Five Leadership Lessons from the Oil Spill

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Instead, he reacted politically, responding to criticisms of his own slow response by deflecting blame unequivocally on BP and unleashing the nation's rage on the company, which at times was extremely ill-judged. As for the other key players, we have heard little from the leaders of TransOcean, a company that was clearly no minor player in the disaster since it leased the rig to BP and was responsible for its safety. And while Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's governor, has in some respects shown stronger leadership than President Obama, he has not been blind to the political opportunities presented by the crisis. Lesson 3: Leaders need to work together rather than scoring points or deflecting blame.

In some ways, a clearer comparison can be drawn between the Gulf of Mexico oil spillage and the banking crisis than with 9/11. In both the oil and banking industries, risk management came a poor second to innovation, profitability and market demand. The duty of leaders, politicians and investors to adhere to regulations was pushed aside in the drive to build successful businesses, create jobs, and deliver shareholder profits. They forgot (or refused to remember) that true leaders are stewards of their organisations and must lead for the longer term. If BP goes out of business as a result of the Deepwater Horizon crisis, then its leaders have failed on a monumental scale. Similarly, if U.S. politicians are shown to have put party or national concerns before matters of global importance such as the environment, they will ultimately be failing their nation and people. Lesson 4: Leaders are there to serve their companies, people and communities.

While leadership has been visibly lacking at BP and among political leaders during this crisis, there has been no shortage of leadership among community members and volunteers in the region who have mobilised themselves in an effort to mitigate the effects of the spill. As with 9/11, ordinary people have shown remarkable leadership capabilities, volunteering to clean up the oil and help the stricken wildlife, without thought or care for their own health and safety. Unlike the elected leaders, they see the bigger picture and recognise that the environment and the livelihoods of local people are more important than corporate profitability or political manoeuvrings. If the leaders in this crisis had followed their example, they might have made more progress in dealing with the crisis. The pictures of local people working to clear up the spill should be put before Hayward, Obama, and Jindal every day to remind them that leadership is not vested solely in those at the top of organisations or political parties, and that they should remember they can learn from everyone around them, whatever their position or role. 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.

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