Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters at www.guardian.co.uk

Leadership expert Jasbindar Singh hit the nail on the head when she blogged about the six leadership lessons we can learn from BP CEO Tony Hayward’s behaviour to disaster still occuring in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hayward has attracted much criticism for his apparent inability to demonstrate any kind of genuine empathy for the people, wildlife and general environment affected by BP’s catastrophic oil spill.

Over a million gallons of oil a day are spewing into the ocean and yet Haywood seemed more concerned about himself, openly stating ‘… I’d like my life back …’ before heading away to attend a sailing regatta.

BP Chairman’s remark ‘we care about the small people’ also infuriated peole worldwide, and left BP’s senior executives looking like self-absorbed, spoilt brats concerned solely about the oil and profits being lost to BP, rather than the economic and environmental impacts their rig explosion caused.

CE’s get paid big bucks to handle crises – preferably with integrity. Making excuses and blaming others is behaviour unbecoming of any CEO, especially one whose company was responsible for the level of damage caused. No matter what happens now, BP’s reputation will always be tarnished by the comments Tony Hayward and Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg made, and the way they responded. Read the rest of this entry »