In many instances, we see the public face of a leader such as Richard Branson or Lord Alan Sugar - but behind the scenes there are usually many leaders working in equally inspirational ways.

The recent Chilean mine disaster provided an opportunity to see and hear about outstanding leaders – both visible and ‘invisible’. The Chilean president Sebastian Pinera was determined to be seen as a man of the people and the mining disaster helped to give him a public platform visible to the people of his country and the world. He was at the mine on 23 August 2010 to announce that the miners were alive and said, "It will take months to get them out. It will take time, but it doesn't matter how long it takes to have a happy ending." He was a constant presence, showed great public leadership to his country and was on hand at the final rescue.

Underground, another person was leading in an inspirational way – invisibly to the world. Luis Urzua was the foreman who led his men while they were trapped in the mine and his presence of mind probably kept them alive. He remained calm and drew on his working experience to see the ordeal through. He was humourous but kept his men focused on survival. He had the capacity to analyse the entire situation and he drew up a plan to deal with an almost impossible situation – in itself requiring great vision and courage.

Luis’s entire focus was on his men. He instilled a sense of structure and order and worked on a ‘one man – one vote’ decision basis to foster a strong team spirit. He structured their time, split them into teams, rationed their food for survival and when the final rescue came after 33 days, he was the last to leave.

As we watched and saw the visible leader in the shape of the President facing the worldwide cameras, it was inspiring to see the miners being rescued and, perhaps more inspiring, to learn how strong leadership helped save their lives.

Steve Burnside