Unconquered

1) Invictus – Latin for unconquered – is a fitting title for this movie about perseverance even in the most impossible situations under extreme pressure. It focuses on interactions between Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar, in addition to the great leadership roles they each took for South Africa to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Two lessons on leadership I learned from this movie are how to forgive your enemies and unite a separated group under a common passion.

The former was demonstrated by Mandela when he refused to allow the sports committee to change the rugby team’s name and colors. He realized that it is not worth trying to gain petty revenge when it will just add fuel to the ongoing vendetta. Instead, it is better to surprise the enemies with kindness that they were not prepared for.

The second lesson regarding uniting a group was accomplished by Mandela when the white and black population of South Africa bonded over the common ground of rugby. The Springboks’ victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup firmly established the bond between the two races, making South Africa a “rainbow nation”.

2) I recently was faced with an ethical dilemma when I made plans with two different friends at the same time, resulting in conflicting schedules. I previously agreed to go with my roommate to the Wrentham Outlets last Sunday, but when didn’t mention it again, so it wasn’t a solid plan. That Saturday my roommate went to Boston with her friends, so I incorrectly assumed that she would be too tired to go the outlets the next day. Thus, I made a plan with another friend on Sunday. However, I had to choose between the two when the time came. Although the best way to handle these situations is to avoid them altogether, I decided to go with my roommate in the end because I did agree to her plans first, no matter how tentative they were.

The second problem involves me in a more leadership role. As a freshman I was the president of our high school orchestra, and we bought music sweatshirts as a club. However, on the day it was due, three of the customers still have not turned in the money, and each really wanted the shirt. They individually approached me throughout the day and promised to give me the money first thing tomorrow. I had to decide between using the club’s funds to pay for $90 worth of sweatshirts or just not order for the three members who forgot their money. Another aspect of it is that the club profits $10 off each sweatshirt, so if all the members end up paying, I would be securing that much more money for the club. This convinced me to put in money for them. In the end it was to my favor because they all gave money the next day.