“When he was in prison, and prison was both a physical thing but also a metaphorical thing, because imprisoning you on Robben Island, they were not only trying to physically isolate you but also mentally imprison your mind.  Mr Mandela knew this so he would always say to these fellow prisoners, “Never, ever give the upper hand to your jailers.  Never.

…This is central to his ability to have managed all that time on Robben Island in a way that enabled him, first of all, to keep his dignity and, secondly, to do so in a principled manner.”

This episode of the humans at work podcast features a conversation with John Samuel who, prior to his retirement, was one of South Africa’s leading education experts.

John played a pivotal part in developing the new education system in South Africa after the new epoch heralded by the 1994 elections, and he worked alongside Nelson Mandela in the establishment of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

From his experience as a teacher, to learning the skills required for successful executive leadership, John talks us through the lessons he learned from arguably one of the greatest leaders in South African history – Nelson Mandela.  Widely read about the skills and techniques required by leaders and executives, John reflects on the hard-won practices he honed on the job as an organisational leader, in challenging roles and within dramatic environmental contexts.

During his long career, John was Deputy Director General for the South African government's department of Education, the Senior Programme Director of the WK Kellogg Foundation in the USA, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the CEO of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

John and I talk about:

• the importance of really listening to understand and find the good
• the top 3 traits he witnessed by working alongside the late, great Nelson Mandela – listening, moral courage and humility
• the importance of moral courage for all leaders, particularly in our current challenging times
• the requirement for executive leaders to dedicate time to understanding the current and future context, in preparing for the unknown
• the weaknesses of ‘airport literature’ on organisational leadership.

Unfortunately, my conversation with John had to be cut slightly short due to load shedding in South Africa – basically… regular, managed power cuts to lessen the drain on the country’s power supplies.  We aim to pick it up again in a few months’ time!

Resources and Links:

To learn more about the some of the varied organisations John has been involved in establishing and leading:

• For the Nelson Mandela Foundation, visit: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/about-the-centre-of-memory
• For the WK Kellogg Foundation, visit: https://www.wkkf.org/who-we-are/overview
• For the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, visit: https://www.owlag.co.za/about-owlag/
• For SACHED, visit: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/education-in-south-africa-challenging-gutter-education/ and 
  https://www.uj.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/cert-the-learning-post.pdf

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