LEADERSHIP MATTERS MOST IN TIMES OF CRISIS

COVID 19 is a test of leadership. Authentic leadership does not come from your title or from the size of your paycheck. Instead, this form of leadership comes from your being and the person that you are. Authentic leadership is all about being the person you know in your heart you have always been destined to be. When country after country is reeling under the crisis of Corona virus, the world is urgently in need of authentic leadership to guide it through this crisis.

Some world leaders like the American President Donald Trump are trying to make this crisis a choice between health and economy. Nothing can be farther from truth. Tom Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote in The Washington Post on Wednesday: “The choice is not between health and economics but about optimizing the public health response to save lives while minimizing economic harm.”

Leaders of China, Italy and Spain have made the same mistake in the past and put economy ahead of health of their people and have paid or still paying the price. Their curve has climbed vertically overwhelming even their fairly advanced health system and unfortunately America is going the same way.

What do you think people are most concerned today about? They are asking am I safe? Is my family safe? Will I get paid again? Will my savings last, if I have any? When will my children get back to school? When am I realistically going to be able to get back to work? Will my workplace be shut forever? These are genuine concerns, and they need an answer from their leader. Similarly every shop owner, small-business manager, multinational C.E.O., banker, investor and entrepreneur is also clouded in uncertainty.  In their mind they are always thinking when can I realistically expect to get my business back up and running? Where and when do I redeploy my workers or hunt for capital? Who do I lay off and who do I hold onto? That the stock market skeptically bounced back a bit because of Reserve Bank’s intervention and even that does not relieve their anxiety either. The same gloom prevails both in Dalal Street and the empty city streets. This is where the role of a leader becomes vital. And this is also the occasion to assess what we need to see in a leader.

As I see it today, there are a few absolutely essential qualities in their leader which every country has a right to look forward to:

1. They speak the truth. In world today, we frequently 'swallow our truth'. We say things to please others and to look good in front of ‘The Crowd.’ There is a huge temptation for the American public to pack their churches for Easter prayers………But honestly, is it possible to promise the same! The American President went ahead and announced it publicly! Authentic leaders are different, they don’t weave impossible illusions. Speaking truth is simply about being clear, being honest and being authentic.

2. They lead from the heart, they have empathy. This crisis is all about people first and economy next. Leadership is about people. The best leaders wear their hearts on their sleeves and are not afraid to show their vulnerability. They genuinely care about other people and spend their days developing the people around them. They are like the sun: the sun gives away all it has to the plants and the trees. But in return, the plants and the trees always grow toward the sun. While the entire Indian nation with its 1.3 billion people is with Modi, even the elected State Governors in America are not with trump. California and New York governors have enforced complete lockdown much to the dissatisfaction of their President.

3. They have rich moral fiber. Who you are speaks far more loudly than anything you could ever say. Strength of character is true power - and people can feel it a mile away. Authentic leaders work on their character. They walk their talk and are aligned with their core values. They are noble and good. And in doing so, people trust, respect and listen to them. Given a choice between lives of their people and economy of the nation they choose the people every time. Only a morally challenged would think otherwise.

4. They are courageous. It takes a lot of courage to go against the crowd. It takes a lot of courage to be a visionary. It takes a lot of inner strength to do what you think is right even though it may not be easy. We live in a world where so many people walk the path of least resistance. Authentic leadership is all about taking the road less traveled and doing, not what is easy, but what is right. Our economy was tottering even before the virus attack and we could never afford the economic lockdown but our leader made the difficult choice of lockdown because only if we succeed in flattening the curve will we be able to save more lives, and that is most important.

5. They do what is correct and not what is easy. Lifting the lockdown and going for work as usual is easy, but leadership is not about doing what is easy, it is about doing what is eight, and right for everyone.  The public should have confidence in the leader that he actually has a plan to fight this virus, save everyone and then we can and rapidly reopen the economy based on science and data.

5. They build teams and plan to create excellence. The leader and his team need to device a strategic approach and stick to it — not go off on tangents every day in their press briefings like the American President does. Yes, mistakes happen; we should have thought of the migrant laborers before imposing the lock down, but course correction has been done. Conveying this to the people, all of whom might not have voted for him, requires exceptional communication skills which have been demonstrated by no only the Indian but also the Canadian and the New Zealand prime ministers, but sadly nor by many others. By taking ICMR, several governmental ministries and the State Governments together Modi has formed a formidable team, whereas Trump is still at loggerheads with his science pool and in a hurry to open the economy because many more would die of depression and suicide if they don’t get their wages!

6. They are dreamers. Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” It is from our imaginations that great things are born. Authentic leaders dare to dream impossible dreams. They see what everyone else sees and then dream up new possibilities. They spend a lot of time with their eyes closed creating blueprints and fantasies that lead to better products, better services, better workplaces and deeper value.

7. They commit to excellence rather than perfection. No human being is perfect. Every single one of us is a work in progress. Authentic leaders commit themselves to excellence in everything that they do. They are constantly pushing the envelope and raising their standards. They do not seek perfection and have the wisdom to know the difference.

8. They leave a legacy. To live in the hearts of the people around you is to never die. Success is wonderful but significance is even better. A leader is made to contribute and to leave a mark on the people around him/her. In failing to live from this frame of reference, they betray themselves. Authentic leaders are constantly building their legacies by adding deep value to everyone that they deal with and leaving the world a better place in the process.

The Corona virus crisis is in itself a big crisis. World leaders should not complicate it by the crisis of ignorance and leadership.  So much is riding on the decisions that they, and only they, can make.  In combating the Corona virus, saving lives and getting as many back to work as quickly as possible their decisions are most vital. A team of leading public health experts can be chosen to deal with every stage of the crisis and the leader should be in constant touch with them, guiding them, and also being guided by them.