Leadercast is always full of great insights and information.  I always leave with enough information to ponder and process for at least a year.  Here are just a few of my takeaways from the speech that Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave at the Leadercast Conference in 2014, you can read more of my articles from the conference here.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is an amazing leader, so hearing him speak was absolutely awesome.  The wisdom he shared, as well as his infectious laugh was a real treat.

The Mandela We Didn’t Know

Nelson Mandela, the man who captured our hearts and the man whose story warms our hearts became the springboard for our conversation.  Archbishop Tutu shed some light on how Nelson Mandela became the man we all knew and loved. Sharing how Mandela’s suffering made him, and how important jail, of all things was in his personal evolution as a man, and especially as a leader.

 How is it possible that jail would play a crucial role in Mandela’s life?

He explained that when Mandela went to jail, he was angry. Those 27 years of incarceration was an important part of making Mandela, because during that time he learned patience, he learned how to be free, even when he was in chains.  Jail was the vehicle that took him from who he was, to who he needed to become.

As a leader, Mandela showed us many things, one of them was the importance of everyone at the table.    Mandela went out of his way to show ALL South African’s that they were important parts of this conversation.  He got everyone together. A model of servant leadership at it’s best.  Mandela found ways to SHOW everyone at the table that they were valuable, he also worked hard to make sure that everyone’s voice was heard.

Leadership Lessons…

Archbishop Tutu lessons on leadership showed us how leadership should look.  Sharing the sentiment, I am, because we are.

“I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.” -MLK, Jr

You are a leader, because you have someone to leave.  We can never forget that we are all interconnected.  We become who we are, when we invest and support others. When we forget that all of us suffer.

“A person is a person through other persons, you are you, because of other persons”

We become by serving others and looking out for one another. Our growth is connected to what we do for others.

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Three Traits of Good Leadership

Before he left, Archbishop Desmond Tutu left us with these three nuggets about  “good leadership”.

1. Good leaders have nothing to hide!
2. Good leaders serve others…
3. Good leaders lead. They do not go along with popular opinion. They do what is right even when it is costly.

“Imagine a world where all leaders took decisions on what was right and what would improves the lives of all.”

[Tweet “”Good leaders lead, not to take popular decisions, but to guide, listen, direct, and support.” @DesmondTuTu”]

“Good leaders listen, they understand that they are accountable to the people they serve.”

Regardless of your situation, it is an inescapable fact that we are made for each other, we are made to be dependent, one on another.

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu taught us some valuable lessons about leadership, about what it cost and about what we can learn from our past, and what we can give to our future.

These nuggets provide some areas where we all can stretch and grow.  As a leader look for ways to put these tips into practice.  If you want to hear more about Leadercast or hear from some of the other speakers, take a look at some of the other recaps from the day, by clicking here.