What is Crisis Leadership?

What is Crisis Leadership?

Crisis Leadership can be defined as the actions taken by those in charge of steering a crisis before, during, and after a crisis happens. Very few leaders are experts in handling a crisis, and even fewer have had the first-hand experience with a real crisis, let alone a full-blown infectious disease outbreak.

Yet, as both SARS and COVID-19 demonstrates, a global Pandemic Outbreak is a very real reality that has the potential to affect every aspect of our daily lives. Crisis Leaders need to be able to make the necessary decisions to safeguard the health of their employees, ensure operations continue running, and contribute to the nationwide responsibility of ensuring the disease does not spread.

Traits of a Crisis Leader

Some of the traits necessary for good Crisis leadership include:

Calm and Decisiveness

A crisis leader needs to both balance a sense of urgency and a front of calm decisiveness. Panic, alarm, and fear are not a good look for a crisis leader - even if the situation at hand calls for it. A strong crisis leader needs to be the rock-strong foundation in the midst of a crisis.

Communication and Collaboration

Without proper communication, the pandemic wins. Crisis leaders should not only effectively communicate decisions to the rest of the team, the staff, and the relevant stakeholders, but also be open to feedback

While the crisis leader is in charge of the pandemic crisis, he is not alone in managing it. Crisis leaders often have their own Crisis Management Team to help, support, and assist them in navigating the crisis. Engage members of your Crisis Management Team, staff, and subject matter experts to facilitate a more effective response

Continuous Recontextualization and Update of the Crisis through New Information

As new information comes in, the crisis leader needs to be able to coordinator and adjust the control measures in place on how to handle the Pandemic. When it comes to a new novel disease, information can be scarce at the start. Information on transmission, lethality and vulnerable age groups can be nebulous at the start. As new, updated information pours in, the crisis leader must be ready to act on it

Control of the Situation

A crisis leader must have a handle on the situation and not be caught flat-footed. With regards to the previous two points about cooperation and information, a crisis leader must be constantly updating him/herself on new information and seeking advice from subject matter experts. While the crisis leader may not be the first one to know about any new event or information, he should ideally be the next person informed.

Empathy

Even though a crisis leader needs to convey an image of strength and certainty, it is imperative that they do not come across as aloof, uncaring, arrogant, and/or unconcerned about stakeholders.

References

Teschner, D. (2020, March 16). Teschner: Key leadership skills during a pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.nhbr.com/teschner-key-leadership-skills-during-a-pandemic/

Organization, E. (2020, March 16). 10 Steps to Effective Coronavirus Crisis Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/entrepreneurs-organization/10-steps-to-effective-coronavirus-crisis-leadership.html

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