There is something enormously attractive about a gracious spirit, but grace is not revealed in the midst of applause or adulation. Grace is like an infrared beam, which is only seen when things are at their darkest.

When enemies close down your greatest opportunities, or people you trust turn against you, the best you can do is keep your mouth closed and your head down and get on with a new challenge. In the end, your character and skills will shine through.

Live Big Picture, Not Small Screen.

In the earliest days of his presidency, Mandela established what would become a key tenet of his national and global leadership.

Even in smoke-filled political backrooms, where politicians often do deals that are at odds with their public pronouncements, Mandela consistently set aside a self-interested agenda to do what was best for his nation.

Many a national president has promised to be inclusive in his or her leadership, but few have actually achieved it. Mandela saw the 43 million people under his charge as his extended family and in many ways he led them as a father might.

Of course, politics being what it is, not everyone is or was delighted with his leadership decisions. Inevitably, politics demands that compromises be made between what is ideal and what is pragmatically viable.

Nevertheless, over the long haul Mandela tried to govern for the big picture, rather than the small screen of sectarian interest.

In any enterprise, leaders who consistently put the big picture interests of their community or customers above their own will do better than those whose interest is solely in short-term profits, share-holder applause or their own position.

Leadership is About an Iron Will Wrapped in Respect.

If like me you've visited the infamous Robben Island, you may well have experienced similar emotions - a mixture of revulsion for the demeaning treatment of the prisoners, with exhilaration at the eventual triumph of their cause.

Of one thing I'm certain: you will have been very moved by seeing the limestone quarry where political prisoners carried out their pointless labour, chipping away at white rocks day after day.

Standing in the quarry early in his imprisonment, Nelson Mandela said: 'We must turn this limestone pit into our university.' Over time he helped to create a culture of learning in the midst of hardship. In the end, many of the previously uneducated prisoners left the island with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Two factors were at play here. The first was Mandela's personal passion for learning.