What can you learn from successful crisis leadership in Executive Management?

I agree with much here and further underscore crises are fluid and typically very active. Containment should be the first effort so the root cause is as stable as possible. Assessing collateral damage will save a leader from any potential blind spot that becomes the next crisis. As any military scholar knows, standing still on the battlefield is not a strategy so be prepared to take action. There is no moment of absolute certainty when leading through such an event.

Stay calm and confident as you analyze the situation. As a leader of your organization you need to ensure that you leadership team is knowledgeable about the facts and unified on the solution.

Always seek to understand the situation. Remain calm so you can clearly evaluate the circumstances and make decisions accordingly. This will ensure confidence from your team. It’s easy to lead when the train is running on time. It’s when it has gone off the tracks that you have to be able to respond with confidence, clarity, compassion and courage.

In my UN experience, crisis understanding extends beyond data, involving a comprehensive grasp of global impacts and adaptability in the face of uncertainty. It's about interpreting the crisis's intricate dynamics and aligning responses with a diverse set of global stakeholders.

Understanding the situation is a critical step. Initial information often has a degree of inaccuracy. While a quick response can be beneficial, a quick response with erroneous information can make a crisis worse. Take the time to ensure you know what happened before crafting a response or drafting a plan.

Practicing crises management (disaster recovery, cyber attack, ransom) before the crises enables the senior team to develop the crises management plan. The team has thereby considered their alternatives, rather than reacting and developing a plan on the fly. This enables the team to come together more quickly and execute priorities with confidence. Then, flexibility and agility to implement SMART priorities and goals can be trusted and debated a lot less, as the team has mapped out plan A and plan B.

As Eisenhower wisely said “plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” You need to assess where you are and where you want to be on a daily or hourly basis.

Establish KPIs as Key Performance Indicators. KPI also means Keep People Informed. Set goals and priorities, communicate with your customers, and get feedback. Now, keep the information flowing. You can choose the cadence of updating involved parties. When everyone knows where we are going, the mission is clearer and the customer knows they are a priority.

Successful crisis leadership in Executive Management teaches the importance of setting clear goals and priorities. In a crisis, leaders must quickly define key objectives to address immediate challenges while maintaining a vision for post-crisis recovery. Prioritizing these goals is crucial; it involves distinguishing urgent tasks from important ones and allocating resources accordingly. Effective leaders communicate these priorities transparently to their teams, ensuring everyone understands and aligns with the direction and focus. Clear, prioritized goals provide a roadmap for navigating the crisis, enabling the organization to respond effectively and maintain stability during turbulent times.

I would bring together a designated crisis team early in the process to support with understanding implications, setting priorities, and determining next steps.

Micromanagement is one of the fastest ways to destroy team cohesion and effectiveness. Be comfortable in knowing that there are multiple ways to get a task done. Most of those ways likely do not look like HOW you would have personally done it. Be open to this...you will likely pick up some new tips from your subordinates.

It is so very important to 'inventory' your team's skill set and to provide training and professional development to better prepare them for an effective crisis response for your organization. You can build accountability and ownership in your team's crisis response capability.

Empowering the team resonates with my commitment to inclusivity. Crisis leadership, to me, is about leveraging diverse talents and fostering a culture of innovation. It's about embracing emotional intelligence to foster resilience and create a supportive environment for the team.

Successful crisis leadership in Executive Management highlights the value of empowering your team. In times of crisis, effective leaders trust and delegate authority to their team members, recognizing that diverse skills and perspectives are vital for innovative solutions. They provide clear guidance and resources, then allow teams the autonomy to execute tasks. This empowerment fosters a sense of ownership and urgency among team members, driving proactive problem-solving and swift action. Leaders who empower their teams also facilitate a more resilient organizational culture, as employees feel supported and valued, even in challenging circumstances. This approach is key to navigating crises effectively.

Every crisis needs a strong, undaunted team to stand up to the situation. As the leader, it is up to me to define the right personalities and commit them to the task at hand or the roadmap described above. It is important to cultivate an integrative leadership style and never make the mistake of falling into micromanagement.

Communication with empathy aligns with my commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I). Crisis leadership demands not only transparent communication but also a compassionate understanding of stakeholders' concerns. It reflects a commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of crisis response.

Crises require transformation and change. Transformation and change often trigger fears among the workforce. This can only be countered by communicating sensitively and empathetically and by specifically addressing potential fears and, where possible, allaying them. However, it is important to remain authentic and not gloss over anything. The better I communicate here, the more trust I generate with my team and trust is the basis and the support I need as a leader in a crisis situation.

Your team will take on the approach and style that you convey. If you are indecisive, then they will be indecisive. Most decisions do not need to be rushed, but you must continuously gauge when/if delaying your decision would have deleterious impacts to your objectives. If you develop a reputation as a leader who constantly defers, avoids or delays decisions that should clearly be at your level & not delegated then your team will gradually adapt to working around/in spite of you to get the mission done.

Sometimes The Plan Goes Array, Oh $#!+ I often tell my people you're at the mercy of how fast you can conjure up your wisdom, how well you control your fear and anxiety, and your willingness to live with the consequences of a decision you make. But! Please, when the situation calls for it, make a decision. Wisdom lies in acknowledging that adaptability is as vital as decisiveness in crisis leadership. Embrace a dynamic, data-driven approach, swiftly adjusting strategies based on evolving information. Success arises from decisive actions and the ability to learn and pivot amid uncertainty. As your leader, I will never doubt your decision because my job is to promote and develop you to make decisive decisions when that happens.

It's important to have a well-functioning instinct for how I judge things and react to them, but I can't rely on that alone. Only with a clear and up-to-date database can I gain the insights I need to make the right decisions. Crisis management depends on managing measurable KPIs and I can only do this effectively if I have the latest facts available to me in real time.

Never let a good crisis go to waste - I love this. Identifying the crisis, determining what to do about it, executing the plan, and then validating that all went well are all important. But what really makes the difference is when things wrong along the journey... Handling those with grace and humor, and then learning from it, builds resilience. The fear and anxiety comes from worrying that there will be anger and blame - but approaching it with kindness and a Musketeer mindset ("all for one, and one for all") means the team comes out the other side more more prepared to avoid or navigate the next crisis.

Jogging Suits Firstly, how are you feeling? What do you need? The second question is about everyone else – their well-being and needs. Knowing that what you will get after a decisive decision is support can alleviate 50% of the distress and anxiety. Listen, we trained and worked for it not to go wrong, but we all know it can and will.

If you're in a position within an organisation where you are charged with making important decisions reconcile yourself to the fact that sometimes you're going to get some aspects wrong. And if you've got it wrong you've probably learned something along the way and will become a better leader as a result.

I have found the following to be helpful: Lead with purpose. In times of crisis, connect your actions and communications to the organization's deeper purpose and values. Show fallibility. Executives are often expected to project confidence and have all the answers. But demonstrating humility and admitting when you don't know something can build trust and encourage input from others. Seek unconventional voices. Welcome perspectives from younger staff, those on the frontlines, & even constructive critics. Take a long-term view. Make decisions through the lens of how they will impact the organization for years to come. The keys are balancing many tensions - taking action while being reflective, being confident while showing vulnerability!

Sometimes it’s not you. The crisis was created by managers who prefer to be hero’s putting out fires rather than leaders preventing the chaos…If you are in the car, go for the ride, or get somebody else to do it. It’s not your “L”.

Leaders need to understand in crisis time that the team consists of their immediate team, other stakeholder representatives, and resource providers. It is important to develop the most effective response and recovery architecture pocketing team members in the most appropriate position with clear authority lines. Ultimately, communication among and between sections is paramount and must provide a clear understanding of the expected outcomes. Last, but not least, communication to affected or interested outside parties must be consistent and driven from one central contact point.

It Can And Will Listen, we trained and worked for it not to go wrong, but we all know it can and will, go wrong. Sometimes, getting angry or showing dissatisfaction at the people who made a decision is part of the puppet act of discipline that I don't participate in. When I put you in charge, you are in charge. I will with what you do, doing, and did.