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Crisis and crises do occur despite the best laid plans! And they happen in all streams and areas of life, Business, leisure and personal. 

As a Leader, a crisis brings additional layers of complexity, responsibility and difficulty, as you are called upon to act effectively. Your Team and employees look to you for guidance, support, and answers!  

Most successful Leaders embody a range of certain traits and capabilities, adapting their leadership style to best respond to the needs of a specific situation. They can inspire, influence,and know how to act decisively. 

This moment has arrived. Are you prepared, equipped? Do you see yourself in the following? 

Research and feedback from various workforces have identified the following 7 qualities, capabilities and actions they want Leaders to demonstrate in times of crisis.  

1. Calmness is key under pressure: Keeping a level head and staying composed will help avoid panic reactions.  Displaying patience and being mentally stable will reduce anxiety and create a less stressful environment for all. The opposite, agitation, being rattled and overly excited, will have a detrimental impact on everyone.  

2. Decisiveness and Proactivity: Having a visible presence, acting and immediately taking charge is crucial. Step forward, speak up, be accurate, even with incomplete information. Recognizing this sense of urgency helps prevent paralysis, dispel misinformation, and quash team-room theories. Don’t lock yourself away in your office, out of reach.  

3. Think before making key decisions: An effective Leader takes decisive action but doesn’t jump headfirst into problem-solving without thinking. They respond calmly to a situation with a well-thought-out plan. They do so by collecting their thoughts, taking a breath and pausing to assess the situation with a clear mind. On the other hand, Leaders overreacting or reacting poorly to high stress become more closed-minded and controlling. 

4. Clear, honest communication is essential: Share what information you can of the situation, be open, and say if you don't have all the answers. Keep everyone up to date using the communication technique, review, repeat, and reinforce. This approach will help prevent second-guessing and rumour-mongering. Transparency also fosters trust and understanding. Saying nothing creates uncertainty. 

5. A positive attitude is a must: Even if feeling uneasy, your positivity is vital. Your focus must be on making sure your Team feels supported and safe. Resilience is part of this mindset. Negativity will take you and your Team down a slippery slope of despair.  

6. Empathy and compassion are critical: Have an open-door policy to allow staff to share and express their concerns. Active listening is key. Acknowledging frustration, anger and stress will help maintain connection and morale. Pay attention to different reactions. The human element means people do respond in a variety of ways, from emotionally balanced to meltdown. Arrange, make access to professional health services available for everyone. 

7. Building your Team. Build a strong support system. Acknowledge your limitations and that no-one leader can usually solve the whole problem. Collaborate, call on your Team to help find solutions and manage the response. Empowering key people helps share the load and draw on their skills. Now is the time to focus on organisational core values to guide decisions. 

Examples: During the COVID pandemic crisis, WA Premier Mark McGowan gained unprecedented popularity with his ‘hard border’ strategy, helping keep WA mostly free from lockdowns and keeping the economy running. He remained calm, leading by conviction and example, putting the best interests of the WA community first.  

In the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires, as Commissioner NSW Rural Fire Service, Shane Fitzsimmons became the trusted, present, highly visible face of the firefighting efforts. His calmness, emotional intelligence, and technical competence during a horrific national disaster provided support and reassurance to devastated communities. 

Captain Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, pilot, has gone down in history for safely landing on the Hudson River when both engines of his Airways Flight 1549 were disabled by a flock of geese. He and his crew are heralded for their calm demeanour and textbook crisis management. All were saved, including 155 passengers. 

In summary, strong, effective leadership during times of crisis requires a balance of calm behaviour, decisive action and open communication to guide and take the business, workforce and stakeholders through uncertainty.  

Key traits of these Leaders include courage, empathy, adaptability, resilience, support of the workforce and Team members, and maintaining a focus on core values and goals. Do you fit the profile?