September 11, 2001, was a shocking day in our country’s history. The violation of our sovereignty and sense of safety will forever haunt our memories. It was also an opportunity to add to my treasure trove of examples to support an Ozone Leadership mindset. Ozone Leadership and the Ozone Leadership mindset are derived from the ozone layer around the earth. The five principles, protective, selective, corrective, effective, and directive, initiate behaviors that change the climate of an organization and a situation.

I was at a National Sales meeting in Dallas, TX. The leadership response and lessons learned have served as a crisis management reservoir. It is incredible how comforting and timeless these lessons are as we face crises, challenges, and calamities.

The total story, my step by step recollection can be found in an earlier blog: https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/myozonelayer.com/1314.

I will highlight the key lessons below.

Protective, Selective, Corrective, Effective and Directive, in retrospect, was present throughout the leadership response

– Take care of your people – take the necessary steps to meet your people’s needs and help[ them feel safe

– A structured well-conceived plan provides comfort

– Money is not an object and should not stand in the way of caring for your team

– Provide structure for your people until more information is available

– Note the location of everyone

– Provide frequent updates to share recent communications

– Delegate responsibilities to those most gifted to lead in their area of expertise

– Understand people’s emotions and relate with empathy

– Establish a timeframe to report progress

– Allow people time to release and relax

– Value people and show concern for their families

– Determine the key areas on which to focus your attention

–  Strong leadership created great stories and paid dividends in loyalty and increased performance

May you find them of value as we grow as a country, with leadership, compassion, love, unity, and safety as guiding principles.