What can Mandela teach us about leading through existential disruption? Go behind the scenes with the author to explore how emotional wisdom, relational presence, and the capacity to sit with uncertainty shaped one of history’s most remarkable leadership legacies. We’ll save time at the end for questions from the audience, making this an interactive experience where you can connect directly with the author. 

About the Book

Mandela’s Leadership Legacy: Emotional and Existential Wisdom explores how leadership can respond meaningfully in times of existential threats—moments when familiar frameworks collapse and the future becomes deeply uncertain. Drawing on the life and leadership of Nelson Mandela, the book shows how such threats are not only political or social, but also existential in the philosophical sense: they unsettle our very way of being in the world.

Through a rich, narrative-driven analysis, Steven Segal reveals how Mandela navigated profound disruption—from his early experiences of dislocation, through 27 years of imprisonment, to leading a nation on the brink of civil war. Rather than reacting defensively, Mandela developed a form of leadership grounded in emotional wisdom, relational presence, and the capacity to stay with uncertainty.

In dialogue with the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and the African ethic of Ubuntu, the book introduces practical frameworks for leaders, therapists, and reflective practitioners. It shows how responding to existential threats requires more than strategy or technical skill—it calls for a transformation in how we perceive, relate, and act. Ultimately, the book positions Mandela as a model for leading with depth, courage, and humanity in a world increasingly shaped by disruption.