Desmond Tutu on Leadership

This video was produced by Nobelprize.org. In the video, Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu provides his answer to the question regarding the qualities that make for a good leader. Archbishop Tutu’s response evinces a preference for the Servant Leadership Model. Such a leader, he states, leads for the sake of those who are led, not for his or her own benefit. Archbishop Tutu cites the examples of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King as examples of those who sacrifice, and indeed suffer, on behalf of those they are leading. Archbishop Tutu also, however, seems to recognize the need for a charismatic quality in the personality of the leader. Indeed, he states that the leader should also be someone who can inspire others.

The particular way that Archbishop Tutu explains Servant Leadership has much in its favor. I would argue that we all should constantly question whether or not we are leading for our own benefit or for the benefit of others. The particular mention of suffering is something that should be paid attention to in this regard. I do not think he means a leader must seek to become a martyr. Rather, a servant leader should be willing to sacrifice, perhaps painfully at times, on behalf of others. This willingness to suffer and serve others would seem to help curb the negative tendencies of charismatic leadership I mentioned in my last past. This is important for the charismatic element that Archbishop Tutu mentions.