Comparing Leadership Styles Of Gandhi And Mandela Assessment 2 Answer

(TOPIC- COMPARING LEADERSHIP STYLES OF GANDHI AND MANDELA)

II. Abstract 

This research paper has involved comparison and contrast between the leadership qualities between the two greatest leaders, such as Gandhi and Mandela. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the views of life, different evidence related to their leadership style, along with how their leadership styles impacted their followers. The research paper "centres on the fact that effective leadership skills of Gandhi and Mandela were critically effective to introduce youth movements for establishing social justice". The part of supporting evidence centres on the key leadership roles of Gandhi as well as Mandela and how the leadership qualities were relevant to precede with different types of movements.  It has been mentioned that Gandhi followed the "Satyagraha" which means follow the truth as he believed that there were no stronger weapons than truth. On the other hand, Mandela anticipated his reaction when freedom was offered in order to exchange for abdicating the position of the government. Additionally, the significance of the research has been presented, and the conclusion has been drawn. The recommendations have been developed based on how the leadership qualities can be reflected in future leaders and what kinds of benefits can be attained by future researchers. 

IV. Introduction

a. Opening statement

Leadership style is an effective method for a set of direction, plans implementation as well as involves in motivating people. Gandhi and Mandela both have a strong belief in truthfulness, along with providing enough efforts to achieve harmony and unity. In the case of Gandhi and Mandela, they were using a democratic leadership style to achieve their goals. Due to belief in truthfulness, they treated their opponents with extreme politeness and kindness. Leaders have some basic characteristics including approaching sense, motivation to visualize, inspiration and emotion and so on. In order to lead a nation as a politician, Gandhi evolved a way to find out a side of human nature. Nelson Mandela focused on reconciliation as a prime work in his presidency.

b. Purpose

This research paper is going to discuss problem statements regarding their leadership style, views of life, different evidence related to their leadership style, how their leadership styles impacted on our nation.

Problem 

Leading a nation is defined as developing the unity between each and every people. It is quite different from any other leadership skill and difficult to comprehend on philosophical aspects.  The policies and the styles differ from each leader, and it may clash between different theories and their policies (Garfield et al., 2019). Gandhi has followed the way of peace as the leading policy; therefore, he was far away from the violation. On the other hand, Nelson Mandela believed in armed revolution and was known as the communist terrorist. Thus it is a problem of leadership on the perspective of political views. The challenges a leader face in leading a nation is not that much easy. Communication can be a major problem for the leader, and that must be mitigated in terms of uniting the whole nation under the same umbrella.  

Research questions

1. What are the views of the leadership style of Gandhi and Mandela?
2. How did they impact on nations?
3. How these leaders applied their views for the betterment of mankind and social equalities?
4. What are the ways to reflect their leadership styles in the modern context?

C. Thesis

This study centres on the fact that effective leadership skills of Gandhi and Mandela were critically effective to introduce youth movements for establishing social justice. Their views were also effective to show a critical path to youths. 

V. Discussion

a. Assumptions

Leadership is important for organising the nation, which can help to push the team or nation to improve their specific qualities and achieve the goals. The leaders can influence the team and motivate them to be involved in a movement. The research paper is going to highlight the roles of leaders in political history to achieve particular goals. For instance, the leadership views of Gandhi and Mandela has been reflected in this paper. Secularism and the building of nations are the key focus areas of leaders, and this aspect has been reflected in the ideas of Mandela and Gandhi.  

b. Definition of the term

The equality between the countrymen must be the key focus of the leaders, and this theory had been followed by Gandhi at his time. The theory of equality in terms of the equal rights of everyone across caste and creed is explored in this research paper. Apart from this, the secularism was also the main motto of the leaders, and thus it can be defined as the compact nation created beyond the religious beliefs (Zuckerman and Shook, 2017). On the other hand, political leaders can influence the government and force the government to achieve the common rights of people as Mandela followed this rule.

C. Background

The role of every mass leader has been reflected in the dismal situation of an unstable society. The leaders have taken the responsibility to unite the nation as Nelson Mandela has reformed his nation by leading the Apartheid movement in South Africa. The common people needed proper guidance from an efficient leader, and in this situation, Mandela brought the nation under control. On the other hand, Gandhi was involved in the freedom movement of India but in a different way by following the non-violence strategy (Jahanbegloo, 2019). The Salt Movement took part in 1930 under the leadership of Gandhi, and this movement was against British ruling.  

d. Supporting Evidence

I. Leadership styles of Gandhi

a. Ways through which his leadership reflects on nations 

Gandhi was not a political leader or philosopher but has influenced many people by his positive point of view. He always believed in peace and nonviolent movement and solution through discussion. His political view towards the nation impacted on the freedom movement of India in many ways. He believed that "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" and this was his example of non-violence strategy of leadership (Goalcast, 2020). Apart from this, he always influenced his followers to maintain honesty and truthfulness as he believed that being clear from inside can enhance the motivation of achieving the goals. It reflects the authentic leadership quality of Mahatma Gandhi. As stated by Northouse (2014), authentic leaders are those who build their relationship with the followers by through honesty whereas the leadership approach is built upon the ethical foundation.  Keeping in mind the aspects of authentic leaders, it can be said that Gandhi followed authentic leadership style throughout his entire career in the pre-independent Indian politics as well as a freedom fighter. He had the idea of democracy as tone of the pillars of leading a nation, and he believed in that democratic system which regimes less and thinks for the benevolence of the countrymen. Along with this, Gandhi followed the "Satyagraha" which means follow the truth as he believed that there were no stronger weapons than truth. He had introduced a new form of protesting against the British rulers by the Quit India movement in 1942.  In this movement, he has influenced the countrymen to boycott all the British goods and use the goods made in the motherland. Gandhi did not support the British colonial strategy and protested sharply against this. Apart from this, he did not support any kind of violence and criminal activity, but his way of protest was in a soft way, and this was his greatest leadership quality. He was deliberate and analytical from his way of thinking, and he influenced the countrymen by his approach of leadership power.  

b. Some movements that present his excellent guiding skills 

Gandhi always suggested his followers, to be honest, and be truthful. Leadership was the eternal quality that helped him to unite the nation under the same umbrella. It was the nonviolent movement which made him popular in order to maintain a peaceful situation in the country and the world a well. Thus he wanted his speech to be spread over the world. He had a bad experience in the aftermath of World War I and knew the suffering of the people. Thus his guiding criteria as a great leader were nonviolent (Ghosh, 2016). Apart from this, the spiritualism he has practised and suggested to his followers made him an excellent leader. His vision of transforming the social and moral degeneration distinguished him from other leaders, where morality was his first priority. In order to understand the politics of Gandhi, it is needed to comprehend the moral views and the philosophy that he had within him. It is important for every leader to motivate his followers (Vidic et al., 2016). Thus Gandhi always motivated his followers by giving them positive thinking and shared their problems at the same time. The empathy he showed for the poor that made him a renowned leader. The feeling of pain for the sufferers marked his excellence of leadership quality. The beliefs in equality that came from the South African movement regarding apartheid has an immense effect on his leadership. He was against racism, and thus he prioritised the lower class people with great respect that placed him in the throne of respect also.    

II. Leadership styles of Mandela

a. Ways through which his leadership reflects on nations 

Mandela followed a perfect influential leadership approach to motivate other people to mitigate conflicts. This leadership became influential for other members of their parties to achieve their goals. Apart from Mandela also applied individual consideration to lead their team corresponding to their ability. Nelson Mandela incorporated clear and effective communication skills, listening and learning skills and conflict management power to resolve any issues with other political parties (Nelsonmandela, 2020). One of the most important aspects of Mandela's leadership style was transformational ability.  In his leadership session, he was involved in converting an ordinary person to a completely different person. Nelson Mandela is a leader who had that ability to inspire other members. This leadership approach impacted on their nation to inspire political members to achieve their targets. In his leadership, he implemented different exceptional motivational skills, listening and learning skills as well as target-oriented attributes. Mandela showed her inspirational leadership style through his strong character and dedicative nature (Oxford Leadership, 2020). According to Northouse (2014), path-goal theory defines target-oriented leadership attributes. As per the path-goal theory, a leader develops their own leadership style based on the workplace environment and the employee needs. Even though Mandela was target-oriented, the leadership style was not achievement-oriented leadership, but more of a participative leadership approach. Mandela moves strategically along with his reaction. Mandela anticipated his reaction when freedom was offered in order to exchange for abdicating the position of the government (Fortune, 2020). In this context, Mandela stated his concerns instead of exchanging it for a political position. Besides, Nelson Mandela interpreted that multi-racial society can be achieved by South Africa if their leaders had that ability to consider each other. As a leader Nelson Mandela inspired their political members to emerge new things for minimizing conflicts among the countrymen or others. On the other hand, he had pattern-breaking ability by this he resists apartheid movement in South Africa. 

b. Some movements that present his excellent guiding skills 

Nelson Mandela was in against apartheid in order to drive protection for each and every common people in their nation. In this regard, Nelson Mandela stated that "the rainbow nation starts here". After his imprisonment, he shared his concerns about the capability of persuasion and negotiation that he often used to achieve white-minority status along with their own language. As a leader, Nelson Mandela mainly moved in the era of reconciliation (The Guardian, 2020). He believed that armed resistance could be the only option to cease these conflicts related to apartheid. Apart from this, he designed some documents for human rights in order to provide justice for any past related violation. In this regard, he empowered their political members to provide a supportive sense for other members. Mandela applied his inspirational strategy to motivate other members in order to mitigate the conflicts for apartheid (Morningsidecenter, 2020). Mandela's leadership strategy involves supporting backward community people.  Mandela incorporated his leadership approach to providing relief to the black African people. Due to this, he created a broader path for fighting against apartheid. In this aspect, he utilized mainly communication skills to make them aware initially and tried to resolve this issue by using non-violence strategy.  Mandela had a consistent ability in order to complexion equality that indicated his effective leadership style. Due to this, he was accredited as a fighter against discrimination, oppression and injustice (Vernlee99, 2020). Along with this, he acted as a social activist to provide support and motivation to other countrymen to achieve their targets. Thus it can be mentioned that Mandela's leadership style was effective enough at that time to save the countrymen from social injustice and discrimination as well as leading them to acquire social equalities.

III. Comparing the leadership skills of Mandela and Gandhi

a. The major drawbacks in leadership qualities of these great leaders 

The greatest comparison between Mandela and Gandhi's leadership was considered as non-violence. Mandela stated that protest against violence could be needed to avoid government violence. In this regard, he followed motivational skills to inspire their members for voice rising that might be impacted by their government (Morningsidecenter, 2020). In contrast, Gandhi was sharp against violence. He was focused on carrying forward non-violent protests against their government. Mandela is dignified as an effective political and determined leader, whereas Gandhi is recognized as a nationalist revival. According to their movement, Gandhi was involved in operating racial separation; in contrast, Mandela was completely against segregation (Civilsdaily, 2020). Mandela had been involved in fighting for apartheid because he was also a sufferer of his dark skin colour complexion. In this context, he favours equal priority for white and black both competition. On the other hand, Gandhi was not an active political leader because he was never involved in competing with other leaders through the process of election. In contrast, Mandela was an active politician after competing with other politicians, along with acquiring his power of independence. In this regard, Mandela was recognized as a fighter of higher-order due to his critical thinking level and prioritized countrymen issues to solve it as early as possible whereas Gandhi was not considered as a higher-order fighter due to his inappropriate focus on deriving issues (Coovadia, 2020). Gandhi mainly focused on overall social issues that negatively impacted on his leadership style. In this context, Mandela was accredited for his effective leadership style such as motivation along with participating behaviour in violence. 

b. Differential impacts of their leadership styles on nations 

In this aspect, Mandela's leadership style includes the motivational approach, communication skills as well as inspirational behaviour that are highly impacted by their nation. As per the information of INKspire (2020), Gandhi's leadership style included non-violence with respect to Satyagraha that was not as much as effective for countrymen to fight for freedom. Mandela's inspirational leadership approach was definitely effective, proving enormous support to their black complexion people. He invested enough time for implementing his strategy to fight against apartheid because he was one of the great sufferers for his black skin complexion (Civilsdaily, 2020). Gandhi was not completely determined on his work as a devoted Indian. In contrast, Mandela was highly determined about his work that helped him to encourage its members to achieve their target. In order to believe in segregation, Gandhi was not designated as an active leader in contrast; due to the nature of believing in equality, Mandela received enough priority from their countrymen that encouraged him more. As per the information of Bartleby (2020), Mandela's leadership approach can be effective in their countrymen due to motivational ability. Through motivation, he provides enough encouragement to their political members that can be influential for them. As per the information of Skip Prichard (2020), Mandela fought for discrimination, oppression as well as for injustice, whereas Gandhi was involved in racial segregation that impacted on the countrymen. Thus it can be stated that Mandela's leadership is more effective than Gandhi's leadership approach.

e. Opposing Evidence

In order to analyze the leadership style of Mandela and Gandhi, Gandhi applied his motivation strategy for increasing empowerment among their members. In this aspect, Rao (2017) has mentioned that Gandhi could have applied that motivational strategy without any partiality. On the other hand, Chasi and Levy (2016) commented that Mandela applied his motivational approach very effectively, that has an immense impact on their members to achieve their goals. As per the information of INKspire, (2020) Gandhi could have participated as an active politician that might help to perform any task more effectively. In contrast, as per the information of Nelsonmandela (2020), Mandela's leadership style was more significant at that time to help the community people to be free from racial discrimination and social injustice. As commented by Gupta et al., (2019), Gandhi had to focus on providing inspiration for violence instead of leading non-violence among other politicians. On the other hand, Mandela possessed a significant role in order to provide inspiration for taking action against injustice through violence.

f. Significance

This research can be significant in terms of analyzing the great leadership quality of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi. The ways they followed in order to influence the countrymen have been reflected in this research paper. The qualities of the leadership and their flaws have been evaluated in this paper, which helps to understand their political, social and moral aspects. The different philosophical views, such as Gandhi's nonviolent aspect and Mandela's communist activities have been found. The nonviolent movement can be followed by the leaders of present days, as Gandhi followed at his time and made him one of the eminent leaders.

VI. Conclusion

a. Restating purpose and research questions

Thus it may be concluded that the leadership strategies followed by Gandhi and Mandela can be the perfect example of leadership. This can be followed by the present leaders as they introduced the practices to lead the nation. The purpose of the research has been explained by developing the research questions.  The research has explored the leadership qualities of Gandhi and Mandela in a deep manner.

b. Restating thesis

The thesis statement has clarified that Gandhi's nonviolent views and on the other hand, Mandela's hard communist activities marked the different leadership style. At the time of dismal political situations, these two leaders have shown their extreme leadership power to control the situation.

c. Mentioning evidence

The two leaders have always tried for the betterment of the countrymen, and the purpose-made them popular leaders among them. The research paper mentions the policies which Gandhi and Mandela implied for their leadership ability that can be the salient example for the new leaders of the present world. There may be some flaws in the leadership such as Gandhi's nonviolent movement failed at that time, but it has impacted on the movement parts, and that helped in future to achieve freedom. These flaws can be eliminated by identifying the key mistakes that Gandhi made in his time.

d. Recommendation

i. For future leaders

The impact can be applied to future leaders as per the research work.  It can help future leaders to set the goals and achieve them without any partiality. The power of unifying the nation can be adopted from Gandhi and Mandela. As mentioned by Gebremedhin and Joshi, (2016), the unstable situation can be under control by applying the theories and philosophies of the lives of the two great leaders. The concept of non-violence and achieving goals in a friendly manner can be adopted by future leaders in terms of guiding the people of a country.

ii. Future researchers

The research paper can help future researchers as this contains a detailed study of leadership qualities and strategies of Mandela and Gandhi. The researchers can go in-depth on the topic of leadership strategies and help them to understand easily. They can get the necessary information from this research paper that will help them to elaborate on the point.

e. Concluding sentence

In this way, the leading skill can be adopted by the present leaders to make the nation disciplined and become the eminent persona of this time. The capability of relating the past leadership skills with the present can mark them as great leaders like Gandhi and Mandela.