Leadership Dynamics: A Study of Three Unique Leaders and Managers, Mandela, Awolowo and Yew

Leadership Dynamics

Abstract

In the third world the issue of leadership persists as topical, critical and decisively catalytic. The lives of the trio of Nelson 
Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo and Lee Kuan Yew have shown how different but basically humanly similar organizations are 
and evolve, how three well-trained lawyers, articulate activists, politician and achievers turned around the fate and 
fortunes of their countries despite mountains of harrowing battles, using a corpus of intelligent lieutenants and prevailing 
opportunities in their countries to surmount obstacles and emerge as iconic achievers in history. Mandela, Awolowo and 
Yew emerged as iconic successes in their unique circumstances, the latter two were products of British political history 
having undergone the parliamentary system whilst Mandela’s South Africa used the newly-fashioned proportional 
representation model to reach election victory and presidency of South Africa. While two of them Mandela and Yew 
governed their countries distinctively, Awolowo only managed a Western Region part of his country but so eminently as 
to draw attention to how much more he could have done for his country. ‘In each case, management competence flowed 
and memorable achievements were attained despite crippling difficulties. No matter the person, it is the qualities of 
management capacity, integrity and openness that would matter to a country and its people