How to Handle a Crisis

It seems inevitable that a crisis will occur, at some point in time, during the operation of your business. It may be a small crisis or it may be large-scale. But how you respond to it will show your mettle as a leader.

Recognizing that a crisis is (usually) temporary, good leadership is often a matter of charting a steady course through uneasy seas. The risk, though, is to avoid sinking the ship on unseen obstacles. One of those obstacles is how your employees react. Leading your employees through turbulent waters is paramount.

“In times of crisis, organizational paralysis usually occurs,” write Karl Hitschmann, a German author and leadership expert. “An organizationally anchored “more-of-the-same” will neither lead the company out of the crisis nor support my reputation as an energetic leader.”

“Uncertainties prevent us and our employees from accessing our rational behavior, which we so urgently need to master crises. As a manager, you must therefore adopt an individualistic and personality-centered management style in times of crisis in order to adapt to the emotional situation of each individual person in the team.”

In other words, the more you, as a leader, are able to tune in to what drives (and frightens) your employees, the better you will be able to play to those drivers and minimize the fears. That will create stability within the organization and allow for good stability during the crisis.

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