Leadership - A discussion of traits, characteristics, and current news of leaders.

Perhaps as much as any other occasion or event, leaders are often proven in times of crisis.

Today we honor and remember great men and women that provided leadership in the most trying moment of our nation's recent history.

We also honor the victims and comfort the familes of those that perished at the hands of evil.

Remember.  Do a good deed.














Men of Stone," G.N. Miller

The effects of Hurricane Katrina may be felt by New Orleans for years to come. Much has been done to put the devastation in the past. However, the mayoral election of New Orleans has dredged up the memory of Katrina. As New Orleans’ voters go to the polls tomorrow to elect a mayor, leadership is the central issue.

Current Mayor Ray Nagin is seeking re-election and has found himself in the familiar position of defending himself and claiming to be a victim of evil. Nagin made my list of those that failed to lead in 2005. Unfortunately for Nagin and fortunately for the citizens of New Orleans, Katrina offered a proving ground for Nagin’s leadership. Nagin failed.

Leaders are often defined by crises and how they react to adversity. Think Giuliani in the hours after 9-11. According to a new book, Nagin didn’t measure up. "The Great Deluge," was written by Tulane University historian Douglas Brinkley. Brinkley covers a week of the Hurricane Katrina debacle and according the Washington Post, depicts New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin as “too vain, too stunned and too paranoid to have been effective in the city's crisis.”

I can’t speak to the leadership ability of Nagin’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. The two candidates squared-off in a debate on Hardball last week. Leadership will decide the outcome. Not a good sign for Nagin. I am not making a political endorsement. I know Nagin failed to lead before, during and after Hurricane Katrina and missed the opportunity to prove his leadership – when it mattered. The policy differences of the two candidates are minimal. So the decision of voters will be “who can get it done.” 

For sheer amusement, don’t miss Dangerblond’s clever review of Nagin.

Michael Brown, former Director of FEMA, didn’t have much upside to take the blame and learn anything from his Hurricane Katrina performance as he fidgeted for six plus hours in front of a Congressional hearing yesterday.  However, I thought he might comport himself with a little more dignity.  He was the “go to” man in the worst natural disaster in history.  Responsibility for leadership in such an overwhelming situation would severely test anyone and some failures would be expected.  I certainly did not expect perfection but I did expect more leadership. He is quite a contrast to Rudy Giuliani and  9-11, who faced a similar unprecendented disaster yet performed admirably.

My conclusion based on his performance is that he was not qualified to direct the emergency response of the Federal Government. Perhaps, we learned as much about him under the bright lights of the inquiry as we want to know.  His responses were self-protective and sadly at times immature.  In the face of the pressure of this hearing, he was uncomfortable, defensive and befuddled.

I thought he would have made more of an effort to look better and more in control - maybe take this opportunity to save some face. His comments were not constructive or helpful to making FEMA better.  Under pressure, he does not have the calm, clear thinking, decisiveness that a leader must have in times of crisis. Under pressure is where true leaders shine.  Michael Brown seemed quite dim after yesterday.

 

The effects of Hurricane Katrina are unprecedented in US history. Refugees without homes are not a common site in the United States. I do not blame Bush or anyone for not anticipating the magnitude of this tragedy. However, the reaction to the crisis is where our leaders failed the victims of this natural disaster.

I was glad to see President Bush finally take responsibility for the government’s lackluster performance following the crisis on the gulf coast due to Hurricane Katrina. As the Chief Executive, he is ultimately responsible for the actions of the federal government – good or bad. Whether you like the guy and his politics (apparently only 39% of you do according to the latest approval ratings), I believe that his acceptance of responsibility is a demonstration of good leadership. This small ray of light comes after two weeks of leadership void. His next step should be to take decisive actions to correct the mistakes of the past two weeks.

This lack of official reaction and therefore lack of leadership in the days immediately following the disaster is remarkable to me. What surprises me about this situation is that there was so much opportunity for great leadership. Initially, the common plight of the Katrina victims provided a natural cohesion in this group. Likewise there was a natural unity and bond among the citizens of this nation that desperately wanted to help the victims. What lacked was a leader that offered a clear plan to provide hope to the victims and opportunities to serve to so many volunteers.

Think how things would have been different for the citizens of New Orleans if any one of the government officials would have decisively taken charge. How would the lives and futures of Mayor Nagin, Governor Blanco, former FEMA director Michael Brown been different if they would have stepped into the void and supplanted chaos with order, despair with hope. Where would the approval ratings of President Bush be if he had stepped into this situation with action?