Class 2, Week 12, Peer Review 2

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Strategic leadership is an important aspect of effectively running an organization. The absence of this can only result in devastating effects on the organization. The handling of the Hurricane Katrina is no different. It would require strategic leaders to manage such environmental and natural disasters, which is where strategic essential skills and the strategic leadership framework come in (Schoemaker, Krupp, & Howland, 2013). Strategic leadership is seen in the linkage between the plans and actions conducted by organizational leaders for the sake of meeting both individual and organizational goals, as the author mentions (Jabbar & Hussein, 2017). This especially comes to light during disasters just like the author details. In anticipation, for instance, the New Orleans’ leaders were heavily criticized for failing to manage the situation in a timely manner (Buxton et al., 2017). Despite great preparedness in the previous year for the occurrence of a hurricane, the leaders failed the people due to a lot of bureaucracy and lack of cohesiveness among departments. Anticipation, as much as it had been prepared for, was difficult to put to practice. The cultural competencies come in at this juncture.

It is detailed that the government leaders to various levels had planned for a catastrophe of such a magnitude in the previous, with considerations of the various areas that would be affected. However, this same magnitude was downplayed just before the hurricane fell in Louisiana resulting in great destruction. This describes the challenging skill of strategic leaders. Not only did the leaders fail to challenge each other on the matter, but they also failed to reveal the issue or ask for assistance from leaders in other parts of government (Pao, 2015 & Senate, 2006). There was, therefore, incompletion and inadequacy in response. With confusion in the flow of information, then there would arise issues in interpretation by leaders. Social and political competencies are considered, but in this scenario, the leaders failed to have facts to enable problem solving and effective making of decisions. In this case, therefore, I agree with the author regarding failure of leadership to take control when and where needed.

Decision making would then result from interpretation of understand the challenge and issue anticipated. However, the leadership had prepared for a catastrophe of their own magnitude without considering how different some aspects would come from a natural disaster (Senate, 2006). Better decision making would have resulted from heeding to warnings that had occurred on the short and long term. This is to say that the leaders had failed to learn from the growing magnitude of hurricanes that had befallen Louisiana previously. Like the author mentions however, effective decision making is paramount even in uncertainty (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007). As was identified in FEMA’s activities, there was a lack of effective communication among the various levels of government and the government agencies (Buxton et al., 2017). Even when the leaders had prepared for the oncoming disaster, they failed to keep their activities coordinated, cohesive, and in sync leading to disaster upon disaster. With the shortcomings of the actions of the Louisiana leaders during the hurricane, it is then needed that they learned from their actions and the need to work effectively and efficiently, before and after a catastrophe, thus reducing the negative effects. It was important to learn the need for effective communication and acting quickly and with other leaders in a strategic manner with lasting results.

References

Buxton, J., Ondracek, J., Saeed, M.O., & Bertsch, A. (2017). FEMA Leadership and Hurricane Katrina. International Research Journal of Marketing and Economics, 4(8), 58-68.

Jabbar, A. A., & Hussein, A. M. (2017). The role of leadership in strategic management. International Journal of Research-Granthaalayah, 5(5), 99-106.

Littlefield, R. S., & Quenette, A. M. (2007). Crisis leadership and Hurricane Katrina: The portrayal of authority by the media in natural disasters. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 35(1), 26-47.

Pao, M. (2015). Swept Up In The Storm: Hurricane Katrina’s Key Players, Then And Now.

Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., & Howland, S. (2013). Strategic leadership: The essential skills. Harvard business review, 91(1), 131-134.

Senate, U. S. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A nation still unprepared. Rep. to the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Washington, DC.