An effective leader must possess the ability not only to deal with current problems, but also to anticipate future ones.

An effective leader must possess the ability not only to deal with current problems, but also to anticipate future ones.

9:35- 10:05

Leadership is an essential part of life and it is the pulse that helps keep the human race moving forward. However, leadership must be effective to create change. Different scenarios require varying forms of effective leadership that utilize different knowledge and set of skills, but is uniform in all spectrums. Some qualities include cooperating as well as motivating others to complete a task successfully under pressure. An important characteristic for a leader is to deal with current problems but also anticipate future ones.

First consider a situation when leaders must deal with current problems and anticipate future problems. In the aftermath of 9-11 attacks in Washingon DC and New York, the Bush Administration as well as the general public were filled with shock and insecurity. The government tried to calm the public down by assuring everyone that extra security measures were being taken to prevent future attacks of this magnitude. Eventually, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transport Security Agency were established to enforce the security measures in an effort to deal with future attacks. Likewise, with the increased fears the Bush Administration took immediate action to weed out the source of terrorism and declared war on terrorism by sending troops Iraq. By doing so,  Bush was trying to deal with a current threat of weapons of mass destruction from Saddam Hussein. After successfully removing Saddam from power, Bush then established an interim government to deal with future problems of sectarian violence. Another example, includes the 2009 and 2010 outbreaks of H1N1 swine and avian flu in the United States and world wide. Initially the government was trying to prevent the disease transmission and established quarantines to separate infected individuals. After quarantines were established, the FDA manufactured vaccines for every flu season to prevent the virus from spreading again.  Both scenarios show that dealing with both current problems and anticipating future ones is important.

On the other hand, dealing with current  problems is more effective than anticipating future problems. This is especially true when there are times of civil unrest and widespread disapproval amongst citizens. For example in Egypt, the ongoing civil unrest from President Mubaraq’s dictatorship resulting in his removal and impeachment from office. Over the course of Mubaraq’s 30 years in office after coming in power with military coup, the dictatorship is soon coming to an end. Thousands of protesters were dismayed with his leadership due to severe restrictions on the public. Protesters hurled bombs  and grenades on Mubaraq’s army and eventually with a united force of protesters, he resigned. Mubaraq and his party are expected to receive the death penalty for his harmful action on innocent civilians. Another example, is in Libya where former military leader Mumar Gadaffi was also removed from power in a similar fashion. Gadaffi established a dictatorship with the use of chemical weapons and the military. Eventually with widespread disapproval he was removed from office from the people. Both examples show that protesters dealt with the current problems of restricted freedoms by overthrowing dictators.

All in all, it is circumstantial for a leader to deal with current problems and anticipate future problems. If there is a national disaster such as a terrorist attack or health scare it is important to take immediate action for the current issue and eventually plan for the anticipated problems. However, in the case of civilian unrest in autocratic countries, it is important to take care of current issues because without freedoms people can not live happily in a country to deal with the future.