Crisis Leadership

Most people who drive a car have probably at one time or another starting skidding whether due to rain, snow, ice, etc. Our initial reaction is to turn the wheel in the direction that you want to go . . . when in fact the opposite is true, you want to steer into the skid because you will regain control faster of the car. Well, I had this happen about 15 years ago to me, and I "managed the crisis" in the wrong way, by immediately reacting by turning the steering wheel to where I was going . . . oops, because I made the skid worse and ended up hitting a snow bank and crashing my BMW 325 Sports Coupe (gosh that was a nice car, black exterior, grey interior, six speed, there is nothing like the sound of a BMW engine, okay, ferrari probably is better, but like I will ever have one of those).

Crisis leadership is similar. Remember "A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure" "Under Pressure" . . . my goodness another Queen song . . .

Here are some thoughts on crisis leadership.
1. Even though you are in a crisis, assess the situation as fast and best you can but dont just jump into a crisis thinking you know all, information makes for better decision making!
2. Approach crises as a team. Allow everyone to "own a piece" of the problem. Capitalize on individual strengths and give everyone the opportunity to contribute to the solution.
3. Critically assess your behavior and request feedback from others on how you handle crisis situations. Realize that others will assume it's okay to respond to a crisis the same way you do.
4. Overcommunicate to keep others informed and grind down the rumor mill.
5. Finally, conclude each crisis with a debriefing and a celebration. Understand the reasons for what happened, identify learnings that can be applied to the future . . . and make sure you also reward you and your team for a job well done!

One of the hardest things to do as a leader is to come in to a crisis after it has started and turn something "not so good" into something "good', however, if you do achieve this, it is a sign of an excellent leader. Some might say, it is the easiest because expectations are low for a positive outcome, but after you take the lead within a short amount of time, you become the owner of crisis! And remember, real leaders lead from the front!