Shawnee Love   •  
July 9, 2013

When I contemplated what to write about this week, the rife of recent disasters (natural and man made) that have occupied my thoughts and nightmares was the obvious choice.

In reviewing the news on the terrible floods in Calgary, I have been struck over and over by the amazing people who have stepped up to rebuild and help others.  Serious challenges give humans the opportunity to demonstrate qualities, talents and character that might not otherwise be obvious to even those closest to us.

Similarly, those same tragedies offer people the opportunity to become leaders and reveal the strengths and weaknesses of those already in leadership positions.  It is on this point I want to dwell.

In the early hours of July 6, 2013, MMA train cars carrying fuel crashed into a small town in Quebec called Lac Megantic.  The cars blew up and destroyed homes and businesses around the crash site.  At the time of writing this blog, 13 are confirmed dead and at least 40 are still missing (and presumed dead).  The president of MMA has promised to “investigate and take action” and provided a likely explanation in that the firefighters who put out a fire on the same train (!!!) earlier in the evening may have turned something off that eventually led to the cars careening down the hill towards Lac Megantic unattended.  The president’s veiled blame of the firefighters for causing the rail disaster left me cold.

Also on July 6, an Asiana plane on its way from China via Korea to the US crashed in San Francisco.  Amazingly, only 2 people died although many were injured.  On July 7th, the President of the airline held a press conference that included a public apology followed by a deep bow.  In that apology and bow, nothing changed yet everything did.  His willingness to accept responsibility for the crash and for the effects on the passengers, the airline’s other customers, and air travelers in general causes us to feel kindly towards him and his entire company.

Taking accountability for our deeds and the deeds of those who report to us makes a world of difference to our direct reports and customers.  It enables them to trust and have confidence in you as a leader and by extension your organization again.  MMA has lost our trust. Asiana has regained it.

When it comes to leadership:

To err is human, to accept responsibility is divine.