NH Business Review Column: Crisis Leadership during a Pandemic

During the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, I learned some powerful lessons from US Ambassador Alex Laskaris who demonstrated an array of key leadership skills:

·       Stay positive. Negativity, panic, and fear only undermine the team and result in irrational actions.

·       Focus on facts and science. Understand the reality of the situation, including the disease and how it is transmitted.

·       Listen to the experts. The leader cannot know it all and needs to rely on other talented people. We were lucky in Guinea to have expertise from the CDC, the US Agency of International Development (USAID), and other agencies.

·       Understand the culture. Engaging the Guineans to understand the cultural context was critically important as is true in any crisis situation.

·       Be inclusive and collaborative. Engage others to facilitate an effective response.

·       Transparency. Openness reduces rumors and confusion.

·       Communicate. Share what you know and do it regularly,

·       Support your team. Everyone needs encouragement during such a stressful experience.

These skills apply to any crisis situation, of course, not just epidemics, and thus are critically important for leaders. We never know when an unexpected challenge will occur, so this kind of training and learning should never be put on the back burner. When a crisis strikes, will you be ready?

You can read the full column here: https://www.nhbr.com/leadership-during-a-pandemic/