7 Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela in Prison

On 12 June 1964, Nelson Mandela?was found guilty and sentenced by a South African judge of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the apartheid government. The judge sentenced Mandela to life imprisonment, noting that he could have sentenced him to the death penalty.

Mandela spent the next 18 years imprisoned on Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town, a former leper colony turned into a brutal and isolated prison. In total, Mandela spent 27 years in prison, from his mid-forties to his early seventies, before being released and rising to the presidency to lead the rebirth of a post-Apartheid South Africa. Mandela became so beloved to his country that his image graces not just some, but all of their paper currency.

I had a chance to tour Robben Island during a stop in South Africa on my book tour in 2017. Here are 7 of the leadership lessons I learned on Robben Island.

1 - Dignity Transcends - The prison tried to break Mandela’s spirit but he kept his dignity throughout. A fellow prisoner, Gabi Magomola recounted this story about Mandela in a CNBC Africa interview years later that is available on YouTube: “He was like a demigod… because of his stature, the last thing you expected to see him in was in shorts and in a humiliating condition in which they were all placed, including us of course, but more for them. But the dignity surrounding him could not escape anyone. I mean we were petrified, you know, just to get too close to, that close to him, to see him in the flesh. It was almost like, I don’t know, you know, like you’re seeing the Almighty.”

2 - Care for the Weak - Despite his exalted status, Mandela acted like an equal with other prisoners and cared for them. A fellow prisoner, Eddie Daniels, shared this story in an interview with the Pepperdine Caruso School:? “I was sick in my cell. Mr. Mandela came back from the quarry and asked someone ‘where’s Danny? … I haven’t seen Danny today.’ So the prisoner says ‘Danny is lying in his cell on the floor. He’s sick.’ … So Mr. Mandela walks all the way up to me in my cell. He sits on the floor next to me and he comforts me. Then he comes back to his cell. He is locked up in his cell and I am locked up in mine. All of us are locked up. The next morning, we are all opened, and Mr. Mandela’s got his bucket. And instead of taking it directly to the bathroom, he walks up the corridor with his bucket and comes into my cell. Puts his bucket on the floor and sits down next to me. He comforts me. He gets up. Picks up his bucket in one arm. Picks up my bucket in the other arm and walks down the corridor. Goes to the common toilet. Cleans and empties my bucket and gives it back to me. To put that story into context, Mr. Mandela - an international figure, a leader of the most powerful organization fighting the Apartheid government, the most important prisoner in South Africa - he could have instructed any of his prisoners - ANC - to look after me. He never did. He could have looked the other way. He never did. It was an easy thing to look the other way. Who was I? I was a non-entity… I had no political muscle. I had no education. I had no influence. Yet, this great man, and he is a great man, he came into my … in more ways than one… and helped me. There was no benefit for Mr. Mandela to assist me.”

3 - Each One Teach One - Mandela realized that the front-line guards at Robben Island were often young and poorly educated, while Mandela and his fellow political prisoners were typically highly educated. Mandela used this advantage to build a more equal relationship with the guards. He focused on a strategy he called "each one teach one" - each prisoner was responsible for teaching a guard basic skills they were lacking. The prisoners executed this strategy in the limestone mine (picture above) that they had to manually toil in each day. They turned the crevice in the mine intended to be a bathroom into a classroom where they tutored guards in skills like reading. By doing so, Mandela realized that the guards would begin to see the prisoners as humans, not just as prisoners, and give them more respect.

4 - Avoid Divide and Conquer - The management of the prison had a policy to provide different levels of food, supplies and treatment to prisoners based on their race. (See card above explaining different rations.) Mandela and his fellow black political prisoners received the least. The strategy of the prison was to create dissension between the prisoners. Prisoners with advantages would want to curry favor with the guards to keep those privileges, while prisoners with the least would feel envious of those with advantages. Mandela saw through this strategy and it probably strengthened his resolve for equality among all races.

5 - Pick the Weakest Link in Unjustice to Attack First - Robert Sobukwe (above) was another political prisoner on Robben Island. He was considered so dangerous he was held in solitary confinement in a house built especially for him. Sobukwe was feared because he had led the revolt against the Pass Law. Sobukwe had deliberately picked that law to protest because he realized that there was no way to enforce it if masses broke the law at once. If masses of citizens turned themselves in for not carrying their pass, the jails were not big enough to hold them all, meaning police would have to force some change in the implementation in the law. Once the people put a dent into one part of the whole legal system of apartheid, they would get confidence to challenge the rest. (Sadly, the protest Sobukwe led resulted in the Sharpville Massacre, where police killed 69 demonstrators.)

6 - Honor Your Predecessors - Mandela realized that he was just one part of a line of brave leaders who pushed the fight for equality and democracy over the goal line. He continued to pay respect to his fellow leaders, such as Sobukwe and Steve Biko, who had not survived long enough to see his election to the presidency.

7- Record Your History - Mandela wrote his journal and smuggled it out by hiding it among the trees and tomato plants he tended in the prison yard (see above.) Mandela realized that the lessons he was learning needed to be passed on to others. The lessons would not only inspire others in his day to take action, but would also ensure that future generations would not forget the ordeal it took to earn the freedom they enjoy.

While the whole experience seeing Robben Island overwhelmed me, this image of a stair lift had a surprisingly big impact on me. This is a picture of the steps leading to the cell block where Mandela and other political prisoners were held. In his 18 years in captivity in that cell block, I wondered how may times Manedela and other prisoners limped up these stairs after a day of manual labor in the limestone pits, headed for the cell without a bed or plumbing. I wonder how those men would feel to see a wheelchair accessible lift installed on those same steps today. How far the future of their prison becoming a World Heritage Site set up to tell their story must have seemed to them as inmates. How remarkable they were to make that future happen.

About the Author: Victor Prince is the #1 executive coach for financial services executives. He is also an Amazon Top 20 best-selling leadership author who helps organizations build leadership, strategy, communications, and critical thinking skills . Follow Victor on LinkedIN to access his 100+ articles on leadership , strategy , learning & development , and more.

Note: This is an update to an article that I originally posted on LinkedIn in 2017.