Nelson Mandela – in death as in life – showed that leadership is a very human activity. It is clear, says Tony Frost, a South Africa leadership strategist and one of own Global Sustain Ability Leaders, had the privilege of spending time with the man they called “Madiba”. It is clear that he wanted a better world for all. The Guardian also hopes that reflections on Mandela’s life will embolden all of us to become “more inspired, audacious, and active in envisioning and working to realise a new set of low carbon set of economies, and in the process, societies”. Read More

Special report to mark the death and life of Nelson Mandela:

ABC Carbon Express Editor Ken Hickson invited Tony Frost, a strategic leadership consultant and a former head of WWF in South Africa, to share his experience of Nelson Mandela and the legacy of the man and the outstanding leader.

Tony met Mandela – and spent the best part of a day with him in 1998 – around the time he announced he would not be standing for a second term as South Africa president.  Tony went to see him to discuss the possibility of building a special school.

From their time together, Tony says he learned a lot about leadership – both style and substance as well as humility. “He never distanced himself from those he led; he drew them close. He never spoke down to people; he treated them as equals” says Tony.

While Mandela’s concern was always for people and their rights, he also showed an interest in the natural world. Tony remarked: “When you spend that amount of time locked away from it (the natural world) you would tend to really appreciate what it has to offer when you get the chance again!”

Please read Tony’s personal account of his encounter, as well as what Guardian Professional has to say about the leadership legacy of Nelson Mandela.

Leadership is a very human activity!

By Tony Frost, Sirocco Strategy Management

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the man, died last week. Nelson Mandela, the ideal, will live forever!

So many millions of words are going to be written and spoken about him that I feel at once humbled, and energised, by the thought of adding to the memory of his legacy.

I was one of those extraordinarily fortunate people who met Madiba. Indeed, I spent an entire day with him; just him and I.  Although that is not strictly speaking true. With Madiba you were never truly alone. I guess that was one of the challenging realities of his life.  He could not have had too many moments to himself after his release from Robben Island! And perhaps this was also one of the major sacrifices he made for all of us; his dedication meant that there was always someone wanting him, his time, his energy.

In his presence you felt that there was no-one else in the world more important than you at that moment. And he was so interested in everything about you, and, especially, your family. He was fascinated by South Africans, his countrymen, where they came from, what they were doing to build the nation, how they were educating themselves.

The day I met him I flew to Mthatha and then on to Qunu, to his home. It was early morning. He came out personally to meet me and welcome me. I greeted him in my very broken Xhosa. This made his expressive eyes shine! He asked me where I had learned Xhosa and when I told him that I had learned my little modicum of the language on the other side of the mountains we were facing in the west, he immediately said, “Well then you are a member of the Mthembu clan!” In that way he also drew me in close to him and to his family in such a personal and unique manner.

We can learn so much from these few simple acts – he never distanced himself from those he led; he drew them close. He never spoke down to people; he treated them as equals. He was never too busy or too important to engage with you; he made it personal and intimate.

We had a really busy day and we had much to do and there is so much I learnt about leadership that day that is worth sharing. Suffice to say he was intensely interested in the world around him. He wanted a better world for all. He was abundantly aware of our total dependence on the goods and services provided to us by a very generous Planet.

Fundamentally though, his focus was on his people and the importance of their leaders leading. This is made so clear in the latest movie about his life, ”Long Walk to Freedom”.

He had to make a speech that day to thousands who had walked, driven, and ridden many kilometres to listen to their hero.

When he stood everybody stood. Everybody cheered. Then there was quiet. Silence.

Madiba spoke. He spoke for an hour. No notes. He spoke from his heart with passion and he spoke personally to the crowd.  It was almost as if he speaking to each person directly. He made it clear that he understood their needs and their suffering. He challenged the crowd. He said that they must take on the responsibility of changing their own lives and circumstances. He explained why charity would not help them in the long run. He told them to challenge their leaders to do the right thing and to fight for change for their lives. He explained that their leaders were leaders only to serve the people they were responsible for leading.

He emphasised that we must educate our children.

Perhaps the most important lessons are to be found in his sheer humanity; his ability to make himself ordinary enough for anyone to feel comfortable talking to him; his incredible humility; his wonderful capacity for not listening to the PR about him and to stay grounded and focussed.

And now at the end of an extraordinary life so well lived we are reminded that he lived and died completely in tune with the values he had held dear his whole life – consistent in purpose, honourable in execution right to the end.

Source: www.siroccostrategy.com

Sustainability leaders can learn valuable lessons from Nelson Mandela

Before Mandela was an international statesman, he was a dissident resisting the status quo – sustainability needs more people who question

Sissel Waage in Guardian Professional, (12 December 2013):

The past few days has offered an inspirational series of articles and blogs about Nelson Mandela. His life was certainly worthy of reflection.

Of all the words offered in his memory, those perhaps most essential to remember are those that are most likely to be forgotten. Before he was an internationally-known statesman, he was a dissident, someone who questioned the status quo.

As 2013 ends, along with the end of another set of United Nations climate negotiations, it strikes me that the life and legacy of Mandela offers up deeply resonant insights.

We need more people who are both questioners of the status quo and visionaries, in this case visionaries of climate-compatible economies and businesses that do not bring about the ecosystem malfunction risk that we face today. More highly adept, morally focused negotiators who are uncompromising in a vision of a low-carbon world are vital, and yet open to multiple pathways to bring it into reality. We need more statesmen and stateswomen who are laser-focused on the end vision of a climate-compatible society and economy.

In addition, these leaders must remain focused on climate-friendly economies while understanding the essential roles of compelling personal stories that go hand in hand with clear symbols of unity and common experiences to rally around. We need leaders who will play a role in supporting and proudly co-creating climate-friendly communities, economies, and societies – which can reform everyone’s sense of not only what is possible, but what is desirable. Think of Mandela’s engagement with the South African World Cup rugby victory, recently depicted in the film Invictus.

The reality is that many more people must use their energies in a far greater range of ways to stop producing so much carbon and greenhouse gases. We need to maintain the natural sources of storing carbon and greenhouse gases such as in forests, peatlands, soils, and many other well-functioning natural ecosystems.

There’s need for leaders who support the many existing approaches for addressing deforestation and embracing incentives that keep forests standing, such as REDD+. Simply put, we need more people joining the “low carbon parade” – some quietly effecting change, and others noisily demanding it as well as creating it.

We need people who are holding up a mirror and reminding us – like Mandela did – that to be fully human is to embrace the ideals that are sacred not just in many constitutions around the world, but in tenets that inform families, friendships, and even communities. It is this humanity that Mandela embodied.

Ultimately, climate change is about disenabling life as we know it on this planet. Those deemed dissidents (even troublemakers) are people who are laying out audacious visions and acting to see them realised. In the case of climate change, these visions of the future include: energy efficiencies; power from renewable sources; economies that have replaced toxic chemicals, fossil fuels, and large-scale ecosystem destruction, with renewable, healthy inputs; and economic relationships that pay wages so people can care for themselves and their families without additional government support.

Many of the puzzle pieces exist and have been shown at small scale. Now, it is about scaling up and transitioning. And just because there is no detailed blueprint for how to achieve the full vision, does mean it lacks validity. Just as a lack of clarity in 1964 around how to transition to an integrated South Africa did not invalidate Mandela’s, the ANC’s, or others’ vision for the future of the nation.

Mandela’s legacy begs the question: what is the vision toward which we each (individually and collectively) are working? Is it inclusive and forward looking or is it something more limited? Are we acting to move towards the realisation of a stable, relatively predictable climate with robust, resilient ecosystems and economic systems?

And what does this mean for business? It is more simple than it may appear. And it is more evident than it might seem, at least in assertions and goals set by some corporate leaders. The key is spread of corporate support for goals as well as strongly incentivising implementation.

Simply put, being a low carbon business champion means that companies set at least carbon neutral, or even carbon negative, goals. It means that corporate leaders set no net impact, or net positive impact, goals, in terms of biodiversity, water, and ecosystem services, as well as in terms of net positive social impacts. It means that companies are serious about measuring, internally taxing, avoiding, and aggressively managing – as well as designing out of the system – all such impacts. Perhaps none of these aims are unachievable. Yet, all currently live in corporate boardrooms and corporate policies.

Many companies now have a carbon neutral goal. Kingfisher, among others, has net positive impact goals. Coca Cola has a net positive impact on water goal. Puma is measuring environmental profits and losses. Microsoft has an internal carbon tax. The list goes on. Some days it feels that you no longer need to read the Onion to end up scratching your head and asking ‘Is that so?’

The take-away should be that the parade of people who question the status quo is growing. It also needs to grow far more, and accelerate leapfrog action – that moves us quickly, within this decisive decade, to a low carbon set of societies and economies.

The questioners of the status quo (even the troublemakers) are beginning to appear all around us – just as research has shown the importance of action at all levels of society to effecting large-scale societal change.

I hope that reflections on Mandela’s life will embolden all of us to become the people who see and hold all of humanity. To do so, in an era of climate change means becoming more inspired, audacious, and active in envisioning and working over the next decade to realise a new set of low carbon set of economies and in the process societies.

Sissel Waage is the director of biodiversity and ecosystems services atBSR

Source: www.theguardian.com