Running head: CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 1

Crisis Management and Leadership

Joshua Mock

Columbia Southern University

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP 2

Crisis Management and Leadership

On October 1st, 2017, the deadliest mass shooting in America was perpetrated in Las

Vegas, Nevada. One man fired over 1,000 rounds down into the crowd of the Route 91 Harvest

Music Festival from the balcony of his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino (Las

Vegas Metropolitan Police Department [LVMPD], 2018). Using 14 different rifles, that 64-year-

old man killed 58 people and wounded 413 more with his weapons. In total, 887 people

sustained documented injuries during the event (LVMPD, 2018). When a SWAT team entered

his room, they found nearly two dozen automatic rifles and over 5,000 unfired rounds that had

been pre-loaded into magazines (LVMPD, 2018). It was a truly horrific incident, one that never

should have happened, but the unfortunate reality is that it could have been much deadlier

(Campion, Morrissey, Malina, Sacks, & Drazen, 2017).

There were countless people that stepped into leadership roles that day and saved untold

numbers of lives. These leaders include those to whom the community has granted the authority

to serve and protect the public, such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMPD) officers

and the Mandalay Bay security officers. They were also paramedics that immediately began

treating gunshot wounds in the medical tent and those that arrived on scene as quickly as

possible to provide further aid. The SWAT team that responded executed a highly skilled assault

on the shooter, arriving outside his hotel room on the 32nd floor approximately 52 minutes after

the first shot was fired (LVMPD, 2018). These leaders also include all of the hospital staff that

worked frantically for hours to triage and care for the overwhelming number of victims. In

addition to those who were leaders because of their profession, there were also numerous

individuals that were thrust into leadership positions merely because they were present during

this catastrophe and chose to act. One off duty firefighter from Seattle could’ve followed his
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friends to safety, but instead he ran toward the chaos to help anyone he could, saving at least one

woman’s life by applying a tourniquet and inserting an IV (Victor, 2017). Several other people

began using pickup trucks to shuttle victims to the hospital, some of which were commandeered.

Still others led frightened people to safety, even after being wounded themselves, in some cases

(Victor, 2017).

Several different leadership models were employed that day, including the situational

approach, servant leadership, and transformational leadership. This project will analyze the

concept of transformational leadership and highlight some examples of it in practice during the

October 1st shooting. In addition, the project will analyze the ways in which adaptive leadership

must be utilized in the event’s aftermath in order to bring about improvements in safety and

security that might prevent an event of this magnitude from occurring in the future.

Transformational Leadership in Practice

The transformational leadership model is based on the premise that a leader can help their

followers reach their fullest potential by concerning themselves with their followers’ needs and

motivations (Northouse, 2018). A transformational leader will inspire followers to do more than

is asked of them, to put their own interests aside and work for the betterment of the team. This is

often accomplished by focusing on demonstrating strong values and ethics, as well as positive

emotions (Northouse, 2018). They are often charismatic, confident, competent individuals and

typically are able to inspire confidence in their followers (Northouse, 2018). In a crisis situation

like the Mandalay Bay shooting in Las Vegas, it is logical to assume that the victims would only

be experiencing negative emotions, such as shock, fear, and anger. A transformational leader

can have a positive impact on their followers’ emotions by responding to their fear and feelings
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of hopelessness with the goal of restoring composure and motivation to act (Sommer, Howell, &

Hadley, 2016).

Many of the LVMPD officers and paramedics in the vicinity of the concert venue

demonstrated this kind of leadership when they guided people to safety or provided medical aid

amidst the chaos and panic. Many doctors and nurses in the hospitals also exhibited

transformational leadership. In many cases they comforted the patients by encouraging them and

showing compassion, despite working long hours and sacrificing time with their families

(Kerfoot, 2019). Finally, those concert-goers that took the initiative to begin shuttling victims to

local hospitals were displaying transformational leadership by making personal sacrifices for the

betterment of those around them, acting with courage because it was the morally right thing to

do, and inspiring others to do so as well (Victor, 2017).

Utilizing Adaptive Leadership to Implement Change

Adaptive leadership is similar to the transformational model in that it is an effective

method for enabling others to deal with challenges (Northouse, 2018). It differs, however, by

focusing specifically on the activities of the leader that help their followers see the need for

change and to deal with the stress and challenges that result from change (Northouse, 2018).

Oftentimes people are very resistant to change because the methods, processes, or environments

that they know feel comfortable and safe (Kerfoot, 2019). An adaptive leader should be able to

step back and view situations from a broader overall perspective. In turn, they will challenge

their followers to reflect on their own values and beliefs and then implement changes where

necessary (Northouse, 2018). One of the key activities of an adaptive leader is to keep their

followers’ attention and efforts focused on the changes or difficult situation, not allowing them
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to use various maladaptive coping mechanisms, such as avoidance or placing blame (Northouse,

2018).

As it relates to the Mandalay Bay mass shooting and other similar incidents, this type of

leadership is most useful in the aftermath of the event. Government leaders at the community,

state, and national levels, as well as corporate leaders, should utilize the adaptive leadership

method to highlight the need for changes where applicable and subsequently make them happen.

At the corporate level, owners and managers need to start implementing changes to enhance

public safety at places where large crowds gather or there is heavy pedestrian traffic, places like

sports stadiums, malls, casinos, and virtually any other building in a densely populated area

(Department of Homeland Security [DHS], 2003). In addition, it is time that congress begins to

seriously advocate for thoughtful, realistic changes that could reduce gun violence.

Facilitating increased security measures in public spaces can be a very difficult task, even

in today’s environment where random violence is possible anywhere. Humans are generally

resistant to change for the reasons stated above, however, in western society there is an added

element of convenience that plays a factor as well. For their own financial health, privately

owned businesses must ensure that any new security measures are as unobtrusive as possible and

that they are a balance between security and maintaining privacy and ease of movement (DHS,

2003). The initial step in the process should be for the private sector to seek out help from the

federal government, specifically in the form of sharing safety and security standards and

procedures. Things like risk assessment tools and various technological solutions could be easily

shared (DHS, 2003). For example, there is pattern recognition software available that can be

connected to security surveillance systems to detect suspicious behavior using built in algorithms

(Coaffee, 2010). There has also been an effort in some western countries to use architecture and
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area planning to make buildings or public areas in the urban landscape harder targets. An

example that has been utilized in the past is the inclusion of landscaping features, such as multi-

level gardens or ponds and fountains, in order to break up open areas and serve as obstacles to

approach (Coaffee, 2010). It is also possible to build decorative balustrades, rather than bollards,

which could be incorporated into a deliberate urban beautification effort (Coaffee, 2010).

In addition, businesses should hire more security staff to increase their physical

presence. These security officers, as well as any workers that have regular interactions with the

public, should receive behavior pattern or body language recognition training in order to identify

suspicious people or activities (Coaffee, 2010). It was discovered following the Mandalay Bay

shooting that the shooter received help from hotel staff members in transporting the numerous

pieces of luggage, which were full of weapons and ammunition, to his room on several occasions

(LVMPD, 2018). Had any of them received this type of training, perhaps they may have noticed

an indicator of suspicious activity. At the very least, this training could be a very useful tool in

the future.

It is very likely that business owners would resist this type of major change in security

measures and procedures because it may be quite expensive to implement them. It will take an

adaptive leader to step in and force these business owners to analyze their priorities, including

the degree to which they value their staff’s and customers’ safety. State or federal leaders should

also provide financial incentives to increase security measures in specific ways (DHS, 2003).

The private sector will have to shift their priorities, adopting the attitude that security is the first

priority, in order to commit to investing in changes of this nature (Northouse, 2018).

Finally, the issue of the availability of assault type firearms needs to be addressed. The

time for change is now; a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that over
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half of American republicans now favor a ban on assault style weapons (as cited in Campion et

al., 2017). Undoubtedly, there will be many voices crying out against any change to gun

policies, as there has always been in the past, but the nation’s leaders must directly challenge

these groups to reevaluate their strongly held values and beliefs. The threat of gun violence in

America is an extremely important challenge that the country faces, especially due to shootings

of the same type as the Mandalay Bay mass shooting. It has unfortunately become somewhat

commonplace, though no less awful, for schools, malls, or movie theaters to become targets for

shooters solely out of the desire to harm as many people as possible. It is clear that what the

United States is currently doing, or not doing, has been ineffective in preventing this kind of

attack. It will take an adaptive leadership style to force gun rights activists to recognize this

challenge for what it truly is, to gain a larger perspective on the issue, and then find a mutually

agreeable solution. A possible compromise could entail legislation prohibiting gun

manufacturers from producing semiautomatic weapons that can be easily converted to fully

automatic in anyone’s garage (Campion et al., 2017). In addition, there must be practical

restrictions placed on magazine sizes in order to obtain compliance from the public (Campion et

al., 2017). A tragedy of this magnitude cannot be allowed to be repeated; remember, a better

trained shooter with the type of weapons and volume of ammunition that the Mandalay Bay

shooter had stockpiled could possibly have killed thousands (LVMPD, 2018).

Conclusion

The deadliest mass shooting in American history represents a tragic event that has

destroyed countless lives, however, it also provided many with an opportunity to display real

leadership and help others react to and survive a crisis. There were many examples of

transformational leaders on the day of the shooting, from police officers and bystanders to
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paramedics and hospital workers. It is in the wake of this event, however, that adaptive

leadership can be applied to ensure that security enhancements are adopted wherever necessary

in the effort to protect the American public. Starting with small, transparent actions, such as the

implementation of surveillance footage software, some of these changes have the ability to

seriously challenge certain citizens of the United States, such as amendments to gun laws. This

nation cannot allow this history to be repeated, however, it will take a unique leader with an

adaptive style to enact any change.

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References

Campion, E., Morrissey, S., Malina, D., Sacks, C., & Drazen, J. (2017). After the mass shooting

in Las Vegas – Finding common ground on gun control. The New England Journal of

Medicine, 377(17), 1679-1680. https://doi-

org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.1056/NEJMe1713203

Coaffee, J. (2010). Protecting vulnerable cities: The UK’s resilience response to defending

everyday urban infrastructure. International Affairs, 86(4), 939-954. https://doi-

org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.1111/j.1468-2346.2010.00921.x

Department of Homeland Security [DHS]. (2003). The National Strategy for the Physical

Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets. Retrieved from

https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/Physical_Strategy.pdf

Kerfoot, K. (2019). Chaos, teamwork, compassion, and leadership: Disasters and nursing’s finest

hours. Nursing Economics, 37(5), 265-267.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department [LVMPD]. (2018). LVMPD Criminal Investigative

Report of the 1 October Mass Casualty Shooting. Retrieved from

https://www.lvmpd.com/en-us/Documents/1-October-FIT-Criminal-Investigative-Report-

FINAL_080318.pdf

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership [VitalSource Bookshelf Version] (8th ed.). Retrieved from

vbk://9781506362304

Sommer, S.A., Howell, J.M., & Hadley, C.N. (2016). Keeping positive and building strength:

The role of affect and team leadership in developing resilience during an organizational

crisis. Group and Organization Management, 41(2), 172-202. https://doi-

org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.1177/1059601115578027
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Victor, D. (2017, Oct 3). Heroes of the Las Vegas shooting: ‘I’ve got to go to work’. The New

York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/us/vegas-shooting-

survivors.html