????辭去總統(tǒng)后，曼德拉終于如夢(mèng)方醒地意識(shí)到艾滋病的禍害。他積極發(fā)聲，強(qiáng)調(diào)檢測(cè)和治療的必要性，承認(rèn)他的政府沒有把艾滋病作為一個(gè)重大優(yōu)先事項(xiàng)是個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。此外，他還打破禁忌，透露稱他的兒子正是死于艾滋病并發(fā)癥，并以此為契機(jī)教育他的人民，有必要公開探討、應(yīng)對(duì)這個(gè)問題。

????卓越的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者敢于迎接巨大的挑戰(zhàn)，在前行的道路上，他們有時(shí)會(huì)犯下嚴(yán)重的錯(cuò)誤。他們的偉大之處在于他們始終致力于辨別是非。當(dāng)他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己犯下錯(cuò)誤時(shí)，他們承認(rèn)自己的過失，糾正航向，然后繼續(xù)前進(jìn)。

????但曼德拉不只是滿足于承認(rèn)自己的缺點(diǎn)——他還積極地致力于消除這些缺點(diǎn)。

????他在獄中努力培養(yǎng)對(duì)自己滿腔怒火的自我控制力。有一次，被激怒的曼德勒差點(diǎn)暴力攻擊一位監(jiān)獄官員，但最終只是口頭攻擊了一下。那天返回牢房后，他開始反思：“盡管我讓監(jiān)獄官閉上了嘴，但他已經(jīng)讓我違背了我的自我控制原則。這一次，我認(rèn)為我敗在了對(duì)手的手中。”

????后來，他在《奧普拉?溫弗瑞秀》( The Oprah Winfrey Show)反思說：“要是我沒有進(jìn)監(jiān)獄，我就不能完成世間最困難的事情——改變自己。”

????一路走來，他真的變了嗎？有一次，在回到自己小時(shí)候長(zhǎng)大的村莊參加一個(gè)葬禮時(shí)，曼德拉陷入了沉思：“如果一個(gè)人試圖發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在哪些方面有所變化，再也沒有比返回一個(gè)保持未變的地方更好的方式了。我意識(shí)到，我自己的人生觀和世界觀已經(jīng)發(fā)生了演變。”

????獄友不斷透露的細(xì)節(jié)讓我們得以了解，在羅本島服刑的漫長(zhǎng)歲月里，曼德拉是如何逐漸成為一位情緒更加平靜，思想更加集中，更有耐心的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者——一位南非迫切需要的領(lǐng)袖。

????這正是卓越領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的不平凡之處——他們視自己為“一件正在演變的半成品”，他們不斷地塑造自己，逐步接近自己的理想形態(tài)。結(jié)果就是，他們對(duì)世界的影響呈指數(shù)級(jí)增長(zhǎng)。

????在一封寫給妻子溫妮的信中，當(dāng)時(shí)還在獄中的曼德拉寫道：“永遠(yuǎn)不要忘記，所謂圣人就是不斷嘗試的罪人。”

????曼德拉的崇拜者遍布全球，對(duì)他們而言，曼德拉的最大貢獻(xiàn)也許是，他促使我們意識(shí)到每個(gè)人都具備實(shí)現(xiàn)卓越的潛能。像曼德拉一樣，我們唯一需要做的就是，不停地嘗試。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????本文作者希滕德拉?瓦德瓦是哥倫比亞大學(xué)商學(xué)院全職非終身教授、個(gè)人領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力研究所創(chuàng)始人。

????譯者：葉寒

????And after resigning as president, Mandela did finally awaken to the scourge of AIDS. He took on an active voice in highlighting the need for testing and treatment and acknowledged that his administration had been wrong in not making it a bigger priority. And, breaking a taboo, he revealed that his son had died from complications related to AIDS, using the occasion to educate his people about the need to talk openly and deal with this problem.

????Great leaders take on great challenges, and along the way they sometimes make great mistakes. Their greatness lies in how committed they remain to discerning right from wrong. When they find they have erred, they acknowledge their lapse, correct their course, and move on.

????But Mandela was not just satisfied with acknowledging his flaws -- he actively worked on eliminating them.

????In prison, he worked hard to cultivate more self-control over his anger. Once, he nearly physically attacked a prison official upon being provoked, ultimately assaulting him verbally. That day, he returned to his cell and reflected, "Even though I had silenced Prins, he had caused me to violate my self-control and I consider that a defeat at the hands of my opponent."

????Later, he reflected on The Oprah Winfrey Show, "If I had not gone to prison, I would not have been able to do that which is the most difficult -- to change yourself."

????Along the way, did he actually change? On one occasion, returning to his boyhood village to attend a funeral, Mandela reflected, "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. I realized that my own outlook and world views had evolved ..."

????Stories from fellow prisoners abound about how, over the course of many years on Robben Island, Mandela gradually became a calmer, more centered, and more patient leader -- a leader South Africa dearly needed.

????This is what great leaders do -- they see themselves as a work in progress, and they sculpt themselves to get progressively closer to their ideal form. And their impact on the world, as a result, grows exponentially.

????In a letter Mandela wrote from jail to his wife Winnie, he wrote, "Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps trying."

????To his legion of admirers around the globe, perhaps Mandela's greatest contribution is to awaken us to our own potential for greatness. All we need to do, like Mandela, is to keep trying.

????Hitendra Wadhwa is Professor of Practice at Columbia Business School and the founder of the Institute for Personal Leadership.