Abstract 1

Burrell, D., Malik, O., Rahim, E., Huff, A., & Finklea, K. (2010). An Analysis of the

Application of Situational Leadership in the Post 9/11 Evolving Public Health Managerial Environment. Retrieved October 13, 2014.

 

When castarophes arise, in certain circumstances leadership skills are lost.  Often times people put in such dangerous situations become very selfish, only worrying about their own lives.  Of course, there are always the people that we recognize as every day heroes that step up.  This is exactly what this journal discusses.  The academic journal, “An Analysis of the Application of Situational Leadership in the Post 9/11 Evolving Public Health Managerial Environment” recognizes the importance of these leadership skills not only in every day situations but also when danger arises.  While we often lack this leadership in our country, this journal also talks about ways that we can grow our leadership skills as a nation and as individuals.  It is specially written for those in the public health field.  

 

Abstract 2

 

Veninga, R. (2002). The Decisive Role of Leadership: Lessons from September 11 2001.

 

This journal bases itself around the leadership lessons that we can take from the tragedy we experienced as a nation.  Not only does it note the leadership that was displayed but also talks about how very important it is that our nation is prepared to become effective leaders in times such as these.  It is vital that a leader does not let his/her own emotions, fears and anxieties take over when danger arises.  It touches on the fact that while we are people and often times we want to empathize with those who have been put in such great danger and/or lost their lives, it is important that we recognize the important tasks that must happen after a situation like this.  If we were to let our emotions get in the way, we are using up time that we could potentially be saving other peoples’ lives. 

 

Abstract 3

 

Landau, M. (2004). Deliver Us From Evil: The Effects Of Mortality Salience And

Reminders Of 9/11 On Support For President George W. Bush. Personality and

Social Psychology Bulletin, 1136-1150.

 

There’s no doubt that such a tragic event as the Twin Tower attacks could affect the thought of mortality in our country.   During this critical time in our country there were different ideas of our president at the time and his leadership skills.  This attack had a major influence on not only the thoughts about death but also the thoughts of President Bush.  This article shows the relationship of 9/11 and how they influenced the opinion of President Bush, the United States president at the time.  Different studies taken and discussed in this article show this relationship recorded in many different ways.  In most of the studies taken, when people were made aware of their mortality and the events during the Twin Tower attacks they were more likely to vote for the reelection of President Bush.

 

Abstract 4

 

Cushman, J., Pachter, H., & Beaton, H. (2003). Two New York City Hospitals???

Surgical Response to the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attack in New York City. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 147-155.

 

Often times the brave acts of those considered to only be doing their jobs are overlooked during tragic events.  In this article, the heroic acts of the employees of two hospitals in New York City are discussed.  Each hospital had an emergency plan which was then put into action when two jets flew into the Twin Towers.  A total of nine hundred and eleven patients were taken into the two hospitals for treatments consisting of inhalation and injuries.  These two hospitals displayed acting under abrupt and terrible circumstances.  The total mortality rate was 37.5%.  Without these employees who sacrificed their time to take care of those affected by this traumatic event and to make sure that safety was a priority. 

 

Leadership during the Twin Tower Attacks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Zyglis, A. (2012). Never Forget 9/11.Drasties Blog, Retrieved from http://www.drasties.com/drasties/comments/never_forget_9_11

 

When searching for pictures depicting the leadership presented during the twin tower attacks, I found very negative representations of leadership.  While I believe that there are many great, heroic examples of leadership during this tragic event, this time is remembered as a small fall of our country.  The cartoon that I chose to use is a political cartoon depicting the leadership of the most well known leader in America.  While I have a very positive view of Bush myself and believe he was a great leader, I believe that this was a situation in which there could have been more done for the great of Americans.  This cartoon shows the years passing where President Bush is repeating, “Never Forget”.   This shows the sympathy that Bush felt for the people that he was leading, but sympathy would not be enough to save our country.  The last section in this cartoon shows President Obama with a thought bubble showing that he did not forget about the tragic events that took place on that day but that he also did not wait for things to just “pan out”.  The newspaper he is holding shows the headline, “Bin Laden Dead.” 

            As I have mentioned before, I truly believe that Bush was a great president but of course was not perfect.  While we could all strive to be the best leaders, we are going to have weak areas.  I believe that Bush’s weakest area was his ability to act.  He was remarkable about his sympathy and care for the people however, he could have taken that one step further.  I firmly believe that Obama has wonderful leadership characteristics about him as well, but also has his downfalls.  One of his greatest accomplishments for our country would have to be the death of Bin Laden.  I think this cartoon shows a very one-sided view of the leadership that came from this event. 

 

Perspective Paper: Leadership displayed during and after the 9/11 Twin Tower Attacks

 

INTRODUCTION

Upon researching articles related to the horrific terrorist attack referred to as 9/11, it is evident there are multiple perspectives that surround this monumental day in history.  As many across the country and even the world watched planes fall from the sky and towers fall in New York, important decisions confronted the leaders of our great nation.  For most of us, these are decisions that we will never have to make and could probably never imagine the stress that was encountered by our leaders during this time, but it was crucial that our leaders displayed an empathetic and democratic balance during this time.  I do not believe that our country realized how important it is to have an effective President making decisions and routing the future of our country.  This perspective paper will note both the good and bad leadership qualities that our then leader, President Bush possessed and exercised in leading our country in the right direction during such a crucial time. 

 

Situation Background

“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts,” were the first words our President spoke to us after a mixture of shock and terror that we experienced (Text of Bush’s Address, 2001).  On September 11th, 2001 the people of New York City awoke ready for another typical work-day but little did they know that there would be nothing typical about this day.  When two planes hit the Twin Towers, news-rooms bustled, family members became stricken with anxiety, and the people of our country immediately knew that what was happening would change our country and future forever.  This was not engine failure or poor flying skills and it became clear to everyone watching when the third plane collided into the pentagon, this was an attack on our country, freedom, and people.  Shortly after, the twin towers collapsed leaving many families devastated.  This incident killed thousands and left many more injured.  Rescue workers fought to save many at ground zero and many of them lost their lives in the process; few people survived the collapse of the twin towers, changing our country forever.  Although this was an event that negatively marked our country, it also strengthened our people and unified our country making America stronger than ever. The leadership in place at the time of the 9/11 attacks commanded this unity and guided the people to stand strong.  “I am confident that with the wholesome character of our American people, justice will prevail and liberty will endure.” (George Allen). 

You see, it is not the event itself, that was out of our control.  But what was in our control was what we did after.  There is no doubt in my mind that our country was devastated, left with our mouths wide open, unable to take our eyes from what we were seeing on the television screen.  We could not believe that a few men had the ability to tear our country down, but this is when our President, George W. Bush steps in. 

 

Being Proactive by Making a Sense of Unity

Although our country was caught in the middle of a tragic situation, he refused to accept the fate that the suicide bombers believed we would.  While we were still obviously mourning, with an empathetic heart President Bush wasted no time in notifying his country that this is our time to stand together.  While it was necessary to mourn and break down when we had experienced such a loss, he made it clear that we would take those broken pieces and build something stronger together.  President Bush absolutely, effectively demonstrated Habit 1 when he was proactive about making sure that the country was informed from him directly (Covey, 2004).  President Bush felt it necessary to reestablish a sense of unity during such a detrimental time to our country and its people.  “This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time (Text of Bush’s Address, 2001).” You can see in this statement taken from President Bush’s speech that he took the initiative to see the positive from this terrible event immediately.  As a leader, sometimes you have to pull the positives even when it seems like there are none and that is exactly what he did.  He took this opportunity to empower Americans instead of focus on the devastation that struck and spread.  He encouraged mourning as that is only appropriate but stood to say that we will not be defeated. With an attitude like that, there is no way a person really can be defeated, let alone a country.  In my eyes, a leader is the glue that holds the entire group together.  Bush displayed effectiveness of being the “glue” in this situation when he spoke to his people.  Due to the panic and the uncertainty of what had happened and what could happen, it was appropriate to remind people that while we have a sense of uncertainty, we are not alone.  Being proactive was something that President Bush did not struggle with when put under pressure.  I believe that passion is a quality that also falls into this category.  Because President Bush did not lack passion for what he was doing that was able to motivate him to be proactive.  Without that lack of passion, our country would be left without a strong leader at a time when we needed one the most.  But instead Bush used this passion to create a sense of empowerment in a very dark time by saying, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America (Text of Bush’s Address, 2001).”  He used his belief in our country to lift up and ignite passion in those whom internally felt defeated by this tragic event. 

 

Empathy

The one leadership quality that is still so clear in my mind from President Bush during this event was his empathy for the people he was leaving.  He did not lose a family member or close friend in the attacks but the people of his country did and therefore so did he.  Daniel Goleman stated it best when he said, “leaders with empathy do more than sympathize with people around them: They use their knowledge to improve their companies in subtle but important ways (Goleman, 2011).”  At first, I believe that everyone saw President Bush’s empathy as a downfall in the way that it may have “distracted” him from effectively leading our country however I think that it only boosted his ability to do so.  No one wants to be led by a person who does not truly care about those that he is leading.  This is exactly why the empathy that President Bush showed was not a downfall, but rather a glimpse of faith as to why we are following him.  For me, this made me realize that he actually cares about people he has probably never met before and will never meet, but because they are a part of something that he cares so deeply about- America- they matter to him.  I know that because of this, I knew we were in good hands. 

When he gave his speech, he noted that he couldn’t hold this country together alone.  He was not there when the twin towers fell to give a hand to those who needed it.  While he was busy leading, Americans stepped up and he recognized this in his speech by saying, “Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could (Text of Bush’s Address, 2001).”  President Bush gave credit where credit was due. 

 

Ineffective Leadership Qualities

With every leader, there come areas where this person is weak in leading a certain group.  While President Bush had many great qualities about his leadership style, there were qualities about his leadership that were not as effective.  His incredible passion and ability to empower those who he was leading are not overshadowed by his not as effective qualities, but it is important to recognize weaknesses along with strengths.  Something I think comes to every Americans’ mind when reflecting back to this day would be the fact that Bush sat down with a second grade class shortly after the attacks began instead of leaving this pre-planned photo op.  This seems a bit contradictory and a little bit like it was a different person than the President who gave that dignified and empowering speech.  Many of us are not on the “inside” of the government system I do not think this is something we will ever understand due to lack of knowledge. 

 

Crisis Management Skills

I think Bush’s biggest downfall as a leader was his crisis management skills.  While I believe that no one can ever properly prepare for a crisis that they do not know is going to happen, especially one of this magnitude, a leader must always prepare themselves for a crisis if it were to arise.  As a President, Bush ultimately handled himself and the country really well immediately following the tragic events of September 11th but it should not have stopped there.  In a crisis this large, it was important that the responsiveness of President Bush and his people did not falter after informing and unifying the people as a country immediately after the attacks, but that responsiveness should have been continuous. While Bush was extremely proactive with empowering his people and empathizing, many Americans were upset with the lack of information they were receiving about what was going on around them.  Two planes crashing into the Twin Towers was no coincidence and there was an obvious threat to what our country could be experiencing shortly after the attacks.  Would there be more attacks? The day was filled with this question that no one seemed to be able to answer.  This was ultimately President Bush’s job- to keep everyone safe and to make sure his people felt safe and informed.  As Goleman talks about in our On Leadership text, I believe that President Bush lacked self-regulation not because he was upset but because he lacked that sense of urgency (Goleman, 2011).  I believe the President’s priorities did not reflect the needs of the people.  While every one seemed to be shocked and thrown off guard, it is the leaders job to inform. 

 

Conclusion and Reflection

            As I mentioned before, I believe that no leader can properly prepare for an event this devastating however I believe it is circumstances like these where we find out who is fit to be a leader or not.  I am personally a fan of President Bush’s leadership skills souly because he focuses on making sure that the emotional stability of his people are grounded.  He made sure that while he understood the need for the people to mourn and feel completely crushed by the attacks on their country and loss of friends and family, he also wanted them to be aware that this was a crucial time for them to gather the broken pieces and stand together.  By unifying the people of the country, I wonder if he expected this to be the extent of his crisis management duties.  You can tell that by looking at how this event plays out, President Bush was mostly unprepared for effectively managing the crisis that arose.  It makes me wonder if he was, like most of us would be, unprepared for the unexpected, or if he was being contradictory in his reactions.

 

Infogram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Burrell, D., Malik, O., Rahim, E., Huff, A., & Finklea, K. (2010). An Analysis of the

Application of Situational Leadership in the Post 9/11 Evolving Public Health Managerial Environment. Retrieved October 13, 2014.

Cushman, J., Pachter, H., & Beaton, H. (2003). Two New York City Hospitals???

Surgical Response to the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attack in New York City. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 147-155.

Covey, S. R. (2004). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the

Character Ethic. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Graham, M. (2014). What does it take tobe an effective leader during Crisis

Management?

Harvard Business Review (Ed.). (2011). HBR’s 10 Must Reads On Leadership. Boston:

Author.

Landau, M. (2004). Deliver Us From Evil: The Effects Of Mortality Salience And

Reminders Of 9/11 On Support For President George W. Bush. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1136-1150.

Text of Bush's Address. (2001, September 11). Retrieved November 25, 2014, from

http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/bush.speech.text/

Veninga, R. (2002). The Decisive Role of Leadership: Lessons from September 11 2001.

Zyglis, A. (2012). Never Forget 9/11.Drasties Blog, Retrieved from

http://www.drasties.com/drasties/comments/never_forget_9_11