There’s a lot to learn about leadership in a crisis from how the military fights in combat, and some lessons endure through the generations.
In fact, as we plan our attack against COVID-19, there is much to learn from our decisive victory at the Battle of Midway in the early days of World War II.
Picture this. It’s June 4, 1942. We are in a two-front war, with the Germans in Europe and the Japanese in the Pacific. Everything is on the line. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, we were outgunned and outmanned in the Pacific. The Japanese had infinitely more ships than we did, and they sank our battleships pier side. Those ships were the mainstay of the Naval doctrine at the time. The outlook was grim.
We have strong and tested leadership in the Navy with familiar names like Nimitz, Halsey, Spruance, McCain and others. But the odds still aren’t in our favor.
Six months after Pearl Harbor, we face the Japanese at the island of Midway. There are two irals, Spruance and Fletcher, who are in the fights of their lives with the ships under their command. Fletcher is senior to Spruance, and he’s in tactical command. He’s in charge.
As the battle wages on, Fletcher’s flagship, the Yorktown, is irreparably damaged. Fletcher has lost his combat power, but Spruance has not. Spruance calls up for instructions and orders on what to do next because Fletcher is in charge.
In a moment of perfect humility, Fletcher relinquishes command to Spruance with one phrase over the radio: “Will conform to your movements.” Spruance assumes tactical command. Why? Because he’s got the combat power to win. Over three days, Spruance cements our victory at Midway. And we go from defense to offense for the rest of the war.
It is not every day that we see that kind of humble leadership that Fletcher demonstrated. It’s widely known that the star-wearing officers of the Navy (and Army) of the time had big personalities, and many had big egos. All the reason why this command and control lesson taught to us by Fletcher is still taught in case studies at the war colleges today.
Now fast forward to today. We are in the battle of our economic lives, and everything feels like it’s on the line. It is a multi-front war with COVID-19 battles waging in region after region in our country. We’re outgunned. We don’t have any vaccination against COVID-19, and the battle losses are huge with millions of people infected and many thousands dead or dying. We’re a little more battle tested now, and we’ve got strong leaders in places all over.
From our corner of the universe in San Diego, we’ve got a mayor out in front, county public health officers and supervisors briefing, and a governor, until recently, on the TV every day at noon. But we also have many other leaders in place — in cities like Oceanside and Chula Vista. And the White House captures the media attention, too.
We don’t know what to do. A gym owner in Oceanside re-opens up his business because an elected city council member gives him permission to do so. Then the city’s mayor says re-opening the business is a violation of the law. And the gym owner gets cited.
Who’s in charge? #NewsomAtNoon and @realDonaldTrump get along one moment, and they fight the next. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo competes for airtime with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
This is a command and control nightmare. Competing jurisdictions are confusing the public. They might even be getting in the way of making progress against a deadly virus. What directives should we follow? No one seems to know.
Yet all is not lost. As I’ve said before, I’m convinced the victory over COVID-19 will take place at the local level.
To achieve that victory, we need the right people in charge with the right combat power. In the COVID-19 war, the equivalent of combat power is scientific public health expertise.
In California, that exists at the county level. If you’re an elected official in a city, you need to lead your city well by working with your county and not confusing your constituents. Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to tell county leaders that he will conform to their movements.
In navigating a crisis, humility can go a long way. And giving up a little power while letting someone else take the lead can sometimes get you exactly where you need to go.
