Leading in a Crisis
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How to keep your people calm, focused, and engaged when leading in a crisis, and the No. 1 most common mistake you need to avoid
Support materials: Discussion Guide • Quiz • Answer Guide
A crisis is a threat but it’s also an opportunity to demonstrate effective leadership and make your company stronger.
Avoid this common leadership mistake
In times of crisis your people feel anxious, afraid and out of control. And they’re looking at you, their leader, to be their lighthouse in the storm.
Ineffective leaders make a critical mistake: They don’t know what to say, so they stop communicating. When you do this, you send a message to your people that you’re just as lost as they are.
Your No. 1 goal
Neuroscience tells us that the brain is a “prediction engine.” It craves certainty and routine. The chaos created by a crisis is an assault on the brain. People become unproductive precisely at a time when you need them to be agile and resourceful.
In such a situation, your number one goal when leading people is to relieve the anxiety that blocks them from facing challenges at 100% capacity.
The key to relieving anxiety... have a plan
Research shows that when teams face high-stress situations, there’s potential for a breakdown of the “shared cognition” that prevails in normal circumstances. Stress can cause a group of highly competent people to “cognitively diverge from each another” and independently make a series of bad decisions that cascade into chaos. The solution is to provide the team with what the researchers called a “shared mental model” – a well-defined plan – that facilitates teamwork and decreases the level of stress that can result in mistakes.
Leading in a Crisis: The 5 elements of an effective crisis plan
1. Candidly define the present reality
Don’t sugarcoat the problem. Start by saying that you’re facing a serious threat and there’s a rough road ahead.
2. Show your work
People respond badly to unexplained events, so emphasize that your plan is based on rigorous factual analysis. As in, “Our risk-analysis expert estimates revenue could drop by 25 percent. That’s why we’re taking aggressive action.”
3. Provide accurate information
Accuracy gives people a sense of control. Bad news is more tolerable when it’s predictable and people believe that what you’re telling them is true. As in, “Based on our analysis, we expect to be hardest hit in the following 3 ways …”
4. Keep it simple
Articulate the one overarching goal you want to achieve, then lay out a series of bullet points that will ensure the safest possible journey. As in, “We need to protect cash to get through this. Here are three action steps we will take immediately.
5. Over-communicate
Repeat the plan many times and in different venues: In person, by video, via email, and on social media. If rumors spring up, assume they were triggered by a communications oversight. Address the rumors. Fill the gap immediately.
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