As a New Yorker during a pandemic that is affecting your state more than any other state in the U.S, it is an extremely scary and uncomfortable situation and place to live in and every individual is looking for the comfort and guidance of our Governor, Andrew Cuomo to relieve some stress with news of improvements and help us stay healthy and safe. As we approach our 3rd month in quarantine, most people are getting antsy and hopeless and are looking to Cuomo to for any information regarding the reopening of New York.
I grew up in Rockland County, about 40 minutes outside of New York City and 20 minutes over the bridge from Westchester County, NY, the two areas in NY most affected by COVID-19. As the days in quarantine continue to number on, and regions all over New York are beginning to open up, many of us in the Hudson Valley region of NY are impatiently waiting on phase 1 of the reopening of our counties.
While I can only assume it has been the most stressful time of leadership for any leaders around the world, Governor Cuomo has gone above and beyond to make the residents of New York feel as safe as possible and protect us as much as possible. Many states and counties have resumed what is almost a normal life while here in NY we have yet to enter the first phase of reopening, meaning we still have a long ways to go before we can return to a life outside of our homes. Today especially, was a positive step in the reopening of the area I am from as Cuomo announced that for the first time since the end of March, the number of deaths in New York has gone below 100 per day, at 84 deaths yesterday. Cuomo has also announced that we are on track to begin phase 1 of reopening on Tuesday, and if the numbers continue to decline, to follow through to phase 2 and so on every 2 weeks until normalcy has been reached.
To elaborate on some of the great leadership skills Cuomo has demonstrated, I wanted to compare some real life events and actions he has taken during this time to the approach of the leader-member exchange theory I have read about in our textbook and through the lesson commentaries.
“The Leader-Member exchange theory (LMX) conceptualizes leadership as a process that is centered on the interactions between leaders and followers. LMX theory makes the dyadic relationship between leaders and followers the focal point of the leadership process” (Northouse, 2016). This theory has definitely been the most applied theory in Cuomo’s leadership approach throughout the virus. Obviously it would be nearly impossible for a leader to be an affective leader in a time like this if they didn’t take into consideration the actions of those followers, in this case, the actions of the residents of New York. With the quarantine extending longer and longer each day, many people in every state have become restless, impatient and begun to ignore the rules of quarantine and do things that can have negative consequences on the health and safety of all of the U.S. Things such as ignoring the rules of social distancing 6 feet apart, ignoring the rules of wearing a mask in public places and having gatherings smaller than 10 people. All rules which are supposed to positively help us reach a state where the virus is nonexistent among people in the U.S. Regardless of this, many states have been opening back up and allowing restaurants, stores and other public facilities which are not deemed as essential business to reopen. We have seen this with the reopening of Georgia, where they opened gyms, salons, and bowling allies and suddenly the next day had over 1000 new cases of COVID-19. By using the LMX approach, Cuomo has made it clear that if residents of New York don’t listen and follow the rules, there will be an even longer quarantine than has been announced. We have seen the stay at home order extended over 4 times now. Now, the stay at home order is in place until at least June 15th, but regions that meet state benchmarks have been allowed to gradually reopen.
I believe that Cuomo has been and continues to be an excellent Governor for the state of New York and has been taking an approach to leadership that will ensure the best and safest quality of life for us New Yorkers during the virus and in the post COVID-19 era. It is no wonder the amount of deaths from the virus per day has been able to decline by hundreds in the past few weeks.
While I can definitely say that while it stinks to be quarantined in your home for 3 months, Cuomo has gone above and beyond as a leader in taking protective measures to care for the residents of New York, I am unaware of how COVID-19 has been affecting other areas throughout the United States. How has the Governor of the state YOU live in been doing at leading during COVID-19? Are you still in quarantine? What phase of reopening is YOUR state in?
References:
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Sarah Ellison, B. T. (2020, March 29). Andrew Cuomo during the covid-19 crisis is the same as ever, with one big difference: People like him. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/andrew-cuomo-during-the-covid-19-crisis-is-the-same-as-ever-with-one-big-difference-people-like-him/2020/03/28/11a89a0a-6fd7-11ea-b148-e4ce3fbd85b5_story.html
Spector, & Campbell, J. (n.d.). Hudson Valley gets green light to start reopening Tuesday, Cuomo says. Retrieved from https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2020/05/23/hudson-valley-reopening-cuomo-gives-region-ok-start-phase-one-tuesday-may-26/5249956002/
dlb5692 says
I did my blog on the same topic. We must have posted within minutes of one another, because I first saw your blog after i posted mine. I agree with you Governor Cuomo has done an amazing job, in a no win situation. His daily briefings and ability to keep us informed had definitely kept me calmer. I live in Pa, but work in North Jersey we too have been hit hard. When I heard the death numbers have gone below 100, I knew he was the right man for this job.
Not gonna say I don’s miss seeing a show, going out to dinner or just a night in the city, but his leadership not only for New York has been on point. Offering to help other states once his was out of the woods, and telling it like it is, no sugar coding, eased a lot of minds during a mentally trying time.