BP Boss, failed to learn that when the going gets tough – bosses have to 'lead from the

Human beings crave strong, visible leadership especially in times of crisis. Leaders who may be adequate in the good times, should not hide behind lawyers and spin doctors when teh going gets tough.
By: Geraldine Kilbride, CrucialSkills4Leaders.com
 
July 27, 2010 - PRLog -- In the last few weeks and months, anxious shareholders, politicians and anyone with a pension living either  side of the Atlantic, has waited for the next, often painful instalment of BP versus the runaway oil-well saga. Just recently, however, it was announced that Tony Hayward, the beleaguered CEO of BP, is seeking an early release from his contract in order to step down from his highly visible and testing role.

It seems that bosses and leaders who are comfortable with leading companies when times are good are not necessarily able to meet the challenges when the going gets tough. Time and again, leaders of Fortune 500 companies, around the world, fail to rise to the challenges of the unexpected or  crisis situation. This has been most noticeable since 2008 when the world has gone into a tail-spin recession – largely due to poor leadership on both the financial and political fronts.

“The qualities and skills required of leaders in times of crisis or uncertainty are not the same as those which are perfectly adequate when things are ticking along in a predictable fashion.”, says Geraldine Kilbride, a business psychologist who coaches and lectures on leadership. “Since 9/11 there has been a quantity of powerful research which shows that there are seven key behaviours  that leaders have to demonstrate in times of crisis - if they are going to be counted as both effective and successful.

“The most critical behaviour for leaders to adopt when the going gets tough,  is to be visible and to 'lead from the front'”, states Geraldine, “you cannot afford to leave it to the spin doctors or lawyers. In order to create a feeling of confidence and reassurance amongst all your concerned stake-holders, you have to be seen to be taking responsibility for what has occurred  and to be out front and available to shape the story that you want to have out there – you cannot afford to retire to your boat to hide and lick your wounds.”

Human beings crave leadership. When a crisis hits, we humans are even more keen to find  someone who is willing to take responsibility for the situation on their shoulders and to show the rest of us that there is a way out. The leader needs to give his/her followers hope and not leave them floundering in uncertainty and ignorance.

Geraldine regularly gives talks and seminars to leaders of organisations to help them prepare for and deal with crisis, in what ever shape or form it hits. She uses a 7-step model for successfully leading through crisis. “You may not be able to rise to a crisis situation as magnificently as Winston Churchill, but you can learn to avoid the obvious pitfalls, when you and your company hit an emergency, and then you will be satisfied that, as a leader, you are giving value for money for  your (probably large) salary.

For an informative interview and more information about the 7-step model, call Geraldine Kilbride
on 077 26214338.  geraldine@crucialskills4leaders.com: www.crucialskills4leaders.com

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Europe's foremost resources for developing your leadership talent. Leadership development , with executive coaching and 360 degree feedback a speciality.
Geraldine Kilbride speaks authoritatively on leadership in times of crisis and uncertainty
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Source:Geraldine Kilbride, CrucialSkills4Leaders.com
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Tags:Leading In Times Of Crisis, Leadership Skills, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching
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