chapter 20
Handle crises
Crises are good. They are the times you learn the most and develop fastest. During a crisis you will be living life with the record button on, and in full technicolour. You will be creating memories for a lifetime. A crisis is also your chance to make your mark, to make a difference that everyone notices when you resolve the crisis. Crises can be career defining for better, not just for worse. Of course, during the crisis it will not feel so positive: you will encounter stress, adversity and most of the negative emotions that humanity has developed. If you can step back and see the longer term, more positive perspective on crises, you are on your way to surviving the short-term pressure.
In practice, you have four ways in which you can become good at handling crises:
- •Develop a positive perspective on your crisis (as above).
- •Get help: do not suffer and struggle alone.
- •Lean into the crisis and deal with it (see text box below).
- •Gain experience of crises.
The more you experience crises, the better you become at handling them. As with most aspects of leadership, crisis management is about pattern recognition. Once you recognise a pattern, you will know how to deal with it. That means you should not run away from challenges and crises: you should lean into them.
Some people are lucky, they never encounter a real career or business crisis. However, most people find they have a crisis at some point in their careers. It can feel very lonely. The only person who can get you out of the crisis is yourself. The middle of the organisation is where many emerging leaders find themselves bailing out to set up their vegan farm on a Scottish island. This is natural. The first flush of career enthusiasm has disappeared. The long haul to the top still looks long. Then something happens: the final straw is added to the camel’s back.
The difference between success and failure is often persistence. Successful leaders work through their crises and find that Nietzsche was right: ‘That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.’ Others are mucking out the organic waste on their farms.
How to deal with crises
- 1Recognise the problem early
Don’t go into denial; don’t avoid the crisis because it will not resolve itself.
- 2Take control
Step up to the mark, offer solutions rather than problems, and have a plan.
- 3Act fast
Avoid analysis paralysis, drive to action and focus on outcomes.
- 4Focus on what you can do and do it
Build momentum and confidence, even through small initial actions. Don’t worry about what you cannot control: you cannot control it.
- 5Find plenty of support
Don’t be the lone hero: find the people, money, skills and power barons and supporters who can collectively deliver the solution.
- 6Over-communicate
Dispel fear, uncertainty, doubt and confusion, and be clear and consistent in your messaging. Have a simple story to tell about where you are going and how you will get there.
- 7Be positive
You will be remembered as much for how you behaved as for what you did, so be the role model others follow. Set the standard for those around you.
- 8Avoid blame
Give praise to those who help, don’t look back and analyse problems or point the finger of blame. Create a positive, action-focused culture, not a culture of fear and inaction.
- 9Show empathy
Recognise the concerns of others, manage your own feelings and fears, wear the mask of leadership and project confidence and empathy.
- 10Make the most of crises
Crises are opportunities to make your mark, stand out from your peers and make a difference. The more you encounter crises, the better you become at dealing with them.
Develop resilience
The best way to prepare for crises is to develop resilience early on. Having crises and flirting with failure are not easy for a 20-something person. But if the worst comes to the worst, they can start again a little older and much wiser. Doing an MBA is a safe and prestigious way for a 20-something person to start over again.
In contrast, the 40-year-old who has never had a crisis has what one CEO called ‘brittle’ confidence. They look good, sound good and seem confident, but when they face a real challenge or crisis, they crumble. They have no reserves to call on. They make a sad sight as they justify why they are happy to be leaving the rat race and how they had always dreamed of organic farming.
“The difference between success and failure is often persistence.”
Many graduate training programmes do not develop resilience. They test the graduate’s appetite for hard work, but that is not the same as resilience. Teach First is an exception. Top graduates spend two years teaching in some of the most challenging schools in the UK. This is, potentially, a brutal experience. But these graduates develop a depth of confidence, resilience and people skills that can never be acquired by their better-paid peers who spend their first two years staring at computer screens trading bonds or doing research. Leaders of the future need to take risks and learn about adversity and resilience early in their careers. Trying to learn these things when you are a 40-something is tough.
The leaders who talked about responding to crises talked about the importance of knowing yourself. Some people let their identity become swamped by their job. When the crisis hits, or when they retire, they have nothing to fall back on. They have become dependent on their job – they live to work. Nearly all the leaders I interviewed had active lives outside work. This gives them a level of independence that makes them better able to deal with challenges.
Ultimately, individuals need to know themselves. Leadership is not for everyone, nor is it necessary for everyone. If you prefer fishing, then focus on that.