Haiti and the Leadership Vacuum

Bill Clinton’s appeal to business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday reminded us that Haiti’s crisis is far from over. He urged the business community to step up to the challenge of supporting and rebuilding Haiti, where 200,000 are dead and 1.5 million are homeless.

“We need to get a distribution network up to get the food and the water out,” Mr Clinton said. “If there’s anybody who knows where I can get pick-up trucks or something slightly bigger, I need 100 yesterday.”

Clinton’s appeal for such basic support was disconcerting. Haiti’s humanitarian relief effort had a very shaky start in spite of the rapid and generous response by world governments, charities, and the public. The first problem was the leadership vacuum created when Haiti’s government and the U.N. — two bodies that should have co-ordinated the effort — themselves fell victim to the earthquake.

The second problem was poor logistics. International aid agencies and the U.S. military rapidly stepped into the breach, but failed to develop a joint strategy. The result was poor co-ordination, indecision and chaos, which meant hundreds of thousands of victims had to wait for medical aid, food, and water. Recriminations soon followed and some aid agencies appeared to turn on each other rather than focusing on the relief effort.

Earlier this week, Guido Bertolaso, an Italian government minister, commended the U.S. military’s efforts but said: “We’re missing a leader, a co-ordination capacity that goes beyond military discipline,” while John O’Shea, head of the Irish charity Goal, said the only thing preventing a massive and prodigious aid effort was effective leadership and co-ordination. Many have suggested that Bill Clinton, as U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, was the ideal man for that role, but he has diplomatically sidestepped such requests.

It’s a pity that the business community, with its global networks and deep experience in logistics and planning, was unable to contribute more fully to Haiti’s relief effort. While many advertise their socially responsible credentials, few have demonstrated real leadership in the field. Ironically, the WEF itself has pioneered a six-year Humanitarian Relief Initiative in partnership with some of the world’s leading companies, yet there was little mention of this at Davos yesterday.

Smart strategies, fine words, and analysis are no substitute for action in a crisis. Crises demand leadership and swift, co-ordinated action. Whether it’s contributing money, equipment, expertise, or volunteers, what matters is that it is done quickly and in consultation with others. Far better for a company to appoint a crisis response leader or logistics expert who could make a real and immediate contribution in a crisis than a smart postgraduate who can write sparkling reports on CSR strategies.

It’s painfully apparent from many recent crises — the economic crisis, Enron, Katrina and others — that leadership is vital. And the absence of leadership can be devastating in its consequences. Now, more than ever in this turbulent and interconnected world, we need our leaders to step up.

What are your thoughts on the Haiti relief effort? What lessons can we learn from it? Have you seen any examples of an effective response to the crisis by the business community? Do you believe we have leaders who are capable of steering us through the many crises we face?