The Two Principles of Crisis Leadership That Every Leader Should Know — Michael O’Keith Smith
With the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations worldwide have faced several challenges. This led to increased attention to the topic of crisis leadership. This has been in the form of Youtube videos, books, and articles; all covering the topic of crisis leadership. With this abundance of information, it is difficult to sieve out vital information and tips regarding being a leader during a crisis.
Having been in a leadership crisis during Hurricane Katrina as the manager of Hyatt Regency New Orleans, the article titled “The Two Principles of Crisis Leadership That Every Leader Should Know” greatly resonated with me. It describes and discusses two key principles of crisis leadership -
1.Always assume the possibility of a crisis
Awareness is a key feature of crisis leadership. It is not enough to just manage a crisis when it happens, but to “crisis-proof your organization so…you are prepared”.
“The message is simple: “Assume the boom” — always assume the possibility of a crisis.”
2.Always lead in the same way, crisis or not
For practical reasons, crisis leadership should be part of everyday business in your organization, and not something exceptional.
“You can’t simply “switch on” your crisis leadership style and capabilities when there is a crisis and switch them off again when the crisis is over. Leadership doesn’t work like that.”
Read the original article here.
