During November 2023, Christo Brand – one of Nelson Mandela’s former prison guards – and myself, toured the USA. The visit included 24 different functions/events/talks. We were incredibly warmly received wherever we spoke. After three years of zoom calls and what seemed like gazillions of emails, I also got to finally meet and spend some quality time with Ethan Casey of Blue Ear Books (www.blueearbooks.com) based in Seattle – my publisher, editor, mentor – and now close friend and confidant. Wherever we spoke our audiences were so eager to hear about Mandela’s legacy and leadership. Everywhere people shared personal examples of how he had touched their lives.
If there is one thing that stood out for me on this trip it was that Nelson Mandela’s role in the world and his leadership qualities are so relevant right now as the world grapples with a dearth of leaders wherever you look. Mandela averted a civil war by choosing reconciliation and negotiation over revenge. He persevered 27 years in jail in order to see his dream of a democratic South Africa being realised.
One of the attendees at a panel discussion we held at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit wrote this on LinkedIn:
‘Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the Nelson Mandela exhibition at the Henry Ford Museum and to hear from both Christo Brand (Mandela’s former prison guard turned close friend) and Andrew Russell (Mandela biographer and storyteller). Mandela has long been an inspiration to me and Russell’s new book ‘Leadership We Need: Lessons for Today from Nelson Mandela’ reminds us all that we are all leaders in our own spheres of influence. I appreciated it when he distilled the two greatest leadership lessons from Mandela as:
1) Reconciliation + forgiveness –> this creates genuine leadership
2) Perseverance: Mandela never gave up even when all odds were stacked against him –> his ability to endure even in the bleakest of circumstances should encourage us all.
There are obviously many more lessons we can glean from Mandela’s life but those two are rather powerful ones, no?’
We met University Presidents, Chancellors, Professors, Mayors and CEOs. And then I met Hope. She was working as a security guard at the Red Berry Mansion in San Antonio where Christo gave the keynote address at a gala dinner in aid of the NGO Students of Service. She recognised my South African scarf and we immediately started chatting. Her daughter had just been to South Africa on a school tour. She told me she grew up with photos of Nelson Mandela in her home. Every day she would ask her grandfather “Is Mandela free yet?” She now has his prison number 466/64 tattooed on her arm! When I gave her a South African flag keyring for her grandpa and also a signed copy of my book, she was so chuffed. We chatted for ages. She really touched me. Here in San Antonio is a woman whose life had been massively influenced by Nelson Mandela. Just shows you. This is why I wrote my book The Leadership We Need: Lessons for Today from Nelson Mandela. And why I’m on a mission. To meet people like Hope.
I will be returning to the US in October/November 2024 to continue my talks and presentations. If anyone is interested in hosting me at your university, company, sports organisation, school, special interest group – please email me on info@theleadershipweneed.co.za and we can chat further. I would love to find link-minded people interested in leadership to collaborate with and help me spread the word. I have seen myself how important it is right now to share the message of Mandela’s leadership to people of all ages. I look forward to returning to the United States of America and continuing the journey I have begun.