

Nelson Mandela  Long Walk to Freedom

 

Last November, the IMSD programme hosted three South African visitors as part of an exchange programme with the University of KwaZulu Natal’s Graduate School of Business and Leadership. Our guests, Bakhetsile Dlamini, Nolwazi Mthembu and Stan Hardman, impressed us all with their commitment to finding collaborative solutions to address South Africa’s development challenges. This emphasis on engaging with diversity owes much to the leadership of a man whom each spoke of with admiration and respect: Nelson Mandela.

Superlatives abound in nearly all references to Mandela. Following his death in December 2013, tributes to his integrity and humanity poured in from around the world. His crucial role in negotiating South Africa’s transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy was highlighted by all. Many agreed that the leadership skills that assisted this process were honed during the 18 years that Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island.

The initial years of Mandela’s captivity on Robben Island were spent with peers from the Africa National Congress (ANC) such as Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada. Later, after the Soweto uprising of 1976, this group was joined by a second more radical wave of prisoners. This younger generation, a mix of student activists and trade unionists, deeply influenced by the Black Consciousness Movement, called for a new and more militant stand against apartheid. Many of them were disappointed by what they regarded as the conservative and conciliatory views of the older ANC leaders they met on Robben Island.

Mandela did not shy away from the more confrontational stance of the new prisoners. Instead he sought to reinforce unity by encouraging lengthy, considerate and open debate. Anthony Sampson quotes Mandela as alluding to this period as follows: “Here the past literally rushes to memory and there is plenty of time for reflection. One is able to stand back and look at the entire movement from a distance and the bitter lessons of prison life force one to go all out to win the cooperation of all fellow prisoners, to learn how to see problems from the point of view of others as well, and to work smoothly with other schools of thought in the movement.”

By offering room for discourse around diverse interests, Mandela created the building blocks of change. This process of slow and purposeful discussion extended not just to prisoners but also to the wardens at Robben Island. Through a leadership style based on listening, empathy and commitment to others, collaboration between different, and often hostile, actors was encouraged. Today, as a result of the relationship that developed between them over the years, many former prisoners and wardens live and work together on the island.

In his book Leading like Madiba, Martin Kalungu Banda refers to the Robben Island miracle by which anger and pain were transformed into the raw material for the creation of the Rainbow Nation that emerged in the 1990s. This legacy, as our South African guests reinforced, is of continuing importance in addressing the country’s ongoing challenges.

At a global level too, the Robben Island legacy is something that we can learn from. The UN’s wide-ranging consultation processes for the post-2015 development agenda reinforce the importance of inclusive dialogue between diverse social actors. In order to address the pressing social, environmental and economic problems that we face, the facilitation of spaces for respectful, meaningful and sustained dialogue about our common future is more necessary than ever.


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