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8 Lessons of Leadership
Prof.Dr.Aung Tun Thet
Based on Richard Stengel, “Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership”, Time Magazine, p.18-24
No. 1
Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s
inspiring others to move beyond it
Leaders
• Cannot let people know that you are afraid
• Put up a front
• Pretend, and through the act of appearing fearless, inspire others
• Model for others
• Triumph over own fears
No. 2
Lead from the front – but don’t leave your base
behind
Leaders
• Take their support base with them
• Once they arrive at the beachhead, allow people to move on
• Not a “bubble gum” leader – chew it now and throw it away
Negotiation
• About tactics, not principles• Principles are immutable, but anything
to get to the goal is a tactic
Leaders
• Historical persons
• Have posterity in mind: “How will they view what we have done?”
• Take a long view
• Always play for the long run
No. 3
Lead from the back – and let others believe they
are in front
Leaders
• Don’t tell people what to do but form consensus
• Listen first, then summarize everyone’s points of view and unfurled own thoughts, subtly steering the decision in the direction wanted, without imposing
• “The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too.”
• Persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea
No. 4
Know your “enemy”
Leaders
• Learn to understand the language – the world view – of their adversaries
• Try to understand the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses
• Even the worst and crudest can be negotiated with
No. 5
Keep your friends close – and your rivals even
closer
Leaders
• Use charm to even greater effect on rivals than on allies
• Deal with those they didn’t trust by neutralizing them with charm
• Embracing rivals is a way of controlling them – more dangerous on their own than within own circle of influence
• Cherished loyalty but not obsessed by it
• Understand “People act in their own self interest” - simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect
No. 6
Appearances matter – and remember to smile
Leaders
• Understand the historical correlation between leadership and physicality
• Appearances can advance their cause
• Appreciate that symbols matter as much as substance
• Smile – dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive
No. 7
Nothing is black or white
Leaders
• Understand
• Life is never either/or
• Decisions complex, and there are always competing factors
• Looking for simple explanations is the bias of human brain, but does not correspond to reality
• Nothing is ever as straightforward as it appears
Leaders
• Comfortable with contradictions
• Pragmatist, seeing the world as infinitely nuanced
• Work out – “What is the end that I seek, and what is the most practical way to get there?
No. 8
Quitting is leading too
Leaders
• Accept defeat with humility, don’t sulk
• Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship the most difficult decision
• “Set the course, but not steer the ship”