Leading in the Darkness and the Light - Answers - Essay Example

Response to Question 1Despite there being little chances of success, President Pinera launched a rescue for the miners. In launching the rescue, he faced several risks. Some of the risks are human risks, reputational risk and stability of the presidency. On human risks, chances were that it would not be possible to rescue the miners. Also, the rescue may have put the rescuers themselves in danger thus constituting human risk. He also risked his and the country’s reputation if the rescue did not go well.

On the stability of the presidency, he risked people questioning his decision-making.Response to Question 2As the rescue went on, the miners demonstrated different forms of leadership. First, there was evidence of servant leadership as one of the miners who was a trained paramedic went about helping his colleagues and giving advice on what they should do. That demonstrated empathy, which is a characteristic of servant leaders (Northouse 220). Also, the shift foreman demonstrated servant leadership as he made sure he was the last to come up.

The miner that used humor demonstrated transformational leadership as he tried to motivate the rest and keep their morale up (Northouse 186). The pastor demonstrated authentic leadership as he remained hopeful and kept their hope up during the time.Response to Question 3Above the ground, there was a demonstration of various forms of leadership. President Pinera demonstrated authentic leadership as demonstrated by his optimism and commitment to the rescue (Humphrey 259). Mining Minister Golborne, on his part, proved to be a servant leader.

That was evident from the empathy he showed towards the trapped miners as he spent most of the time at the site. Engineer Sougarret led the drilling project. In the process, he enabled creativity as his team sought different ways to locate the miners. He thus demonstrated transformational leadership.Response to Question4Unlike the case of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, the miners’ crisis in Chile saw the government take responsibility. The President and his Mining Minister took over the rescue operation as contrasted to the US situation where the Government left that to someone else.

Unlike the US cases where the operation moved from one solution to the other, the Chilean rescue had some organization and control. There was a plan A, and B. They had a plan and knew the steps they would take. To keep things running, the mining Minister was ever present at the site and the President made an appearance from time to time. That was not the case in the case of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. The Chilean Government also sought help and advice from some private companies. That was not the case in the US.

Response to Question 5To build on the goodwill resulting from the rescue, Chilean leaders need to come up with policies that would close down the gap between the rich and the poor so as to reduce the poverty that is affecting many people in the country. Such policies may include better pay for low-income earners and a more equitable tax system so as to distribute wealth equitably. Also, policies that would ensure access to affordable quality services to the people would be a big boost to the country.

Response to Question 6The possible lessons from the case study are that as a leader, one may apply different forms of leadership depending on the situation. However, the most important thing is providing direction and remaining committed to the cause. Delegation of duties, as evidenced in the rescue, is also necessary to enhance efficiency.Works CitedNorthouse, Peter G. Leadership: Theory and Practice, 6th Edition. California: SAGE Publications, 2012. Humphrey, Ronald H. Effective Leadership: Theory, Cases, and Applications.

California: SAGE, 2013.