“You just have to speak the truth and believe in democracy…” — Luis Urzua Shift foreman of ‘los 33’

Who knew that the position of ‘shift foreman’ to a team of miners could catapult you to international stardom, your leadership skills watched by over a billion people worldwide? Certainly not fifty-four year old Luis Urzua who, during the seventy-day shift from hell kept his work crew, who were trapped 700 metres underground in their workplace, the San Jose mines in the Atacama desert, alive. Surely, book and movie deals, not to mention appearance and endorsement fees in the double digits await him. And wouldn’t he deserve it all and more? The horror he must have endured in those close quarters with his 32 work mates: refereeing fights, petty squabbles and monitoring the food ration of half-a-spoonful-of-tuna/salmon-every-24-hours.

The last to be rescued, Luis taught us many lessons although unfortunately some of his experiences will never see the light of day because of a non-disclosure pact he and his men signed prior to their rescue (what happened in the mines, stays in the mines). But the story is not singularly about Luis. It is also about the lessons in leadership we took from the rescuers, the Chilean government and the men themselves.

Communication with the miners has been key to morale and the rescue operation itself. Messages from relatives and supplies have been passed down the boreholes in special tubes nicknamed “palomas” or “doves”. But the miners were also able to provide rescuers with video updates of conditions in the mine.

A must have – effective communication skills. Each morning that we get dressed and disappear into the bowels of the offices of Company XYZ Ltd., is similar to a day in the life of a miner. There are many a-day when we are led in the dark and only hear the disembodied voice (via memo or e-mail) of management, cajoling, enforcing, berating and sometimes encouraging. Then there are the days when we hear no voice at all, as there is neither written nor spoken communication. It is then that we are really and truly left in the dark. And come to think of it – isn’t our pay-check much like the meager rations the men received – but then that is a whole ‘nother story.

Asked about his secret for keeping the men bonded and focused on survival, Luis revealed in one interview that, “You just have to speak the truth and believe in democracy.” Every day in speaking with the men, Luis tried to give the men a philosophical acceptance of their fate. “Every day [he] told us to have strength. If they find us they find us, if not, that’s that, reported another miner Richard Villaroel. Here, Luis taught us the importance of constant and truthful communication. Yes, there were divisions in the group and it was reported that five of them belonged to a different sub-contractor and has for a while separated themselves from the Luis-led group.

I am sure there were days when Luis, the leader wanted a little peace and quiet but he seemed to have not let the men down in this area. In a different interview with the Guardian, Villaroel, said “the truth was not so simple. There was the waiting for death, the hopelessness, the petty squabbles and the nagging, unspoken fear of cannibalism.” He painted “a more complex picture of the drama than the official version which has dominated media coverage. Newly elected President, billionaire Sebastian Pinera was also no slouch in the communications department. He was at the mine on 23 August to announce that the men were still alive, telling TV cameras: “It will take time, but it doesn’t matter how long it takes to have a happy ending.”He was a constant presence, and was on hand at the final rescue and his approval ratings have soared above 70 per cent.

The Importance of Plans, A, B & C. This is one of the more important lessons the rescuers from the mine taught us: to have alternative plans and share them with everyone. Isn’t it the absolute truth that there are days when we get to work and we do not know if there is a central plan for the company much less plans B, C or D. Management and the Board members seem to be just winging it. No clear directions are articulated and we seem to be lurching obliviously like a happy drunk from one day to the next. The rescuers had clearly articulated plans. With access via the mine tunnels blocked, rescuers decided the best way of reaching the men was to drill a shaft and hoist them to the surface. It was reported that three types of drilling equipment were used — two raise-bore machines, which drill a pilot hole before widening the shaft. And a third drill, normally used in the oil industry, which drills a wide shaft at the first instance.

The pilot hole for the first shaft, Plan A, started on 30 August — aiming for the shelter. Plan B, involving faster machinery, was aiming for a machine workshop a few hundred metres from the refuge and completed its pilot hole on 17 September. Rescuers dug all three holes at the same time to be sure of getting the miners out as fast as possible, even if one of the pieces of equipment broke.

Ask for help. For some reason it is not always the first thing that comes to mind when things go awry. In wanting to seem self-sufficient and independent, organizations, Governments and people first try to fix things for themselves and sometimes make a grand mess. For the Chilean government it was one of the many things they did right, lowering their pride and asking any and everyone for help. And the world responded with a resounding ‘yes, we can’. The total cost of the rescue is between US$10-20 million. A large part of the expenditure was on the sheer man-hours put into the project; the machines and drilling equipment used for operation that began at the end of August and the installation of sophisticated communications equipment. Some of the organisations that helped included: Jamaica’s Sandals which invited the miners here for a vacation; NASA which advised the miners on diet and the psychological effect of spending long periods in isolation; football clubs, Real Madrid and ManU sent the men signed shirts and invited them to a game; BPH Biliton and Collahuasi company, supplied drilling expertise and equipment. One drilling expert even flew from an operation in Afghanistan to lend a hand. US sunglasses maker Oakley which donated 35 pairs of sunglasses, usually sold for about $200 each, to protect the miners’ eyes on their return to the surface stands to benefit from a much more high-profile contribution. According to research by a US research firm Front Row Analytics, the worldwide minute-by-minute coverage of the rescue has seen Oakley net the equivalent of $41 million in television advertising time.

Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson, (MBA, ABC) is a Business Communications Consultant with ROCommunications Jamaica, specialising in business communications and financial publications. She can be contacted at: yvonne@rocommunications.com. Visit her website at www.rocommunications.com and post your comments.