Leadership: Dealing with Crises

In this unit, we will analyse cases and find out which leadership skills and which strategies help address crises and lead efficiently.

BACKGROUND

It is hard to assess the leadership of a team/ company/ state when everything is smooth sailing. The real test occurs when a crisis breaks out. There is no unified manual on how to behave in times of crisis, as each one is unique and very often unpredictable.

That being said, it is possible to derive useful experience from real life situations that demonstrated leadership successes or failures, analyse cases, and figure out which leadership skills and which strategies help navigate through the crisis and lead efficiently.

Year 2020: the world is paralysed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Heads-of-state struggle to find better solutions, authoritarian leaderships sport a lower incidence of disease, but violate human rights, democratic leaderships are looking for optimal solutions.

In this case study, we’ll compare the responses of two democratic states, the USA and Germany, to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TASK 1

Follow the links for more information and complete the table below. (You may also want to do more research)

Trump’s Focus as the Pandemic Raged: What Would It Mean for Him?

Angela Merkel

Actions:

Results:

Donald Trump

Actions:

Results:

TASK 2

1. Judging by the actions of the above leaders, make a list of their leadership qualities.

2. Suggest measures that could have been taken by Trump in order to rectify the situation.