Lessons in Leadership from Nelson Mandela
This is a 45-60 minute presentation focusing on one of the most enduring icons of our time. In this talk Debora Patta will present 10 lessons of leadership and life from Nelson Mandela. It covers areas such as courage, leading from the front, leading from the back, quitting as leadership, seeing the good in people,
the power of saying no, looking the part and knowing your enemy. Patta was privileged to report on Mandela from the day he was released from jail to his presidency. She experienced his remarkable humility and unique leadership style up close and personal as she travelled with him around South Africa. This talk is powerful, compassionate and inspiration – full of charming and illuminating stories of a this incredible man. Patta was regarded as
Madiba’s ‘favourite journalist” and is a renowned investigative reporter who has covered virtually every major story at home and abroad over the past two
decades.
The Power of Being Wrong
Our society is not geared to view being wrong in a positive way or even as being helpful. We are so scared of being wrong, so scared of being judged that we often miss the learnings. Most of us go through life assuming we are basically right, basically all the time, about basically everything – our political
and intellectual convictions, our religious and moral beliefs, our assessments of other people, our memories, our grasp of facts. In fact when you think about it – generally most of us think we are pretty omniscient, all knowing, and wise. And lets face it – generally we do navigate day-to-day life fairly well – at least in a way that suggests we are routinely right about most things. And then there are those remarkable individuals who are not just routinely right but spectacularly right – Einstein, Gallileo. Edison. So being right represents the very highest standards and peaks of excellence in humanity as well
as the source of countless small moments of personal joy. Think then about how we view being wrong. It’s viewed as rare, bizarre, an aberration. It leaves us feeling idiotic and ashamed. Being wrong makes us cringe, we become defensive, our hearts sink. It can vary from a minor nuisance to a major
nightmare.
