Leading, even with a willing and united team, is hard. Leading a divided team is harder still. Leading a divided team in a time of crisis is hardest of all.
Surviving a crisis like COVID-19, a major economic collapse or a community tragedy should require the best from leaders and followers — regardless of political affiliation.
A recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Policy poll shows 57% of Utahns approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, while 40% disapproved.
Additionally, 43% of Utahns believe the federal government acted appropriately and in a timely manner. Conversely, 45% say the federal government acted too late and did not do enough to slow the spread of the disease.
The breakdowns perpetuate two trends: The nation continues to be divided along political lines, and perceptions of leadership success tend to mirror the level of trust followers have for an elected official.
Those two trends overlap more often than not.
But unity happens, particularly in a crisis, when certain attitudes and behaviors are adopted by leaders and followers.
Joel Peterson, chairman of JetBlue Airways and founding partner of Peterson Partners, a Salt Lake City-based investment management firm, has spent his career teaching others how to make difficult leadership decision under pressure. His insight, given on KSL NewsRadio’s Inside Sources Thursday, ought to be the model for leadership as the country moves toward reopening aspects of public life.
“First,” says Peterson, “you have to recognize that often the range of choices is between bad and worse — but go ahead and make a decision.”
Next, problem-solving takes precedence. “A crisis,” he says, “is no time for perfection or recriminations.”
It is impossible, especially in a rapidly changing environment, to make perfect decisions. Choices have to be made without all the data that would normally lead to high-impact conclusions.
When leaders are immediately attacked for making a necessarily swift decision, they are more likely to hesitate and vacillate on the next big decision.
This isn’t to suggest lowering standards of accountability. But the challenge for citizens is to recognize instant certainty and public judgement rarely hold up over time. History books are filled with decisions that seemed poor in the moment but proved pivotal later on. Likewise, actions taken to great applause have been disastrous in the rearview mirror.
Peterson cautions, “Communicate — before, during and after events, bad news as well as good news. Don’t hide the ball, and don’t keep secrets from the team.”
In other words, transparency and honesty build trust.
There never has been a more important moment for elected officeholders and their constituents to come together around common goals. This is a hard task. Consensus building is never easy.
But consensus doesn’t require 100% agreement. Utah has shown the nation how it can be done, even on divisive issues or during difficult times.
The task for leaders and citizens in the next few weeks is to be quick to observe, slow to judge and committed to the fight.