This is part II in a series to examine how a Leader’s response to a crisis impacts the people and the organizations they lead.  

Crises are more than LARGE-SCALE natural disasters and acts of hate.

Crises actually occur daily:

• As economies, regulations, technology and consumer needs CHANGE
• When dishonest leaders are in charge
• With an unexpected diagnosis
• The death of a loved-one
• The loss of a job
• The betrayal of a spouse
• The negative choices of a family member
• _________________________ (What else would you add?)

[Tweet “Crises can fuel creativity, develop synergy and produce life-giving results.”]

OR

[Tweet “Crises can implode trust, destroy lives and delay progress –  For YEARS to come.”]

Below are several stories and lessons from others…

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 DOUBT & FEAR

“Around 1990 the executive team where I was working for an insurance company called department meetings to announce they were looking for a buyer for the company.

As much as I liked the men who led the company, they didn’t handle their communication effectively. Their presentation caused instant animosity, distrust, and speculation.

In the end the company wasn’t sold for many years. But the damage done way back then is still felt by employees today who were working there back then.”  ~Jane Anderson

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.  H. P. Lovecraft

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THE IMPACT OF TRUTH

“Continental Cablevision, Inc. (CCI) was the best place I ever worked, and I cried when the SVP of HR told me the company was being sold. I felt like I was losing a dear friend who sincerely cared about me. The thousands of other employees who worked there felt the same way. CCI walked the talk about being a family.

The headquarters leadership team led in an extraordinary fashion over the next 18 months. Recognizing the deep security, economic, and emotional impacts, they communicated and communicated still more but never so much it became unwelcome, kept people engaged in their work, got everyone’s going-forward career redirected as quickly as was possible, appropriately shared their emotions and encouraged employees to do the same.

There were celebrations and parties that left everyone with warm and happy memories. The HQ team’s efforts led to a bittersweet, beautiful ending. Former employees still have reunions!” ~ Jane Perdue

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts. ~ A. Lincoln

“I had been working for an organization as a contractor for almost 2 years. They offered me a job as an employee and of course, I accepted.

The next week I was diagnosed with MS. I immediately knew I had to tell my manager, her manager, and our director, not because I had to legally but because I wanted them to have the opportunity to change their minds. When I told them they all said I didn’t have to tell them this, but I explained I wanted them to know what they were getting.

The director spoke up and told me they could have hired someone who was in perfect health today and tonight they could have a car accident and never be the same.

They knew me and knew my values; they still wanted me to stay. I was there for 7 years after that.”  ~Jane Anderson

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THE POWER OF FOCUS

 A crisis has as much power to tear an organization apart, even create thicker silos as it does to tear the silos down and unite people. It depends on what the executive team does with it.~ Patrick Lencioni

“I don’t remember the exact day but I think it was around 2008 when the stock market really took a dive.

The CEO of the financial services company where I was working called an all company meeting. He laid out the facts and pulled no punches. He had no foresight into what this could all mean in the end but this is what it means for today and every single day we are in business.

We are going to continue to walk through those doors and we are going to do our jobs to the very best of our ability. We aren’t going to run around to each other’s cubicles and speculate on what’s coming next.

We are going to focus on developing software and procedures, serve our customers, and support each other. That is how we are going to survive this and thrive when it’s over. That company is still going!” ~ Jane Anderson

“When I was 21, I walked across a street and was hit by a car. My brother had to call my Mom and Dad in the middle of the night and tell Dad what happened.

My family didn’t know if I’d live. I had lost a lot of blood.  My brothers were 19 and 14 and my Mom is the emotional member of the family.  My Dad was in charge from the moment my brother called.

I don’t recall anything that happened in the 4 days that followed that event. But I’ve heard bits and pieces over the years of how my Dad kept everything in perspective for our family.  At first they were unsure if I’d live and then, as I improved, the questions were about whether or not I’d walk.  There were a number of surgeries, as I needed my jaw and my right leg reconstructed.

He spoke very little about what went on but I know he was there for most of the 4 days. Stories from my brother and my cousins who were in town give me glimpses of how my father focused the whole family on the most important thing. My Dad has always had an uncanny ability to focus. Everything that could wait waited. And everything that couldn’t wait got the necessary resources and urgency; nothing more, and nothing less.

My dad has always been pretty stoic. His humor is dry and his other default emotion was anger.  But when focused, nothing could make him mad, nothing could get him off-goal. Nothing could distract him from the necessary work of doing whatever was necessary to help his son heal.

To this day, when there’s a crisis, I know how to focus. I’m grateful for my heritage and how my father taught me to focus on the important.”  ~Mike Henry

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EMERGING WITH CLEAR PRIORITIES

 Sometimes our lives get off track, and we get on a collision course and don’t know how to apply the brakes. It usually starts with what we think is a time crunch. Our schedule gets overloaded, we feel overwhelmed, the walls start closing in, everything starts to collide, and we realize we just don’t have enough time to get it all done. …Our actions reveal a different set of values than what we say matter most to us. Chris and Kerry Shook

“After completing my Ph.D. studies in the UK, I came back home and joined the faculty at a University. At the end of my second year there, I was asked to chair my department. I was honored and accepted the offer without any reservation because I have always loved to challenge myself with new tasks.

My work was quite challenging in the first couple of months because the former chairperson moved to another campus of the university. Simultaneously, the department secretary took maternity leave just after I started my new position. Hence, in the first two months I was left totally on my own to figure out how to handle things. Little by little I got used to my new tasks and started to enjoy my work.

Things went rather smoothly in the department although working with my “boss” was not always an easy task. He was not the type of person with whom you could discuss issues, and I had to use all my people skills to get things done the way I wanted.

Four years passed, and then some major changes happened in the upper levels of the administration. These changes affected our work in the Faculty because my boss was on poor terms with the new administration and his problems with them reflected back on us.

I became highly stressed in my job, which led to two miscarriages, and my doctor urged me to rest.

It was the right time for me to resign as a chairperson and to resume my labors as an educator and a researcher. I did that and concentrated wholeheartedly on my original job.”  ~Hoda Maalouf

When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves. Viktor Frankl

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How about you?  

Have you personally witnessed great leadership in a crisis?

If so what did you see, feel and experience?

 

Image Credit:  iStock