Skills for leadership in a crisis (part 4)

A leader must lead the crisis - or the crisis will lead them

Leading in a crisis is the ultimate test of a leader’s leadership ability. The stresses of the situation will create a series of intense variables. You will need to change rapidly which will make it difficult to see the immediate priorities. The emotions of your team might contribute to the creation of an unstable atmosphere. You will want to give further care and direction to them. You could even notice that they are starting to take opposing positions. In times of crisis, a leader will be put through a big test. This will be more difficult than in any other circumstance they will typically encounter.

In order to be successful, you will need to possess a number of high-quality skills and abilities. These will assist you in navigating through challenging situations, such as the following:

The leadership skill of decisiveness 

Everything may initially happen instantly, giving little time for careful thought or consulting of others. Then time becomes a significant variable. Indecision can lead to a paralysis of action and result in a lack of confidence careful thought. To be effective as a leader, you will want to make thoughtful decisions quickly and as often as necessary. It is better to make a less than informed decision if you need to at the moment. Then correct it later when you have the right information. That is why it's best to assemble your leadership team and key people quickly. Then you can get all information possible and quickly assess options. Those options may include simple actions. These include act now, wait, or postpone a bit longer while you collect the necessary information.

The leadership skill of resilience

Businesses and governments are not naturally organized to handle crisis. In fact, the managerial structure may be a hindrance to response and recovery. Therefore, the ability to be flexible and adapt to the situation is critical for success. The greater the ability to be flexible, the better the team can adapt without damages or losses. If you do not have access to your regular leadership team, make a new team and assemble them. Some people are ready to rise to a new level in a crisis. If there is someone who is showing signs of distress and overwhelm, leave them off the team. Otherwise, you will find yourself distracted. Spending valuable time and effort managing their emotions, instead of focusing on leading.

The leadership skill of simplicity 

Simplicity as a leadership skill sounds too simple. In a crisis situation any action plan that is too complicated will be quickly forgotten and messed up. Simplicity is the key in a crisis; it ultimately wins. The more complicated a leader makes the solution; the less likely success will be the end result. Remember: People are overwhelmed. Followers need to know the next step is simple to attain. It needs to be something easy that they can accomplish and look at as a success. In order to conquer the challenges that lay ahead, it is necessary to create a series of successes. Doing so will build rapport and continue the momentum.

The leadership skill of timing 

Once you know what the plan looks like, only give the vision for the first part of the plan. Make sure it’s simple and get them to execute it. Then reassemble to get the next portion of the plan. If you do not deploy the crisis strategy in small parts, your team can (and most likely will) be overwhelmed. This leads to difficulty and failure. 

Remember: Proper pacing of the steps to success will give minimize new challenges. This will give you a better chance at achieving success.In our final blog in this series part 5, The best styles of leadership for a crisis situation, (insert link), we will discover what you will need to know to pick the right leadership style for the crisis you are facing.