Nine Step approach for effective leadership during (and after) crisis

There are countless theories on crisis management, crisis leadership and quotes about how we should manage ourselves and our organization during perilous times. If anything, the Covid-19 crisis, the Russo-Ukrainian War and toppling inflation rates have been the ultimate test thus far to see how we manage in crisis situations.

The result? Besides the dramatic drops in consumer spending and high levels of unemployment in some industries, the perhaps most remarkable result is what has come to be known as “The Great Resignation,” the fact that more employees than ever before have voluntarily left their jobs, thereby causing a second crisis for many companies.

Of course, it can be argued that the lack of effective leadership cannot fully account for this result. Yet, if we look at companies who have managed to survive and even thrive during crisis situations, a certain pattern does occur. Companies that are winning are companies that kept their head cool and maintained a progressive outlook on the industry—before, during and after crisis.

A nine-step approach for keeping a cool head

Crises naturally cause a lot of anxiety, uncertainty and even outright fear among people. But panic doesn’t bring us anywhere. Especially when certain situations around us are so serious. Of course, we should not pretend that things are not as bad as they seem, but we should respond effectively and deal with the situation. While this is essential for everyone, it is particularly important for anyone taking a leadership role—in politics, companies, communities or any other place in society.

But how to do this? How to keep your cool when many people around you are panicking? Drawing from cognitive psychology, personal experience, and a wide range of other sources, I've found out that there are nine steps you can follow to get rid of your stress and reclaim your calm and confident self. These steps are mostly targeted at creating long-term structural changes in your mindset and behavior. However, they can also be applied to keep your cool in a crisis. Along the lines of these steps, this is what you can do:

Step 1: Calm down

The first step in a crisis like this is to calm down your mind. As social animals, we respond immediately if we see others hoard or show any kind of panicking behavior. The result is that we can’t think rationally anymore and, based on our primary instincts, follow the herd. To stop this, before you can make any further progress, you need to calm down. The way to do this is to shut off the noise (and notifications) and drastically reduce your information intake. So, do stay informed about crisis situations e.g. twice a day, but don’t get absorbed in it. Instead, go to a quiet place and take a step back to review.

Step 2: Let go

Your next step is to stop trying to control the many things that are beyond your control and stop worrying about things that you cannot influence. Of course this is easier said than done. It might help to realize that whatever keeps you busy are your thoughts about the events, not the actual events. And even though you cannot control the events, you can control your thoughts. So, let go and accept that things are different and uncertain for a while. This will help you free enough brain space to start focusing on the things you can influence.

Step 3: Take responsibility

Once you have calmed down a bit and let go of the things you can’t control anyway, the next step is that you take responsibility for what you can do, influence and affect. But it also includes taking responsibility for your own mental response. You can only make further progress if you accept that there is nothing and no one else to blame and that you are the only one responsible.

Step 4: Dethrone yourself:

People only panic about things they hold important. This means that another remedy is to make things—and yourself—less important. This means realizing that you are not as important as you think you are and that anything you do, say, feel, think or worry about isn’t so important either. 

Step 5: Build character

One of the reasons why people panic in response to crises is that it disturbs their finely crafted image of the controllable and comfortable world. In many developed countries we have become “comfortably numb,” not used anymore to any significant challenges or uncertainties. That is what this fifth step is about. Build character by stepping out of your comfort zone and by doing things that you normally wouldn’t do or that others wouldn’t expect you to do. This includes having the guts to stay calm in the face of a crisis.

Step 6: Detox yourself

If there is one benefit of a crisis, it is that it helps people reflect on their daily routines and rat races. A crisis causes a hard stop and creates a naturally imposed moment of reflection. Accept this as a gift and use it to rethink what you were supposed to believe, aspire, say and do. Challenge your beliefs about yourself and use this to make a significant step towards a better you, a better situation for the people you are responsible for, and a better world.

Step 7: Get organized

Keeping a cool head in the face of crisis is easier when your life and your environment are organized. Clutter disturbs your mind, so get rid of it. Also, along the lines of Step 6, the current situation gives you an opportunity to rethink how you work. An example is the Covid-19 crisis: many people now work from home, commute less or otherwise now have the space to reorganize their daily lives. Some changes may be temporary, but this is at the same time an excellent opportunity to change and improve your way of working for the longer term as well.

Step 8: Think sensibly

Quite a bit of the unrest is caused by rumors and speculation. We should try our best to filter out what makes sense and what not. Of course, most of us are not experts and even the experts disagree, but we can use our ability to think rationally. Whenever you hear or read something, assess who is saying it and why and whether that makes it more or less likely to be true. And always apply different perspectives to get out of your filter bubble and develop a more nuanced view of what is going on. .

Step 9: Pay attention

The previous eight steps are meant to free your brain from the panic-inducing thoughts to allow you to think sensibly in the face of the crises. This enables you to make one more crucial step: pay attention. To others, to the things that really matter and to yourself. In this final step, you carefully and attentively monitor what is happening around and inside you using all your senses. This makes you focused on what you can and should really do in order to deal with the crisis—or otherwise.

When you are able to execute these nine steps in the current crisis, you have made a significant step forward in showing strong personal leadership. This, we can expect, will not only lead to more effective leadership behavior today, but also in the future. And not only for yourself, but also for others who look at you. 

This article is based on my book: No More Bananas: How to Keep Your Cool in the Collective Madness, which can be found here.