Recent events in Japan remind us of how important positive leadership can be in crises of immense proportion. Less recent events such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and, prior to that, Hurricane Katrina further substantiate our assertion that powerful positive leadership can make an enormous difference in crisis-management outcomes while the absence of positive leadership can aggravate an already horrific situation.
In times of extreme crisis, providing powerful positive leadership is paramount. This requires that our leaders be visible, transparent, and honest with us while balancing both the right and the need to know with the responsibility for avoiding panic. It helps enormously if our leaders have already earned our trust but even a mediocre leader can step up in such crises and be a powerful calming influence while also making certain that the things that need to happen, happen.
It requires that our leaders avoid the blame game and instead accept full responsibility for both the successes and failures in their response to the emergency requirements of their people. Positive leaders are able to convey empathy by assuring people that we are listening to them and that we understand the magnitude of the circumstances with which they are confronted.
Often in such crises it is impossible to accomplish everything that needs to be done as quickly as people think appropriate. It is vital that we take the time to understand the full breadth and scope of the crises and that we set priorities but this must be done with the greatest possible expediency and, in the interim, it is important that we take whatever action we can to alleviate danger, suffering, and the anguish of the uncertainty that flows from being uninformed. Getting water to the Superdome during Katrina is the most glaring example of emergency response systems that become paralyzed by the magnitude of the disaster or other crises.
In watching the news coverage of the tragedy in Japan I wondered, as the news helicopter flew over people who were stranded on their rooftops, if anyone was making the point of communicating with those people to let them know that:
1) they have been seen,
2) that authorities have been notified of their location and circumstances, and
3) if rescue is not imminent, making sure they have water, food, and first aid resources as they wait for help to arrive.
Human beings have tremendous resiliency as long as they have hope and nothing eats away at one’s hope more than uncertainty as to whether anyone knows where we are and understands the severity and consequences of our circumstances.
Positive leaders are, by definition, pro-active and one of the most important things they do is to plan for worst-case scenarios. One of the most vital components of any disaster plan is a comprehensive “first response strategy” ready to be implemented without waiting for some official somewhere to give the okay.
Planning for the unanticipated is always a less-than-perfect process and we will always be surprised by things that could not have been predicted. That is why it is imperative that we do not spend so much time worrying about the criticism that will flow from our mistakes that we fail to learn the lessons they provide. This is where leadership integrity distinguishes powerful positive leaders from the field.
Not all crises take on the enormous magnitude of the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan but lesser crises can be just as traumatic to people and this is particularly true in an organizational leadership environment. Positive leaders in organizations are prepared for the unexpected and they understand that the unanticipated loss of a major customer or the need for significant downsizing can be just as traumatic for our people as natural disasters. If people know they can count on their leaders to be fully prepared, to keep them informed, to admit their mistakes and imperfections and to learn from those things we will follow such leaders almost anywhere and will give them the best effort of which we are capable.
What preparations have you made for such events? Should they occur, what will be the caliber of the positive leadership that your people can expect from you?
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