The world has never seen so many crises in so short a period and with this in mind it is only right that we avail ourselves with the key principles of crisis management. Whether you are a head of state preparing to defend yourself against and external aggressor or you are a company CEO that is facing a situation you did not really bargain for, the principles are virtually the same!
Distinctive and unexpected events threaten to harm our existence in a very odd way. The thing never to do in the wake of a crisis is to panic. Some people will just lose it and become disoriented. If you are a manager, leader or head of any form of group-no matter the shape or size- you must bear it in mind that people look up to you. They will study your expressions and body language and their response on the crisis will be based mainly on how you respond! The story was told of a contigent of soldiers who found themselves in a foreign land out-numbered by the enemy. The ratio was almost five to one. But their leader devised a strategy to win in spite of the odds and sold his plan to his men: “If you follow my orders carefully and you do not necessarily consider our dire situation”, he promised them, “We shall win this battle!” This was temperament of Alexander the Great of Macedonia who times without number, conquered a rival army that outnumbered his disciplined group of soldiers by devising a strategy and ignoring the odds. For every crisis there is a way out; the only thing we have to do is find it! When we are in crisis mode, often what happens is the mind is beclouded and overwhelmed by what is before us. Critical minds often tend to think differently. Nobody is above expressing deep set emotion that can come with overwhelming situations, but we have to train ourselves to be more critical and analytical in our thinking. That is the only way we can rationalize and survive.
Whatever the crisis, we must show our publics that we are in control of the situation and up to the task of resolving
One of the things we have to do is respond as quickly as possible. You can think the situation through but remember, people are waiting for your response. Let us understand that a response is not always a popular action. For instance if a person assaults you with a slap in front of a group of people, the popular response is usually to hit back. That response might be popular but it is not entirely accurate for the circumstances. You have to look at the odds before you: Will hitting back at that particular time serve my purpose? Suppose the person could overwhelm me with blows? Normally a corporate environment does not encourage blows and such reactions are judged as harshly as the action of the initial aggressor. So we must measure our reaction.
At a White House function during his Presidency, Barack Obama happened to entertain a heckler. The man apparently did not seem to agree with the president’s policy on an issue and so decided to raise his voice rudely. Obama calmly responded, “Sorry Sir, this is my house, and you cannot conduct yourself in that manner, Secret Service, please remove him!” And the crowd that gathered approved.
Beyond a quick response we must be able as a matter of importance to leverage support for actions or ideas we are acting on. Urgency demands that we weigh the pros and cons of the solution to the problem we are facing. In our scale of preference, it is important that the pros outweigh the cons. Doing a quick analysis Benjamin Franklin style will help us prove that we have given the situation deep thought and if we find ourselves in an environment where we must sell the idea we have, then we highlight the advantages and mention how they outweigh the disadvantages. Franklin had the knack of getting a piece of paper, drawing a line in the middle and listing the advantages on one side and the disadvantages on the other. Engaging in this process usually convinces people around us that we are doing the right thing. In a situation where there are victims involved in an accident or a calamity, it is good judgement to try to put the victims first when we seek solutions. Those who suffer loss because of a situation we find ourselves in should be offered solutions as quickly as possible. The way the human mind works is that if victims are neglected in any way, the calamity goes south and the whole scenario moves from bad to worse.
Where they have the opportunity, we find that leaders do not like to take responsibility when things go wrong. They would rather find an excuse or blame someone else for the failure. Politicians are fond of doing this. They take joy in trying to blame their rivals or opposition when things go wrong. The right attitude is to take responsibility and avoid playing the blame game. This history of political economy is full of stories of people in leadership who blamed other people for their lapses and mistakes. When we play the blame game, it makes us look weak, unintelligent and incapable of finding solutions to problems. Rather than blame others, the right action is to explain what went wrong and also tell what we are doing about it. During 9/11 President George Bush explained that terrorists had launched an unwarranted attack on the American way of life, but he also said that the United States would find out where the attack came from and launch reprisals immediately. His response got approval from both major parties in congress and his rating soared in the middle of the crisis that led to the War on Terror.
In extreme situations, it is good to ask for help when we cannot handle circumstances or when expertise that is not immediately available is required.
Transparency is an important virtue in crisis management. We need to tell concerned parties as much as possible; hiding things can be dangerous. The only time we should really keep information back is when it could lead to further panic, commotion or greater harm. In fact, some experts have suggested that we find a solution first and once we are on our way to solving it, we can then reveal the whole truth to the people concerned, explaining why we had to keep information back at the time.
Performing a “What if” test helps us mitigate probable disasters. Most leaders and managers engage in simulations which help determine what to do should a real life crisis break out. While it is impossible for us to preempt all kinds of crisis, the nature of our work and the field we ply our trade in enables us to have a fair idea of possible situations that might unfold and how we can handle them.
Crisis can result from financial loss such as announcing a bankruptcy or store closures, changes in staff that may affect operations or reputation such as employee furloughs or layoffs. We may also find ourselves in a crisis if our organisation is involved in misconduct or wrong doing as a result of organisational practices and technological or machinery failure that results in outages causing reduced functionality or functionality loss may also occur. There could also be natural crisis that necessitates an announcement or change of procedure. For example, defining safety precautions amid a health crisis like most countries did during the outbreaks of COVID 19.
Whatever the crisis, we must show our publics that we are in control of the situation and up to the task of resolving it. In extreme situations, it is good to ask for help when we cannot handle circumstances or when expertise that is not immediately available is required. The mere fact that we asked for help sets us on pedestal of honesty and openness.
*Ogundadegbe is a renowned management consultant. He trains managers and executives in the arts of Customer Service, Human Resources Management and Management strategy ([email protected]).
