Lessons of 9/11...

This Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of 9/11 tragedy, a watershed in US history as terrorism reached into the seemingly impregnable heart of US. And here in Australia, we held our breath as media recounted tales of courage and heroism  amid the destruction, the despair and the heartache of devastated men, women and families. In retrospect, Daniel Darling (crosswalk.com) considers the lessons that have been learned, if any and particularly in relation to leadership, following this crisis. He suggests that good leadership in crisis depends on character. Character (formed, he argues, by a strong faith in Christ) keeps your eye on the ball. A crisis doesn’t make a leader, but it does reveal his character. It strips away the pretense, the pretending, the slogans, the smiles and lays bare a man or woman’s soul. Read his article here..

'This week is a sober one as we look back on the tragedy of 9/11. I’m amazed at how many of the memories come flooding back as I read the article and watch some of the clips. I recently read through my copy of WorldMagazine, who did a fantastic job with some original reporting and retrospectives. 9/11 offered some powerful lessons in leadership. Most everyone, outside of the leftwing fever swamps, agrees that President Bush and Mayor Rudy Guliani were exemplary in their leadership after 9/11. You may not agree with all of their politics or perhaps decisions made afterword, etc. but in the days after the tragedy, America was led well.

What does 9/11 teach us about leadership? I’ve found three compelling things:

Leadership is facing unknown crises. We typically select our political leaders based on a whole host of reasons, such as their position on health care, moral issues, fiscal issues, national security issues. Sometimes we forget to ask ourselves, What kind of man or woman is this? Are they competent to lead?'

Read the whole article....

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