Few people have had such a lasting influence in the realm of influence and leadership as Nelson Mandela. Mandela committed his life to battling for justice and equality after being born in 1918 into a community that was severely impacted by South Africa's apartheid system. He took a different approach because he recognized that when people take responsibility for their actions, real change occurs.

Consider that you are attempting to teach a bird to fly. It will only learn to soar if you encourage it to spread its wings, even if you push it off the branch all day. Mandela's ideas on persuasion and leadership are very similar to this. He thought it was more effective to lead people toward a common objective when they felt their opinions were valued.

Mandela applied this idea to many facets of his career. He frequently found himself at odds with leaders who had different ideas about how to bring about equality and peace during the negotiations that preceded South Africa's first democratic elections. Mandela would listen intently and then gently steer discussions toward compromise rather than imposing his views on others. By doing this, he was able to give process participants a sense of ownership and give them the impression that their opinions were valued and taken into consideration when making decisions.

In addition to promoting unity, this strategy increased mutual respect and trust between individuals who had been estranged for many years. It's similar to sowing seeds of change in various minds; each person tends to their own concept, which eventually develops into a movement for change as a whole.

Nelson Mandela demonstrated by his words and deeds that persuasiveness, not force, is frequently the key to effective leadership. He contributed to the development of a generation of leaders who felt confident and convinced that they could influence their own destiny by encouraging others to take charge.