Episode 65 - The Four Core Skills of Leading in a Crisis

<h2 data-pm-slice="0 0 []"><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p class="">How effective are you in a crisis? This week we outline the four core skills of leading in a crisis to build the resilience of our people and our organisations.</p> <p class=""> </p> <h2><strong>Transcript</strong></h2> <p class="">Hello and welcome to episode 65 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we tackle one of today’s biggest leadership challenges. This week we explore the four key skills of leading in a crisis. </p> <p class="">As we read the news it seems like there is a new crisis every week - fires, floods, earthquakes, financial mismanagement, international tensions. We are often quick to judge leaders solely on what we see them doing publicly. We are very quick to categorise those attempting to lead during a crisis as either a hero or a villain. They either demonstrated and instilled confidence in those they lead, or potentially made the crisis even worse through a lack of leadership </p> <p class="">A crisis by its nature is something you don’t see coming until you’re in the middle of it. The intensity and challenge are often underestimated at the onset of a crisis. Once the crisis is over it’s often easy to look back and spot missed opportunities at the point when the crisis wasn’t a crisis. </p> <p class="">Crisis leadership is obvious on a national stage, particularly when politicians are involved. We can all recall stories of leaders who stepped up during a national crisis. Equally, we remember those who were holidaying, dining, playing golf or getting their hair done while a crisis began to play out. What do we expect from our leaders? Do we want them on the front line fighting the fires, rescuing people, saving the environment from disaster? It’s a natural instinct that when people suffer, we look for leaders to hold responsible. Whose fault was this disaster? Who rose to the challenge?</p> <p class="">By definition, a crisis is unpredictable, its scale broad, the speed fast, and the threat great. What does this mea