Tough Leadership

Highlands staffers had a chance to attend a leadership conference a couple weeks ago and some ideas from that conference have been resonating with me. I've also been thinking about what it means to be a good leader.

I had that on my mind last night when I watched "The 16th Man," a documentary about the Rugby World Cup in 1995 that was part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series. The film chronicled the South African team as it tried to defend home field and, more importantly, tried to unite a nation torn apart by racism and apartheid.

This is the same story that was captured by Clint Eastwood last fall in the Academy Award nominated film "Invictus." President Nelson Mandella had plenty of reasons to be bitter. He was locked in a prison for 27 years and was nearly executed because of the deep-seeded racism that existed in his country. When he was finally freed and elected president, he seemed to have a mandate to beat back the racist culture that had long oppressed a large segment of the South African population. One of the most prominent symbols of that culture was the national rugby team, the Springboks.

Earlier in his presidency, the black leadership voted to disband the team, get rid of the name and change the colors. This would of course insight a riot among the white community and would have further inflamed the racial tension. It also seemed to be a logical decision from a group that had been marginalized for far too long because of the color of their skin. But it wasn't the best decision, and Mandella saw that.

Instead of joining his people in the decision, he pleaded to retain the Springbok name and colors. Eventually the group sided with his request. Mandella went further, encouraging his country — all the people in the country — to throw their support behind the national team as it competed in the world cup. Where there could have been great division, Mandella saw a chance to unite a broken nation through sports, and he took that opportunity. He supported that team, even donning the jersey, emblem and colors that represented the worst of apartheid. And in doing so, he helped unify South Africa and galvanize a nation — black and white — around that team.

Sometimes being a leader means doing the right thing even when it's hard. It wasn't easy for Mandella to extend an olive branch to those that had literally enslaved him, but in doing so he sought to create peace. He knew that what unites men is stronger than what divides them.

That's the way Jesus was too. He reached out to the marginalized and sought to bring everyone together. I think that's part of the reason he wasn't always understood and recognized in his own time as our Savior. People expected a conquering king, instead they got a loving, all-inclusive servant. What would our world be like today if we all followed his example?