With the world brought to a point where it is undoubtedly economically and medically strained because of the COVID-19 pandemic, an ugly revelation is made in how badly we need good leadership, especially amid a lot of finger-pointing between the US and China. The US has claimed that the outbreak grew out of control because the WHO accepted assurances from China that the virus was not a cause for concern.
While the vast majority of national governments have been able to introduce remedies to stifle and stop the further spread of infection, the truth remains that the international response was greatly hindered by limited leadership and a lot of finger-pointing, when it should have been a time to set aside differences and to focus on containing the virus.
The tension between the US and China has made international coordination problematic, if not impossible. It is also apparent that neither the US nor China has stepped up in all the way they needed to during this difficult time.
That isn’t to say that we completely lack in global leadership, as many world leaders have seen their popularity rise because of their effective response to the pandemic. If anything, this shows the importance of having good leadership in times of crisis.
Scaling Down
But we shouldn’t lay all of our focus on an international scale. Organizations of all sizes are bound to benefit from good leadership, especially during a crisis. Many people don’t care about international affairs as much as local affairs that directly and immediately affect them.
Take, for instance, the apparent lack of leadership in Minneapolis, where riots have been raging since May 26. Just a few days after protests, Mayor Jacob Frey ordered police to retreat from the Minneapolis’ Third Precinct, which resulted in protesters gaining access to it, and setting it ablaze.
Why Was This A Bad Move?
While it’s easy to guise this course of action as a measure to avoid violence, this was more of a show of the recession of order. Rather than have the police officers retain order in their city, this retreat is what gave people the impression that the law was absent, and that’s all that’s needed for lawlessness to take root.
Strong leadership would have contained and confronted the problem, and this could have averted the mass lootings, violence, and other crimes from happening.
The Apparent Need For Good Leadership
We are starved of good leadership. That much is true. But, beyond having to face the difficult truth that we lack good leaders, this should also pose a challenge for people to make themselves into good leaders if they are unable to find them.
These are trying times, indeed, but even when schools are closed because of the pandemic, there are a wealth of online leadership courses that can help you develop your leadership skills. Some of these courses even yield a graduate certificate of business administration online, which can be used to help further your career.[adrotate group=”2″]
