Emergency Management, 2nd Edition

Chapter 11 LEADING IN CRISIS

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

—Warren BennisFounding Chairman, The Leadership Institute, University of Southern California

Previous chapters discussed Dr. E.L. Quarantelli's distinction between disaster preparedness planning and disaster management. Quarantelli suggested a parallel with the military's distinction between strategy and tactics, with preparedness planning developing strategies that will be used during the response to a disaster, and disaster management responsible for overseeing the implementation of those strategies. This distinction between preparation and action creates a significant leadership challenge to the emergency manager. Emergency managers must, of necessity, be strong leaders, but the leadership demands placed on the emergency manager as program manager and as coordinator of operational response vary considerably.

Preparedness planning is task‐oriented and is dependent on the emergency manager's ability to formulate and gain acceptance within a diverse group for a shared vision. The emergency manager usually has little or no authority over this diverse group and must engage in persuasive leadership to convince them to establish and meet objectives in furtherance of the shared vision. Success depends on a well‐structured program and strategic plan with control measures such as goals, objectives, milestones, and timelines. Decision‐making is also structured and adheres to standard ...