Flu scare: leaders need to be ready to lead

April 27, 4:44 AMLeadership ExaminerSteve Arneson

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Have you been reading the articles about the possible flu pandemic?  Scary stuff, for sure.  At a time line this, my mind quickly goes to leadership.  I'm sure we all hope that the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have really strong leaders at the top of the organization (not to mention really talented doctors and researchers).  In a phrase, I hope they know what they're doing!

Something else caught my attention when reading the online stories this weekend – wondering if you noticed this, as well. Two of the leaders quoted in the stories, both from the CDC, have the words ‘interim’ and ‘acting’ in their titles. Yikes! How would you like to be thrown into a global crisis while just “minding the store?” The quotes from these two leaders also revealed interesting contrasts in communication style. First, Dr. Anne Schuchat, who is interim deputy director for the agency’s Science and Public Health Program said: “We expect there to be a broader spectrum of disease here in the United States. I do fear that we will have deaths here.”  Two points for candor and honesty; but wow, if she’s afraid, doesn’t that mean we should be, too?  Second, Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the CDC said: “We do think this will continue to spread but we are taking aggressive actions to minimize the impact on people’s health.” I don’t know about you, but I like that quote better – I like hearing that they are taking aggressive action to protect us.