True Leadership
Recently, political operatives on both the left and the right have been jousting about who to blame for the mess in New Orleans. People have been blaming FEMA, President Bush, the Mayor of New Orleans, and the Governor of Louisiana. Certainly, there were failings at all levels of government. September 11, 2001 provides us a valuable lesson about the proper response to a crisis. The single major element that has been missing from the Katrina disaster is a leader of the caliber of former New York Mayor Guiliani.
Immediately after the World Trade Center attacks, and in the days following, Guiliani was the most effective leader responding to the situation. Over the years prior to 9/11, he had built an effective leadership team around him. When the attacks occurred, he had the framework in place to allow him to direct the response to the attacks. He facilitated action, he stayed out of the way of the people getting the job done, and he arranged to find resources for those under him. He also provided reassurance to the city of New York, as well as to the country as a whole. If you pause to consider the actions of all the significant political figures on that day, none comes even close to matching him. And it is also important to consider what Guiliani did not do. Despite all of the media attention that he received during that time period, he didn't spend his time politically grandstanding or blaming the US Government.
None of the political leaders in the Katrina situation has shown any leadership skills comparable to Guiliani. The most effective leader on the ground right now in New Orleans is Army Lt. Gen. Honore, who is managing to effectively direct the National Guard despite the daunting tasks facing him. Instead of acting, all of the political figures have been pointing fingers and not getting the job done.
Mayor Nagin of New Orleans stands out in stark contrast to Guiliani. It is clear that he didn't have an effective, trusted leadership team in place prior to the disaster. He failed to follow his city's own disaster plan. And rather than spending his time getting the job done, he spent his time in front of the media blaming the state of Louisiana and the federal government. It is true that the situation in New Orleans clearly outpaced the city's resources. But he could have spent his time obtaining the resources he needed. If he had made an appeal on TV asking for every available bus in a five state radius to converge outside the city limits, it probably would have happened. But from his perspective, obtaining resources was the state's job, or the federal government's job -- but not his job.
Solving problems starts as a local issue. Who is more likely to know the layout of New Orleans? The Mayor of New Orleans? Or a bureaucrat in Washington? Who knows what percentage of the city doesn't have power? Or what levees haven't had as much maintenance as they should have?
On the other hand, it's clear that neither FEMA nor President Bush is blameless either. Both should have recognized the shortcomings (incompetence?) of the local government and have been prepared with a massive response once the state gave its approval for them to proceed. The way the US government works, the federal government can't step in until the state permits it. However, a media appearance in front of a convoy of supplies, and an appeal that said, "we want to help, but the Governor won't let us start work" would have changed the situation very quickly. The President could have also requested volunteers from federal law enforcement personnel across the country and sent them all down to New Orleans right away.
So let's hope and pray that the United States finds more individuals with the leadership talents of Mr. Guiliani, and elects them to public office. Because we certainly need more people like him.
Immediately after the World Trade Center attacks, and in the days following, Guiliani was the most effective leader responding to the situation. Over the years prior to 9/11, he had built an effective leadership team around him. When the attacks occurred, he had the framework in place to allow him to direct the response to the attacks. He facilitated action, he stayed out of the way of the people getting the job done, and he arranged to find resources for those under him. He also provided reassurance to the city of New York, as well as to the country as a whole. If you pause to consider the actions of all the significant political figures on that day, none comes even close to matching him. And it is also important to consider what Guiliani did not do. Despite all of the media attention that he received during that time period, he didn't spend his time politically grandstanding or blaming the US Government.
None of the political leaders in the Katrina situation has shown any leadership skills comparable to Guiliani. The most effective leader on the ground right now in New Orleans is Army Lt. Gen. Honore, who is managing to effectively direct the National Guard despite the daunting tasks facing him. Instead of acting, all of the political figures have been pointing fingers and not getting the job done.
Mayor Nagin of New Orleans stands out in stark contrast to Guiliani. It is clear that he didn't have an effective, trusted leadership team in place prior to the disaster. He failed to follow his city's own disaster plan. And rather than spending his time getting the job done, he spent his time in front of the media blaming the state of Louisiana and the federal government. It is true that the situation in New Orleans clearly outpaced the city's resources. But he could have spent his time obtaining the resources he needed. If he had made an appeal on TV asking for every available bus in a five state radius to converge outside the city limits, it probably would have happened. But from his perspective, obtaining resources was the state's job, or the federal government's job -- but not his job.
Solving problems starts as a local issue. Who is more likely to know the layout of New Orleans? The Mayor of New Orleans? Or a bureaucrat in Washington? Who knows what percentage of the city doesn't have power? Or what levees haven't had as much maintenance as they should have?
On the other hand, it's clear that neither FEMA nor President Bush is blameless either. Both should have recognized the shortcomings (incompetence?) of the local government and have been prepared with a massive response once the state gave its approval for them to proceed. The way the US government works, the federal government can't step in until the state permits it. However, a media appearance in front of a convoy of supplies, and an appeal that said, "we want to help, but the Governor won't let us start work" would have changed the situation very quickly. The President could have also requested volunteers from federal law enforcement personnel across the country and sent them all down to New Orleans right away.
So let's hope and pray that the United States finds more individuals with the leadership talents of Mr. Guiliani, and elects them to public office. Because we certainly need more people like him.
posted by David at 9/12/2005 11:10:00 PM
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