The South African Rugby Team become world champions and the pride of their nation once again. Mandela encourages the post-apartheid country to embrace their countrymen, reject division & revenge. Taking the losing Springbok Rugby team under his wing, he inspires the members through his friendship & mentoring of its captain, François. His administration, the community, and nation who once hated this man, see him set an example to all his people of forgiveness, leadership, and reunification.
Power & Influence It is much easier to influence someone on an individual, personal level. Figure out who needs to be influenced early on...with the “ soft strategy” of persuasion and interaction (Nikolova & Devinney, 2009). Ma ndela perceived immediately who he needed to influence on the rugby team: their captain.
Conflict Resolution Conflict resolution is helped when team members are assigned who have relevant experience, and are not just included out of convenience, or expectation because of a relationship or intimacy with the leader. Building trust is key to performance and for resolving conflicts. Trust in both directions - trust in the leadership, and within the team itself. (Behfar , Peterson, Mannix, and Trochim, 2008) As soon as he comes to power, President Mandela assigns the experienced white security force from the former administration to work with his personal (native African) body guards - much to everyone’s surprise and initial discomfort. Mandela works to gain the trust of both sides, white and black Africans. He gains the respect and confidence of rugby team Captain François, to influence and inspire him to greatness, and to help unite a divided nation through their beloved game.
Power & Influence Minority team members are trusting inside their group, but have trouble trusting persons outside their minority group, and influence other members to act the same way. But a minority member can overcome his bias with intentionality of purpose, and with self-awareness learn to control his reactions, gain acceptance in, and influence over the group (Adams & Anantatmula, 2010). Individual team members who are part of a strong, positive group will internalize the positivity as part of the group identity (Adams & Anantatmula, 2010). The black and white South African communities did not trust one another until Mandela seized the opportunity to bring them together, cause them to work together, overcome biases, set examples of acceptance for the country, and therefore influence their country for the good of all. Members of the Springbok Rugby team took the encouraging cues offered by the captain for their example and began to believe in their own inner strength, endurance, and ability as a team to conquer their opponent.
Power & Influence When a leader demonstrates that he has the team’s best interest, or in this case, nation, at heart rather than self- aggrandizement, others will acquiesce to his leadership (servant leadership). (Adams & Anantatmula, 2010).
“What’s your philosophy on leadership?” - President Mandela “By example. I have always thought to lead by example, Sir.” - François
Group Performing Intelligence Norming Group Mood Group Emotion Storming Social Identity Forming Self-Identity
“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” Uploaded on Feb 21, 2010 by suvendu sekhar sabat " Invictus " is a short poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). It was written in 1875 and first published in 1888. Nelson Mandela had the poem written on a scrap of paper on his prison cell while he was incarcerated. Standard YouTube License Movie: Invictus
References Adams, S. L., & Anantatmula, V. (2010). Social and behavioral influences on team process. Project Management Journal , 41(4), 89-98. doi:10.1002/pmj.20192 Behfar, K. J., Peterson, R. S., Mannix, E. A., & Trochim, W. K. (2008). The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: A close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes. Journal Of Applied Psychology , 93(1), 170-188. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.170 Levi, D. J. (2017). Group dynamics for teams (5th ed.) [Kindle version]. Nikolova, N., & Devinney, T . M. (2009). Influence and power dynamics in client- consultant teams. Journal of Strategy and Management, 2 (1), 31-55. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.bellevue.edu/10.1108/17554250910948695 Videos: Eastwood, C. (Director, Producer). (2010). Invictus . U.S.A.: Warner Bros. Pictures. (2009) MasterClass LLP. (2012, October 12). Powerful learning from this scene in Invictus: What is your philosophy on leadership? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQhns5AwAkA sabat, S. S. (2010, February 21). Invictus - Poem that inspired a nation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/FozhZHuAcCs Warner Movies on Demand. (2013, October 12). Invic tus - Trailer [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsTht3KodqI
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