I’ve been really saddened by the news story of the sinking of Costa Concordia.  Looking at the pictures in the media you can’t help but think of Titanic.  To be honest, I can’t let it in – the situation is too painful to comprehend.

The story that seems to have gripped the media though is the captain and whether he was to blame.  Whether he was or wasn’t I guess is for the courts to decide.  But it’s made me question what makes a good leader? I think it’s easy to pick out good leaders when things are going well.  When Captain Francesco Schettino was sailing his ship along the beautiful Italian coast on a wonderfully sunny day, I’m sure his crew would have described him as a great Captain.  But when it all went wrong and they really needed him, what happened to those leadership qualities?

When bad times hit, you need a strong leader, someone who is going to see you through the tough times. We’ve just been through one of the worst recessions in our lifetime and if you believe the analysts we’re heading for the double dip sometime soon (my sources say September).  I’m sure the companies that will come out of this recession thriving will all have one thing in common – great leaders.

Captain Francesco is facing accusations of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all passengers were evacuated. His crew seemed to react too slowly to the disaster and lives were lost as a result.  It’s a tragic story and only Francesco knows the truth of what happened that night and whether he could have done more.

That’s the thing about leaders; they have to please everyone.  Employees look to them to motivate and build optimism and hope for the future and customers look to them to build confidence in the services or products they provide.  I guess it can be a lonely place and if you get it wrong, it can have dire consequences.  I wonder how many organisations really think about the importance of getting this right. The wrong leadership can have a catastrophic affect on your people and in turn your business.

When times are tough, the leadership needs to thrive.  The best leaders will be investing in their people and their organisations and will be looking forward to the growth that inevitably follows the bad times.  I doubt any leader today will compare themselves to Captain Francesco and of course any business problems can’t possibly be compared, however, I do feel that lessons can be learnt from these tragic events.

Of course leaders need to inspire their teams through the good times but I think it’s just as important to inspire them through the bad!