Barack’s No Father-Figure

Jonathan Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, media training, reputation management Leave a Comment

Obama’s leadership is no “how to” class

In hard times, people turn to their leaders. For a business, this means the CEO, in the United States, it is the President.  Even in the midst of a crisis, strong leadership can empower followers and turn things around. Unfortunately, Barack Obama has, at best, had mixed grades in this department, and it shows. A quote, from a USA Today article:

Crisis management expert Jonathan Bernstein says that in times of economic trouble, a president “is the ultimate father-figure for the country, if you will.” He adds, “If we think he feels good about how things are going, we’ll believe it. JFK was very good at that; unfortunately, Barack Obama is not.”

Obama’s early confidence and magnetism led the public to believe that his crisis management and communication skills were strong, his attitude unfaltering, but the problem with creating such high expectations is that you must later live up to them, a task he has struggled with throughout his presidency. With a second run at the office fast approaching, Obama must fight to demonstrate his abilities, or he could find himself looking for a new job.

The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

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