The Role of Leadership in Disaster Management

Abstract

This paper analyzed leadership practices before and after a mining explosion resulted in twenty nine deaths in Chile. When the first reports came upon the explosion, it appeared that there was a lack of appropriate safety precautions. However, further investigation revealed that the organizational culture created by the leadership was considered as the root cause which could have been prevented if the leadership had established an employee-centric culture. It is possible to see the repercussions of the leadership practices to a great extent. Showing workers that the organization will always do the right thing to assure their safety is an important step toward establishing trust. The despotic leadership, that constantly imposed fear on its employees to discourage them from voicing their opinions and questioning the existing conditions, eventually brought organizational deviance. Members of the organization neither had any meaningful communication nor appropriate information exchange. The absence of mutual trust and respect in the work environment was apparent. This paper sheds further light on the impact of leadership in the prevention of future catastrophic events while ensuring safety and enhanced performance.