During any natural or man-made disaster, the Emergency Management Department manages both preparedness and recovery efforts for such events. Catastrophic events can include terrorist attacks, floods, industrial accidents and earthquakes, to name a few. Implementation of the response plan normally falls to the leadership that has been created during a crisis, but what makes a leader? It is not just awarded to the oldest person on the scene, but is normally awarded to someone who is of sound mind and judgment; the individual who can react quickly and make the tough calls when necessary. Leadership is a direct reflection of how a situation is coordinated and managed so that those being led can react quickly to mitigate any further harm. The definition of leadership is defined as the act of leading a group of people or an organization, but our 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, said it best: “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other for the other” (Brazeau, n.d.). The act of leading is evident when dealing with a major crisis, but such efforts would be in vain if those leading did not learn from their experiences along the way. The ability to succeed must include not just taking direction, but also giving it, and in the case of emergency management, this is no exception. Emergency management includes working with authorities at both the state and federal levels, but can also include members volunteering to assist during emergencies, particularly those classified as natural disasters. When managing an abundant amount of personnel on scene and, depending on the severity of the disaster, there must be a strong sense of communication and urgency when I...... middle of paper ......4, from http: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2508719/Cline, S. (2013, February 26). The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing: A New Threat Emerges - US News. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/press-past/2013/02/26/the-1993-world-trade-center-bombing-a-new-threat-emergesFox, JC (2011). Analysis of incident commanders' leadership styles. Sl: Proquest, Umi Dissertatio.McEntire, , DA (ed.). (n.d.). Comparative emergency management: Understanding disaster policies, organizations and initiatives from around the world. Retrieved from http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/collegelist/OtherCountries/San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (n.d.). San Francisco Department of Emergency Management: Phase 4: After Action Report and Improvement Planning. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from http://www.sfdem.org/index.aspx?page=287