The effects of life experiences under Apartheid on shaping leadership styles of South African political leaders Research Report presented to Graduate School of Business Leadership University of South Africa In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MASTERS DEGREE IN BUSINESS LEADERSHIP UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA By N ULRICH 3198-470-3 26 September 2005 Promotor: Prof S.M. Nkomo Acknowledgements First of all I want to thank God for giving me the strength, determination, patience and guidance to complete this research. I also want to thank my wife, Michelle, for her unwavering support, patience, love and understanding while I conducted this research, and for the many personal sacrifices she had to endure in the process. My wonderful sons, Charl and Kian, who sacrificed so much in terms of quality time they could not always spend with their dad, for their understanding way beyond their respective ages, and for “secretly” studying with and supporting me in the early hours of many weekend mornings. A very special word of thanks to Professor Stella Nkomo, who not only inspired my interest in the field of leadership, but who guided me in the completion of this research in a very friendly, approachable and professional manner. I wish to thank Lorraine Grobler and her staff at the UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership library, for their keen interest and fantastic support in locating much of the reference material I consulted during the research. I want to extend a special word of thanks to the Members of Parliament who participated during the interviews stage of this research, for their openness and willingness to share their life stories, as an experiential basis from which future generations can draw meaningful lessons. Lastly, I want to thank the political leaders of South Africa for the way in which they led South Africa through the transition from our regrettable past to a future of hope, freedom, peace and prosperity. I certify that, except as noted above, this report is my own work and all references used have been accurately reported….Neil Ulrich 2 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH PROBLEM.............................................................................. 8 1.1 Problem statement ................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Research objectives ............................................................................................... 11 1.3 Importance / Benefits of the research ..................................................................... 12 1.4 Contribution of the research in relation to existing body of knowledge .................. 13 1.5 Limitations of the research ..................................................................................... 16 1.6 Definitions of key terms ........................................................................................ 20 1.6.1 Apartheid ....................................................................................................... 20 1.6.2 Defining moment ........................................................................................... 21 1.6.3 Leadership ..................................................................................................... 21 1.6.4 Member of Parliament ................................................................................... 22 1.6.5 Political leader ............................................................................................... 22 1.6.6 Political leadership ......................................................................................... 22 1.7 Assumptions .......................................................................................................... 23 1.8 Nature and form of results ..................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................... 27 2.1 Data sources .......................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Literature review ................................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Leadership theory .......................................................................................... 29 2.2.2 Life experiences as shaper of leadership style ................................................ 33 2.2.3 A life-stories approach to leadership contextualisation ................................... 42 2.2.4 The role of life experiences in leadership development .................................. 52 2.2.5 The system of Apartheid ................................................................................ 56 2.2.6 African and South African leadership ............................................................ 63 2.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 76 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH PROPOSITIONS .................................................................. 79 3.1 First Proposition .................................................................................................... 79 3.2 Second Proposition ................................................................................................ 80 3.3 Third Proposition ................................................................................................... 81 3.4 Fourth Proposition ................................................................................................. 82 3.5 Fifth Proposition .................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN ...................................... 88 4.1 Research methodology and design ......................................................................... 88 4.2 Data collection and preparation methods ............................................................... 95 4.3 Justification for using these methods ................................................................... 102 4.4 Proposed preliminary research instrument ........................................................... 106 4.5 Method for testing propositions ........................................................................... 107 3 CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................. 110 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 110 5.2 Different life experiences ..................................................................................... 113 5.2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 113 5.2.2 Development years experiences ................................................................... 113 5.2.3 Awakenings to the effects of apartheid ......................................................... 121 5.2.4 Developing changed attitudes and perceptions into actions .......................... 128 5.2.5 How life experiences changed future outlooks ............................................. 132 5.3 Leadership ........................................................................................................... 134 5.3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 134 5.3.2 Conceptualisations of leadership .................................................................. 135 5.3.3 The realisation of being a leader................................................................... 139 5.3.4 Leadership development over time ............................................................... 141 5.4 Apartheid ............................................................................................................ 148 5.4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 148 5.4.2 Conceptualisations of apartheid ................................................................... 149 5.4.3 Different life experiences ............................................................................. 151 5.4.4 The impact of apartheid experiences on South Africans ............................... 158 5.5 Leadership styles of South African political leaders ............................................. 169 5.6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 175 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ................................................ 177 6.1 Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 177 5.2 Implications ......................................................................................................... 186 CHAPTER 7: ARTICLE .................................................................................................. 190 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 240 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 248 ANNEXURES ..................................................................................................................