We don't want leaders who improvise or who are narcissistic, who only see problems or who are unable to find solutions. In a context like the present one, we need skilled and effective leadership, empathetic and humane, and that is able to anticipate the needs of the population.
Written and verified by the psychologist GetPersonalGrowth.
Last update: 15 November 2021
It is in difficult times that we need reliable, effective and above all humane leadership. Let's face it, few are capable of facing a challenge like the one we are experiencing in this period. Frictions, criticisms and difficulties can be difficult to manage. But how should a political leader act during the Coronavirus crisis? Can you adopt some strategies?
The answer is yes. Having certain skills can be useful to health security experts, political leaders, communications managers, and any executive in a large or small company.
The key strategy is not to improvise and not to fall into narcissistic visions and behaviors like the ones we have witnessed lately. For example, many public figures should avoid repeating over and over that "no one could have foreseen a similar situation" or "we just followed the advice of the experts."
But we have also heard phrases such as "the virus will not reach us, we continue to lead a normal life and make the economy run". When a leader adopts this communication style, it generates uncertainty and distrust.
Technical Information
Aljaksandr Lukašėnka, president of Belarus, told his people "better to die on your feet than to die on your knees". López Obrador, president of Mexico, encouraged Mexicans to go out and keep going to restaurants.
We could give you dozens of examples of bad leadership that, like another plague, has spread around the world in recent weeks.. But let's find out instead, what strategies should be used in a situation like the present one.
7 useful strategies for a political leader during the Coronavirus crisis?
The current situation is dominated by uncertainty, anxiety and fear. Any concern is legitimate and distress is understandable. A political leader should not generate further confusion.
Good leadership must know how to overcome the minefield that stretches before us. Neither more nor less. He must understand that bad communication or any mistake can destabilize the population.
The repercussions generated by COVID-19 can be enormous. Knowing how a political leader should act during the Coronavirus crisis is of paramount importance.
1. Calm and honesty
It doesn't matter how bad the situation is and whether the short and long term forecasts are worrying. Whatever the situation, a leader must convey calm and be honest in the content he communicates. Temperance gives the listener confidence and in a context of anxiety this attitude is valuable.
Also, few things are as important as honesty. Misrepresenting the data or lying is another time bomb that eventually goes off.
2. A competent team
A leader who distributes tasks to the men and women on his team conveys greater confidence. If all decisions and communications are entrusted solely to the leader, there could be an authoritarian drift that would lead to distrust and hatred. This is to be avoided.
A good leader is a figure who works within a team. The team members must be competent and well integrated people in the working group to develop a strategy that allows to face any problem related to the current context.
3. Good communication is essential for a political leader during the Coronavirus crisis
The activity of a leader during the Coronavirus crisis passes through one main tool: good communication. On one point we must be clear, in the current circumstances it is not at all easy. If the leader is too charismatic, it will generate distrust. If, on the other hand, he is too cold, he will spread fear and suspicion.
We must remain in an intermediate position that generates respect for the population. Communication must not admit frills, clear words must be used that do not generate doubts or ambiguities.
Knowing how to give bad news, but at the same time instill hope, undoubtedly requires adequate emotional intelligence and assertiveness.
4. Compassion and humanity
Narcissistic, hyperbolic and authoritarian leadership must have no place in a pandemic scenario. And you don't even need a leader who blames others or just points out the problems and creates chaos. Heads of state like that are not needed at this time.
We currently need empathic leadership that is able to connect with people's pain and worries and that focuses on answers to problems rather than finding the culprits.
5. Sense of community, openness and collaboration for the political leader during the Coronavirus crisis
It is good to consider that all adversity needs action. This is why a key strategy will be to activate resources, people, build bridges with other communities, other regions and countries.
A good leader must know how to ask and give help. It must be open and create collaborative networks in which resources, ideas, information, etc. are shared.
6. Effectiveness, rectification, resoluteness
Every crisis requires daily progress. If no results are obtained, it means that something was done wrong. That is why the leader and his team must monitor their progress every day, detect errors, fix them, anticipate risks, innovate, etc.
7. Predict and be prepared for other crises
Those who cannot predict improvise. Those who do not prepare for the worst will not be able to react to minor problems. Predicting, preventing, devising and designing strategies for responding to similar situations in the future is another moral and strategic obligation of any leader.
There are many ways to react to adversity such as the current pandemic, but the intervention of a political leader during the Coronavirus crisis is crucial. He must leave nothing to chance and avoid falling into improvisation. Now, more than ever, humanity matters and not political calculation.
