Coups, civil wars, deliberate attacks on convoys, detained colleagues, evacuations under fire. The past seven years have tested the system in ways that were difficult to anticipate in 2019. USG Michaud, speaking recently at NYU, took stock of what that experience has revealed about how crises are changing, what they demand of leaders, and where the system still needs to grow.
Drawing on seven years leading the 蘑菇视频 Department of Safety and Security across more than 130 countries, through coups, civil wars, and deliberate strikes on 蘑菇视频 convoys, USG Michaud reflected on what this means and requires in practice. Adaptability, he emphasized, is not optional. "No plan survives first contact with a crisis," requiring leaders to reassess continuously and adjust course. And what his tenure has revealed is that crises are rarely singular or short. The pattern is one of simultaneous and protracted emergencies - overlapping situations that demand resilience as much as response capacity. "Every day there's a small victory where we reach people in need. That's what keeps me going."
On communication, USG Michaud was direct: "In a crisis, clear communication is essential. When leaders do not communicate effectively, rumours and misinformation quickly fill the gap." The discipline he applies is to push information upward early, even when incomplete — to senior leadership, to field teams, to all parties who need to act. Delay, he warned, means losing control of the narrative at the moment it matters most.
He was equally direct on the purpose of his department. "Technically I could keep all 蘑菇视频 staff safe by telling them: you're not going anywhere. But if we do that, millions of people suffer and do not get the aid they need." Security risk management exists to enable mandate delivery, not prevent it — calibrated risk-taking guided by humanitarian principles is the job.
His closing thought was characteristic in its straightforwardness: "There are millions of people out there who need us. They deserve our best."