Why A Lack of Leadership Can Lead to an Even Bigger Crisis

Whether it’s the current pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe, a natural disaster, economic trouble or a business or workplace issue, in a time of a crisis, we look to our leaders to lead. We trust that our leaders will steer us out of the storm to safety and that they have our best interests at heart. True leaders are leaders who lead with direction, courage, kindness and empathy.

There are so many good and great leaders in this world, but there are also bad leaders. There are also those that are in positions of leadership, but don’t possess the necessary leadership skills and qualities or have no interest in leading whatsoever. Having a bad leader is one thing, but having a lack of leadership is a whole different ball game. The lack of leadership, especially in a time of crisis, can be devastating and can lead to an even bigger crisis.

This morning, I read an article by The Canberra Times published on the 30^th December 2021 about the dangerous lack of leadership and I found the below information from the first two paragraphs of the article to be interesting.

“Australians have every reason to feel let down by federal, state and territory leaders this week. At a time when the risk of catching COVID-19 has never been greater, testing and contact tracing systems are buckling under the strain and there are fears the health system will not be able to cope with rising hospitalisations many federal ministers, premiers and chief ministers have been missing in action.

“It took until Wednesday morning, after new case numbers in NSW had hit 11,201, for the Prime Minister to announce a snap national cabinet meeting for Thursday. He also pledged financial assistance for state and territory governments now engaged in a desperate scramble for millions of rapid antigen tests at a time when international demand for them has never been greater.”

You can read the full article here: Dangerous lack of leadership during Omicron crisis | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT

Now, more than ever, Australians and the rest of the world need direction, courage, resilience, organisation, kindness, decisiveness and empathy from their leaders. This pandemic is unlike anything we have dealt with before and we need leaders who will be able to get us safely to the other side, so we can get on with a post-pandemic future, rebuild our economy and feel safe in our communities.

I’m not saying our leaders should be perfect because no leader is perfect (including me!), and each one has their own strengths and weaknesses. However, a great and effective leader takes the time to analyse where they went wrong and any weak traits so they can take measures to prevent these issues from affecting the community, business or organisation.

So, what is a lack of leadership?

1. The inability to lead and the lack of direction – this often stems from a leader’s own lack of vision and goals. Not setting goals, unclear expectations, visions and directions leads to frustration on both ends and confusion. As a leader, it is your responsibility to make sure you provide clear instructions to the people you are leading. Without direction, people won’t know what they are doing or are meant to be doing. They will also lack strong purpose which leads to lower morale.
2. Slow decision making – While it pays to not rush into things and think before you act on something, leaders who are slow to act are only hurting themselves and their team. If a process is taking longer than expected, let your team know, don’t let them sit around and twiddle their thumbs. Be open and honest with them that you don’t have an answer yet, but are working on it. Don’t go into your office and hide, name one time when that has ever helped anyone? 
3. Poor organisational skills – Poor organisationational skills causes poor decision-making, conflict, toxic workplaces, and bad communication between leaders and employees. Ensure you balance work efficiently and you’ll have an easier time managing your team and this will lead to more productive employees. It will also stop you or employees from making any costly mistakes.
4. Lack of empathy – Great leaders understand the problems their team faces and communicates with them to remove barriers and roadblocks so their team can do the best job possible. A lack of empathy means lower morale, toxic workplace environments, a lack of culture and less trust in leaders by their employees. A little bit of compassion and empathy always goes a long way.
5. Forgetting Leadership Development – The very best leaders never stop learning or growing from the challenges and experiences they face every day, whether in the workplace or in their lives. Creating a path of growth and educating your employees is vital to the survival of a business, because it makes for a smarter and hungrier team. You WANT your team to grow and to learn.

Let’s be the greatness we want to see. It starts with us.

We are so committed in 2022 to building a world of great leaders, and leadership.

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