Leadership to defeat COVID-19

Abstract

Defeating COVID-19 will not happen only via efforts of scientists working on vaccines or new treatments and interventions. Key to winning this battle is to convince citizens to take the needed precautions and to follow scientific advice to stop the spread of the virus and to protect those who are vulnerable to it. Thus, leaders, especially political leaders, play a critical role in coordinating the efforts of individuals who often have private interests to act as they wish, but who expect to benefit from the efforts of others who contribute to the public good. To deal with this unprecedented challenge, I discuss the importance of leadership, particularly charismatic leadership, which is well suited to solving problems in situations of ambiguity and crisis. I also exhort researchers to pay more attention to studying leadership using robust and causally identified designs that can inform policy.