“Most obviously culpable and reprehensible are the leaders of BP” Corkindale says, “who are ultimately responsible for this environmental disaster. It appears that CEO Tony Hayward presided over an organisational culture that sanctioned extreme risk-taking, ignored expert advice, overlooked warnings about safety issues and hid facts.”
His insight:
- Lesson 1: Crises expose dysfunctional organizational cultures.
- Lesson 2: Leaders must recognize when a crisis can’t be spun.
- Lesson 3: Leaders need to work together rather than scoring points or deflecting blame.
- Lesson 4: Leaders are there to serve their companies, people and communities.
- Lesson 5: True leadership exists beyond title and office — elected leaders should remember this.
These are just a few thoughts about the situation unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico and some of the parallels that can be drawn for leaders. What are your thoughts? Do you have any constructive suggestions? And if you could send one message to the leaders in this crisis, what would it be? As ever, I look forward to, and appreciate, your views.
Read the entire article here: 5 Leadership Lessons from the BP Oil Spill
