Leadership is a
trait coveted by many yet not many has the reputation or clout to be in that
position. There is always this general conception that a leader is born rather
than made. No doubt, a natural born leader is always the best bet as this can
be construed as a gift from the divine. It cannot be denied that some leaders
can be trained into the role as well. But how do we gauge whether the
leadership undertaken is of quality and excellence? There is only one avenue
possible to gauge this; through a crisis.
In good times, not
much leadership is required as the condition is peaceful and conducive for any
undertakings. There are no conflicts or obstacles available to impede progress
or well-being of an organization or even a country. Only when a crisis is at
hand, then we will see what our leaders are made of and capable of doing.
Leadership through crisis is when all the critical elements are meticulously
scrutinized and analyzed to ensure the best decision are being made to address the
issue. The next course of actions should be effective and efficient to mitigate
the crisis and not causing more harm and prolonging the event.
In times of
crisis, the military concept of chain of command must be adopted immediately.
Democratic means are not effective in crisis handling whereby everyone has
their own views and a vote must be put forward. This will delay the response
time. The leader must lead the people under his command and not allow them to
run around like headless chickens. Those people that are not kept in the loop
of information and are not authorized to manage the crisis should be kept out
indefinitely. All information must be carefully vetted and statements released
must be consistent and without any shred of ambiguities. Decisions taken must
be executed promptly without any doubts. This is to create an atmosphere of confidence
and credibility in managing the crisis.
Sad to say, our
country’s leaders failed miserably in this sense based on their handling of the
missing flight MH370 to the extent of being vilified by the international
community. It is clearly seen that our leaders are definitely not natural born
leaders and substantial training is clearly needed in this area. Hopefully
there are not many crisis of this proportion down the road. God bless Malaysia.
