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This is the second part of the topic - Great Crisis Leadership - Nature or Nurture?

Think Through an Emergency

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been surprised at how often the ability to actually “think” during an emergency fly’s out the window almost immediately.   People tend to just react instead.  Don’t get me wrong - fight or flight is a great thing if, for instance, a shark is bearing down on you during a snorkeling trip.  However, reacting without measured thought can get you into a lot of trouble, especially if you happen to be at the helm of an organization as complex as a law firm during a crisis. 

While I attended the Fire Fighting Academy in Illinois, I had an instructor who would yell “STOP” whenever the team lost focus.  Even with fire blowing over our heads or limited visibility because of smoke, we would stop what we were doing and just take in the scene, because he had trained us to pause long enough to re-evaluate if what we were doing was actually working.    Is the hose pointed at the fire, or at the smoke?  Duh!

Seems like a simple thing, but that lesson stays with me years later.  Actions have consequences, but counterproductive actions have consequences as well.   If you don’t stop and ask if your actions are a knee jerk reaction to the disaster, or part of a well considered recovery process, you won’t know if you are moving forward or backwards towards resolving the situation.   Are you covering the problem with a band aid, or are you fixing the problem with medicine?  Duh!  (A variety of mixed metaphors, I know, but you get my point…)

A great crisis leader must be able to respond immediately, but also give thoughtful consideration as to how the situation may change over time, and subsequently, how the response must adapt to the evolving situation.  That is the core difference between thinking AT the emergency (the immediate response), or thinking THROUGH the emergency (towards the recovery).  While managing through any situation, a leader must ask several times a day:

1.       What is the situation as it exists at this point in time?

2.       How may it evolve in the near future?

3.       What are the resources available to me at this point in time?

4.       What is my action plan for today?

5.       Is what I am doing actually working?

Stay tuned for Crisis Leadership Part Three – Coming up with a New Plan when Necessary