Passionate Leadership in times of Crisis
Tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear meltdowns, floods, fires, volcanic eruptions, popular uprisings, cyclones, wars! Our media organisations have been having a field day, constantly flooding us with images of the impact of these events. And we are not yet half way through 2011.
Apart from the emotional impacts of these events, I think there are also important learnings, especially around leadership in times of crisis and change.
Following the nuclear radiation leaks in Japan, the national and industry leaders went missing. They released the increasingly bad news in an agonising way over a period of weeks, even though much of it was known earlier. The result was a loss of confidence from both the Japanese people and the international community, and the inability to move on. There may have been cultural reasons for this approach as a way of saving face but any objective analysis would conclude that it did not work.
In Australia, following devastation from cyclones and flooding on a massive scale, the premier of Queensland Anna Bligh and the Prime Minister Julia Gillard were immediately out and about talking with the families affected, mobilising emergency services, a multitude of volunteers and immediate financial support. What a difference it made. Their actions reminded me of the way New York Mayor, Rudi Giuliani showed up following the terrible 9/11.
It seems that we can deal with anything if we just know what it is and we need leaders who can be present to what is;
not only intellectually present, but emotionally present. I was inspired by how Anna Bligh was able to stay present and be authentic during the crisis. To me, she appeared in the press as totally genuine and a great leader. Julia Gillard did not really present herself as being emotionally present nor connected to the new reality. The public rose to Anna Bligh’s calls for support and action in amazing ways. The result of how people rose to the situation and the personal qualities they demonstrated has enabled many miraculous recoveries.What are we to make of this? In my view, leaders need to be authentic and emotionally available in times of crisis and change. They need to enable people to find out where they stand in the difficult new situations. In such times, empowering communities can form that rebuild towards a new vision. One of our Passion Mapping practitioners, Jai Waters, has shown in an extensive research project on change in the education sector that people are five times more ready for change if the leader is seen to be passionate.
In summary, leaders need to show up with wholeness, honesty, energy and focus, all personal qualities which passion can bring about. So, passion is critical in times of crisis and change.
By Peter Wallman