Introduction
Exercising leadership during a crisis can be very challenging; the experienced is termed a fundamental milestone in the leadership profession. Leadership is the ability of a leader to influence his followers positively to achieve a common goal. The ability of a leader to influence people during a crisis promotes immediate response in an attempt to resolve the situation. Crisis act as a test of leadership qualities as inner characters is exposed during this time. Crisis brings about panic and confusion, leader are expected to act in a charismatic way in order to resolve the crisis soberly. The strong and weak character of a leader which is usually unnoticed during normal times is unconsciously revealed by the crisis. During a crisis, followers are able to judge whether their leaders have the relevant knowledge and skills in order to deliver leadership services effectively. Good communication skills, a considerate relationship between a leader and his followers, and a clear vision play a major role in leadership but these practices are more important to leaders during a crisis. When leaders pay close attention to the above themes, they are able to promote their understanding of human actions and their ability to address crises adequately. The outcome of exercising good communication clearly sets the vision and considerate relationship is a leader who is well equipped to address the crisis, maintain the situation under control, and make sure that only the least destruction happens. Finally, the leader is able to effectively reduce the length of time under crisis. It is worth noting that crises can happen at any time they have no boundaries and leaders need to be prepared always. Giuliani is respected in New York City and all over the world for his tremendous leadership following September 11th terrorism. After the attack Giuliani courageously led the city during the crisis, he did not allow the crisis to wreck him down (Cleason 2008, p.123). The essay seeks to explore Giuliani handled the crisis that faced New York City, general leadership and crisis leader. The essay will also discuss different styles of leadership such as transformational, transactional, political leadership among others.
R. Giuliani and his handling of the crisis
Giuliani is highly respected for his tremendous leader in 2001 after New York City suffered from a terror attack. He courageously exercised his leadership skills, determined to guide the city during the crisis Giuliani had faith in New York City citizens that they would make through the crisis successfully. He acted bravely when appropriate and affectionate when necessary. Regardless of the suffering that he went through, quitting was not an option. Giuliani made it clear that any person who was in a leadership level whether at low or high rank had a role to play in order to contain the ongoing crisis. Giuliani’s incredible leadership played a fundamental role in holding New York City together however, his leadership abilities did not develop all of a sudden on this historic day. Throughout his life, Giuliani was involved in making a difficult decision which enhanced his leadership qualities further. Giuliani did not let short-term fame compromise his chances of long-term fame which he now enjoys because of bravely leading New York City during September 11th terrorism. In his political career, he was always willing to face difficult situations which required making hard decisions, he approached problems head for instance when handling criminal cases in New York he employed a zero-tolerance approach (Bass 2008, p.91).
New York citizens considered themselves blessed by having Giuliani during the September 11th attack. The whole world watched in great admiration as Giuliani boldly took the responsibility of rallying New York City after the September 11 attack. He approached the crisis that faced New York City as an opportunity to change management challenge. According to Giuliani, the crisis was getting the city ready for a new dawn, crises were momentary trauma towards a better tomorrow. He was able to recognize the urgency of addressing the crisis to salvage the city. Some of the leadership qualities that enabled Giuliani to succeed during the September 11 attack include proper communication skills. He was able to explain the vision hence encouraging other leaders to strive in order to achieve the future dream of New York City. He always reminded his team that the crises which were being experienced were preparing them for a better tomorrow; they were about to experience tremendous and extraordinary opportunities in the city. The second characteristic was his ability to remain composed even when things seemed to get out of hand; Giuliani was always armed with vital information. He prioritized his time and activities well in order to maximize output from each element. In responding to queries posed to him, he was able to deliver answers on time and adequately. He was also humbled to plainly admit what he did not know and he directed people to the appropriate resources where they could get answers. He provided fellow leaders with vital information intending to trigger them to find answers to challenges facing the city. These people played a fundamental role in helping Giuliani to find solutions to the crisis facing New York City and the development of a better future. Giuliani was able to raise the bar in order to confront new Yorkers to respond to the crisis. His task of challenging people was easy because of the extent of the crisis; September 1st attacks were so severe that people were willing to do anything in order to contain the crisis (Polner 2005, p.110).
Giuliani helped the people of New York City to remain focused on the issue of the city rather than their self-interest. This depicts the character of a good leader who is ready to sacrifice himself for the benefit of the entire country. Mayor Giuliani could set clear restrictions with compassion in this way he was able to provide people with comprehensible choices. For instance, mayor, Giuliani was always in a position to reprimand reporters when they posed inappropriate questions such as what mourning families told Giuliani in public. According to him, these were irrelevant questions, they did not in any way contribute to attempts of conflict resolution that the city was busy searching for. Rudy was able to make important choices regarding traffic issues regardless of prospective opposition from already collapsing business interests. Rudy faced strong oppositions but he was able to remain focused, he placed prospect directions in stark and he maintained comprehensible terms when appropriate. Giuliani accorded public praise to people who contributed positively towards the rebuilding of New York City. However, Giuliani did not yearn for public praise; he constantly missed the highlights publicly made by others. In delivering his speech he always acknowledged efforts made by others even when he was in hurry to end his speech. He was a change leader, determined to effect positive change on all leaders depicted Rudy as a team player. Rudy’s statements were clear, a question which did not relate to important issues he politely brushed them off to ensure that his information was not clouded with unnecessary issues. He constantly and respectfully reminded his team of the importance of sticking to important issues to avoid confusion and misplaced priorities. He embraced the moral of sticking and adequately completing what he began this portrayed some of his incredible leadership qualities. He was able to realize that repetition of the important message was fundamental to enhance the smooth unfolding of the change program. Change management is considered as one of the most complex approaches in leadership however, mayor Giuliani was able to implement it because of his commitment to take New York City through the September 11th attacks (Schuler 2004, p. 19).
When New York City faced destructive power caused by poor leadership mayor, Rudy Giuliani stood firm portraying effectual leadership during crisis. Leaders from all over the world learned effective leadership from him and up to now they still do. As terror attacks went on Giuliani came out and observed with his own eyes the unfolding of every scene of the crisis. This helped him to critically evaluate the situation in order to be able to make an informed decision in developing solutions. During a crisis, leaders are encouraged to be at the forefront rather than hiding from reality. Leaders are supposed to go to the sight of a crisis in order to be able to perfectly evaluate the situation, demonstrate concern as well as showing confidence and perseverance to the public. Giuliani’s confidence to be visible was a vital element that contributed to his success during the September 11th terrorism. He showed up when it was necessary he stopped being a lame-duck, husband, and became the leader of the year. His name and the image were always on the headlines of times magazine for at least 111 days. Giuliani was always composed; he embraced self-control of his tone and emotion. He knew that in order to have his team and the entire public continue striving so as to contain the situation they needed a strong leader. He remained composed no matter how bad the situation got this motivated his team to think straight and respond to the crisis appropriately. Throughout the crisis Giuliani was vocal he maintained communication with the public, did whatever was possible in his capacity to calm the public. Systemically he enhanced the smooth and safe evacuation of people. Even though the crises were difficult Giuliani always reminded the public that there was hope, they were going to make it successfully. He was optimistic that New York City was to overcome the challenge which had been thrown to them. The bottom line was to offer his team and the entire public hope, letting them realize they have the capability of making it through a crisis (Heifetz 2010, p.67).
Leadership
Leadership is a fundamental feature in addressing organizational issues. Leadership is the ability of a leader to influence his followers positively to achieve a common goal. Therefore, leaders should have the ability to create situations that compel people to act to perform extraordinarily. Leadership also involves the ability of leaders to pay attention and to use their skills to initiate dialogue with their followers at all levels. It also involves the development of procedures that are transparent and clear to all stakeholders. Some of the leadership qualities include proper communication, the ability to set a clear mission and vision which act as the guiding principle of the organization, and a good relationship between the leader and his followers. A leader with the above qualities is able to influence their followers easily, followers feel that there is no great difference between them and their leaders. They are able to confine freely which makes leadership easy for both the followers and the leader. Leadership entails designing and not only reacting to schedule but the ability to accurately recognize difficulties and ability to commence change that promotes significant development as opposed to organizational change. Leadership performance provides the base under which the success of an organization is measured since leaders play a major role in organizational development. Good leadership also involves the ability of a leader to organize his team by clearly defining the role/ roles of each member (Janssen 2006, p.37).
Crisis leadership
Crisis leadership is about the management of an organization or a state during a crisis. A successful leadership crisis is whereby leaders manage to exercise their expertise amidst challenges for instance Giuliani was able to be calm, vocal, and composed during the September 11th crisis in New York City. Maintaining his good leadership even when things were tough enabled him to see New York City through the crisis. The crisis has no borders and they strike in at any time, leaders are supposed to be prepared always to manage any crisis adequately. A ready-made framework should be available to help leaders to institutionalize the procedure of crisis management. In order to enhance efficient management of crisis leadership support and participation is very essential. During crisis management leaders should maintain an effective and elaborate communication approach. This ensures that things are running as planned by the crisis management team, in communication leaders are supposed to encourage the team that they will make it successfully. Crisis brings about panic and chaos however, leaders are supposed to hide these elements from the public because they may lose hope when they see their leaders defeated. Crisis resolution takes two phases the first phase is the emergency phase whereby the response team strives to calm down the situation. The second phase is the adaptive stage; underlying factors are addressed at this stage. During the second phase capacity building of the public is done in order to help them cope with the situation (Kendall 2000, p.435).
Various methods of leadership
Leadership methods point out the behaviors portrayed by various leaders. Authoritarian leaders make decisions solely; they do encourage contributions from other members. Democratic leadership entertains suggestions from subordinates, leaders make decisions after they have had to consult from other members. Laissez-faire leaders neither make decisions nor consult fellow members, they leave the group to decide on their own. Transactional and transformational leadership refer to some of the theories employed in leadership. A transactional leader is permitted to carry out specific roles, he/she has the power to reward or punish. Transformational leaders encourage the team to perform efficiently, they are always available to help the team in order to enhance the realization of set goals (Cline n. d, p.71). Public sector leadership is a wide field that addresses the interest of the entire public. It handles political and administrative interests; political leaders must be able to influence their teams in order to gain fame and support. Administrative leaders must have good organizational skills so that they are able to resolve the administrative crisis in an orderly manner. Charismatic leadership refers to exceptional leadership qualities possessed by a leader and they make him stand out as a hero. Giuliani was a charismatic leader he had exceptional communication skills, was visible during crisis, vocal and he was able to lay a clear vision for the city during the September 11th attack. Crises are sudden and unpredictable occurrences, leaders are supposed to be always prepared in order to contain situational crises that cause major destruction. Situational crises cause negative effects to the community and if an immediate response is not adequately employed the situation may get worse (Zaccaro 2008, p.22).
Conclusion
Incredible leadership is a fundamental requirement in the management of a crisis. After the attack Giuliani courageously led the city during the crisis, he did not allow the crisis to wreck him down. Giuliani possessed good leadership skills, he was able to maintain efficient communication with his team during the September 11th crisis that befell New York City. He always encouraged his team to move on even if the situation got worse, his major focus was on the future benefit the city was about to enjoy. Good communication skills, a considerate relationship between a leader and his followers, and a clear vision play a major role in leadership but these practices are more important to leaders during a crisis.
Reference List
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