Shaping Influences on the Leadership of Genghis Khan, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela: Applications for Educators

Abstract

Using a prosopographical methodology this study examines common leadership influences that might have existed among Genghis Khan, George Washington, and Nelson Mandela. Shoup (2005) suggests that the following seven influences have contributed to nurturing the leadership of 12 renowned individuals: involved parents, happy childhood, formal, informal education, prodigious patrons, critics and adversaries, apprenticeship/sequences of success, and favorable fate. This analysis suggests that the seven influences in his model had an affect the lives of the three individuals in this study, making them competent or exemplary leaders. The study additionally proposes three application stages that educators can utilize to instill leadership values and abilities in young minds.