Crisis Leadership

By Ryan Crowley, William Swope, Tom

Harkness
Defining a Crisis

● One can think of a crisis like a fire

● Fires require a combination of three things in order to burn:
○ Heat/Energy
○ Fuel
○ Oxygen/Catalyst
● By taking away one of these elements, the fire cannot exist
● In a crisis, something has gone wrong
○ How do we break the chain reaction, letting this metaphorical “fire” burn
out?
Types of Organizational Crises

● There are two (2) types of crises an organization may experience:

● 1. Routine Crisis
a. Risks are known; organizations have already established
procedures prior to running operations (Recall Plans for Food
Companies)
● Novel Crisis
a. Risks which exhibit an unknown impact; organizations likely
have no plan in place
i. Multiple events occurring simultaneously
ii. One event which too big to have been considered
Unearthing Crisis Leadership within Organizations

● “Actions speak louder than words”

○ Crisis leadership entails taking action, not just saying the right thing
■ Words merely convey offers; it is performance which completes a task
● Leader’s who wish to take action during a crisis must be:
○ Decisive
○ Trustworthy
○ Influential
○ Inclusive
○ Optimistic
○ Excellent Communicators
The Value of Good Communication

● When navigating through a crisis, good leaders ensure communication

is:
● Frequent/Transparent
○ Aim to reduce fear and uncertainty amongst followers
● Honest
○ Be straightforward with others!
● Empathic
○ Communication should reduce the cognitive effort of followers
Video: Crisis
Leadership and
COVID-19

Consider the following when watching

the video:

What do you believe is the key takeaway

from this video?
Crises and Roving Leadership

● The term “leader” is loosely defined when a crisis occurs

○ People need to step up and take action, regardless of their title!

As a class:

Think back on the qualities which leaders must possess during an organizational crisis

○ Has anyone here been involved in a crisis situation?

○ If so, how was it handled?
○ More specifically:
■ Were you a leader?
■ If not, did the leader possess any qualities of a good crisis leader?
Homework Discussion

Get into groups and discuss what you guys felt was the most important part
of the article. (5 minutes)

After reading the article, how do you feel this form of leadership compares to
some of the other forms of leadership we have learned about so far?
Establishing an Organization-Wide Crisis Management
Plan (CMP)

A Crisis Management Plan...

● Explains how businesses will react to a crisis

○ Who’s involved in the plan?
○ What roles will they fulfill?
● Crises come in many different forms
○ Some may threaten organizational operations; others may threaten lives

...It’s important to be prepared for anything!

Purpose of CMP

● CMP’s help organizations identify a crisis, and help contain it

○ Without proper planning, we may unintentionally worsen the situation
● Shortens length of crisis
● Protects people (employees, consumers, etc.)
● Preserves organizational operations and productivity
● Safeguards organizational reputation
How to Develop an Effective
CMP

Think of a CMP as a continuous cycle:

1. Assess Organizational Threats
2. Develop CMP
3. Test CMP
4. Monitor Threats; Review CMP
Don’t settle! Always work to improve
your organization’s CMP
● As times change, so too do the
threats
○ One size does not fit all!
How Wargaming Can Test CMP Effectivity

● Wargaming is a form of experiential group exercise which helps assess

organizational preparedness for a crisis situation
○ Encourages members to think outside of the box
○ Neglect conventional models of crisis leadership
● Encourages team building and effective communication
○ Seats more at the table
Video: Wargaming
Discussion: 5 Minutes

Reflect on the Wargaming video, then answer the following questions:

a. What did you learn?

b. Did the team seem to follow the four-step process?
c. Did the video illustrate the importance of testing a Crisis Management
Plan?
Important Things to Note

● Having a Crisis Plan isn’t enough- it needs to practiced/revised on a

regular basis
● Don’t underestimate the power of communication
● Give people a seat at the table
● It takes everyone to break the chain of command and put out the “fire”
Why is Crisis Leadership Important?

● Crises will always be apart of the workplace, regardless of the

industry
○ Example KFC

● In the industry that you want to be apart of, what are some crises
you could see?
○ Would you consider these crises to be routine or novel?
Crisis Leadership: Five Key Factors

● Lead Decisively
● Continuously frame the crisis
● Actively communicate
● Be ready for the unexpected
● Drive toward actionable intelligence
Psychological Aspect of Crisis Leadership

● Often times people think of vision as the most important part of a leader
○ While this is important, it is not the only aspect of a good leader
● Crises test our vision
● Another key aspect is holding
○ Strengthens structure and culture of an organization
Ted Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxf_SRCcaGo
Ted talk discussion

● This Ted Talk was filmed during the current pandemic, that being said
how do you think businesses will plan crisis management going forward?

● We all saw what happened during this pandemic and how businesses
failed in every industry, do you guys think post pandemic businesses will
be much more adaptable or will they attempt to go back to the way
things were before?
Kahoot

https://create.kahoot.it/details/dac2befb-749c-4be0-a75e-0c95db7a1f4e
Thank you!