In times of crises...

people tend to rally around their leaders.  Despite presiding over double digit inflation and 13% mortgage rates, the nation rallied around President Jimmy Carter when the Iranians seized the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979.  A few years later, Americans embraced President Ronald Reagan as he narrowly escaped death and displayed tremendous grace and courage throughout the ordeal.  The nation provided an outpouring of support to the man who comforted and assured his shocked wife with words "honey, I forgot to duck".

I have observed how this same behavior happens in our homes, jobs, and elsewhere.  Crises fosters a circling of the wagons to fend off the enemy or source of the crisis.  This happens despite the many reservations and issues that the followers may have had previously with the leader.  The crisis takes center stage.  Everything else, including the character warts, seem far less important.

Once the crisis dissipates and normalcy returns, however, the followers must carefully evaluate and scrutinize their leader to ensure that he/she learned from the experience, makes the necessary changes, and does not revert back to old behavior.  Otherwise, the leader can mistake the support during the crisis as a complete endorsement and delude themselves into a sense of invincibility.  Ulitmately, another crisis may arise sooner and more virulent than before. 

In the midst of the recent financial crisis, it has been written "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste".