Effects of COVID-19: Leadership & Administration
I’m watching and learning from global reaction to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s no doubt that some countries have handled it better than others. Some have also had some “nasty surprises” …
The time for “blame games” and recriminations will come later; let’s first learn from the different types of “fallout” we’ve seen. My first article was on “Social Fallout”. After that I wrote about “Supply Chain Fallout”. Travel & Tourism came next, followed by a closer look at the Garment Industry. Next was PPE, so now we’ll look at Leadership & Administration
We’ve seen a lot of criticism (and some praise) for world governments. It may sound trite, but the spread of COVID-19 is unprecedented. The world has seen pandemics before and will see them again. What our journalists and media seem not to realise is that one plans based on the lessons of what happened before and what might happen next. The last is, frankly, unknown.
The last coronavirus was SARS and the WHO and medical fraternity did learn from that. The world was better placed to understand this kind of virus, but SARS-Cov-2 is different. Governments that locked down early seem to have done better than those who didn’t. The countries that had lived through SARS learnt lessons which allowed them to leap into action. “The most commonly uttered sentence in America at the moment is, ‘I’ve never seen something like this before.’ That wasn’t a sentence anyone in Hong Kong uttered.” said Ron Klain, the former Ebola czar.
A problem for many is that, in a democracy, one relies on the willingness of the electorate to follow what they see as “oppressive” rules (the UK and US are a case in point). Leaders also have to weigh the benefits of a total or partial lockdown against the effects in their economies - something that journalists “20/20 hindsight” don’t….
So what impacts are we seeing? To start with, persuading the population of a democratic country to stay at home voluntarily isn’t easy. Absent clear guidance from government, local officials, law enforcement agencies and businesses have been forced to take their own measures (as we were in our company).
Some want clear guidelines, then disagree with them. Some want to end lockdowns whilst others don’t. When it comes to lifting lockdowns, the advice should come from the medics, but it is government that decides. Even this is tricky, as parliaments can’t convene except by “remote”. And whatever politicians decide, someone will suffer…
As we have seen, we can expect shortages and will need to learn to improvise. Airbag makers are producing PPE, gin factories hand sanitiser, car manufacturers ventilators.
People will notice delays in issuing “government” documents, e.g. ID cards, driving licences, passports.
What will become vital is clear and unambiguous communication from government to people. The UK is seeing a number of complaints that the latest “Stay Alert” guidance is ambiguous, resulting in Ireland, Scotland and Wales doing their own thing…. Part of the problem here may also be a perceived lack of transparency in Westminster.
We may well expect to see “bigger government” in the shape of policing, loans to prop up business, price controls and mobile apps to trace people (among others). The question: will government give up its gains after the crisis?
Following bigger government, could we see more nationalisation of vital industries? Rather than privatise, government control of “essential services” (e.g. health, communications, etc) may be needed. However, in the words of Investvine (16 April 2020), “… the demonstrable need for expertise, competence, resilience, capacity and strength in government and the public sector during this time of crisis will render past clarion calls for the privatisation of all social services including public health; an unfettered private financial sector; laissez faire, free-market dominance in economic management and a conception of ‘value’ determined solely by price, to all look rather silly.”
Governments work based on a mixture of past experience, perception of a situation, laid-down administrative processes and concern for economic impact on their citizens. Some could be said to have “got it right”, others, horribly wrong. History will judge once the dust settles.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Social, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 09:33
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