Leadership lessons from the Easter attack

After a brutal 30 year civil war, LTTE was finally crushed by the military in May 2009. Since then, Sri Lankans were enjoying the peace dividends for the last 10 years despite multiple challenges on different fronts. The Easter attacks have revived the painful memories and thrown the citizens into new fears of insecurity, while the leaders grapple with the apparent intelligence failure. Let me first express my strong condemnation over these brutal attacks and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and all those affected by the explosions. 

The true leadership capacity of a person is tested during times of crisis. Performance under stress can show how quick-witted or level-headed a person is. On the other hand it can also show where their weaknesses lie. There seems to be more attention on the words and deeds of certain political leaders and responsible officials, than the attack itself. Some are passing the ball with a blame game while the opportunists are trying to take political mileage. 

Amidst the chaos, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith emerged as the ‘uncontested man-of-the-match’ for his timely intervention and wise words in the circumstances that prevented a possible outrage and spreading of violence among communities. The most disappointing part of the attack is the perception being built among the masses based on the evidence that came into light, that the disaster could have been avoided, had the leaders at different levels been more vigilant and proactive. Some label the disaster as an outburst of a leadership crisis rather than an unavoidable terrorist attack. 

The phenomenon itself is a rich case study with many lessons, where a few hundreds of innocent civilians paid the price. Let me discuss a few leadership lessons stemming from this catastrophe, especially in handling a crisis, considering how different leaders have responded to the same.

A good leader takes responsibility and acts with maturity

Rather than panicking or losing their cool, strong leaders remain calm and poised. It’s natural for the people to look for the leaders when there is a crisis and it’s vital that the leaders take responsibility for what’s happening and take control of the situation, playing a fatherly role. Someone who is too proud to admit his own mistake is not likely to be someone that others will follow. Taking responsibility for any actions that could have contributed to the crisis helps the leader to get people into working on the situation wholeheartedly, instead of just because they have to.

Unfortunately, what we saw was a blame game by the top leaders which only exposed their collective failure to prevent the disaster. This has not only elevated the sense of insecurity among general public but also added to their disappointment. When people lose their confidence in the leaders, there is a tendency for people to take control over things and act on their own will, which can invoke further issues. 

The maturity of a leader is also about knowing what not to talk during a crisis. There will be more attention from multiple stakeholders including media with baseless allegations and confrontations. The leaders should have the patience in responding to these stakeholders as certain information shared by the leader to manage the situation may have unwarranted consequences, especially when sensitive internal information and weaknesses are divulged. 

A good leader sees the big picture 

This, in my view, is the most important competency for a leader which distinguishes him from the rest of the crowd. This is not only about the ability to see the forest when the people see the trees, but also the ability to connect the dots and the capability to predict the future. Instead of the short-term, opportunistic, populous political game playing, the leaders are expected to focus on the vital issues and long term perspective of matters. 

There had been numerous incidents over the last few years and the leaders seem to have failed to connect the dots until it was too late. It is also questionable that the leadership has given the due priority in resource allocation and policy framework towards the national security. This was further evident from the statements made by a few leaders that they were aware of possible attacks but didn’t expect it to be of this magnitude. 

The risk of underestimating the risk is much bigger than the absolute risk itself as it prevents activating the mitigating measures to suit the risk. While paying attention to big things, a leader should never underestimate the effect of taking action on small things before they become too big to tackle.

A good leader manages emotions and expectations well 

Whenever there is a crisis, emotions can run high, which can lead to further issues if it isn’t managed well initially. The key here is to let people know that the leaders are fully aware of their situation and willing to discuss how they are currently feeling. Although, some politicians were criticised for showing up at the places where explosions took place, they did a great job to let people feel better and provided some sense of protection. When people throw out their emotions, the leaders should use their brains with emotional intelligence, without fuelling any outrage. The role played by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and religious leaders is commendable by talking to the hearts of the people. 

When trouble strikes, people want things to be over instantly. However, these kinds of quick resolutions are not possible at all times. Showing people that tangible measures are being taken to seize the situation will help to manage these expectations. The enactment of certain regulations and quick responses by police and armed forces to arrest suspects gave positive signals to the masses. Yet the lethargic approach in prosecuting the political suspects dilutes the people’s confidence in the political leadership. 

A good leader gets the facts right and acts bright

Instead of jumping to conclusions and making rash decisions, great leaders reserve their judgment until they gather all vital facts. In order to get right information at the right time, the leader must possess an efficient information system. Having evidence to back up a decision is extremely important when so much is at stake. 

Although, our leaders seem to possess good resources (strong intelligence), there seems to be disconnects in the information flow, which was evident when some leaders reveal that they didn’t get the vital information on time, although the same was being circulated among few officials. The most horrifying thing is the head of the state, who is also the minister in charge of defence, claiming he was not aware of likely bomb attacks in the country and even after the attacks he has got certain vital information from the social media. 

On the other hand, the terrorists seem to have got a better communication system to execute such a coordinated attack. From the very little I know about the war against LTTE, one of the key strategies of the military had been to destroy their strong communication network. 

Leaders also have a challenging task of taking quick decisions at the right time to prevent or minimise the damage during a crisis. There is a view, had the curfew been declared immediately after the first attack, a few more lives could have been saved. The leaders were also blamed for taking unreasonable time to ban the extremist groups and delaying certain security measures.

A good leader puts the people first 

There is a saying that the captain is the last off the ship. It’s the utmost responsibility of the leaders to make sure that the people depending on them are taken care of. The evidence that came into light from many sources post the disaster reveals that the people of the country had been neglected in responding to the warnings received by the officials. The political leaders and high profiles are being blamed for looking after themselves without giving at least a warning to the public to be vigilant. 

Those who you remember the first when in danger are the ones who live in your heart and for a true leader, it’s his people. Ignoring the general public was a grave mistake by the leaders that will have serious repercussions in the days to come, with the elections around the corner. 

A good leader creates the context and acts proactively 

The leader’s role is not necessarily executing or micro managing things. He creates the context and gives direction for his people to execute the strategy. This includes putting the right person in the right job, empowering the individuals, giving policy direction, providing resources and more importantly managing the external pressures that distract the context. This is exactly, in my view, how the then-leadership managed to defeat LTTE.

The leaders are expected to go beyond the call of duty to act proactively in the best interest of the people who are dependent on them. At times, the circumstances might demand to act beyond the routine or the protocol. Instead, we witnessed certain leaders giving lame excuses for their ignorance. 

Final thoughts

After all, what has happened has happened; it’s in the past and no amount of ruminating will take us back to change those events, but we can certainly change how they affect us in the present and future, if we capitalise on the lessons we learnt in the hard way. 

We are a nation that has withstood greater catastrophes and shown solidarity when the circumstances demanded so. We as patriotic citizens, expect the leadership to take their coloured glasses off, stop the blame game, take ownership and act in the best interest of the country. It is the responsibility of the leadership to create the desired context to bounce back and regain the growth momentum. Let this also be an eye opener for the citizens to re-think their role in ensuring a better country for the future generations and act with greater responsibility. 

(The writer is a Chartered Accountant, Management Consultant and a Leadership Coach/Trainer. He can be reached via [email protected] or [email protected].)