Defeating COVID-19 will not happen only via efforts of scientists working on vaccines or new treatments and interventions. Key to winning this battle is to convince citizens to take the needed precautions and to follow scientific advice to stop the spread of the virus and to protect those who are vulnerable to it. Thus, leaders, especially political leaders, play a critical role in coordinating the efforts of individuals who often have private interests to act as they wish, but who expect to benefit from the efforts of others who contribute to the public good. To deal with this unprecedented challenge, I discuss the importance of leadership, particularly charismatic leadership, which is well suited to solving problems in situations of ambiguity and crisis. I also exhort researchers to pay more attention to studying leadership using robust and causally identified designs that can inform policy.

击败COVID-19不会仅通过研究疫苗或新疗法和干预措施的科学家的努力而发生。赢得这场战斗的关键是说服公民采取必要的预防措施，并遵循科学建议，制止病毒的传播并保护易感染该病毒的人。因此，领导人，特别是政治领导人，在协调个人的努力中起着关键作用，这些个人通常具有私人利益，可以按自己的意愿行事，但他们希望从其他为公共利益做出贡献的人中受益。为了应对这一前所未有的挑战，我讨论了领导力，特别是超凡魅力的领导力的重要性，这种领导力非常适合解决歧义和危机情况下的问题。