4 Skills Leaders Must Have for a Crisis

As a leader, you are already responsible for handling the situations that arise each day, as well as your regular duties. It’s not just everyday situations that you may face, however. It’s inevitable that you will face disasters during your career, and you must be prepared to handle them.

No matter the nature of the crisis, from a building-wide power failure to a public health scare (like the current Coronavirus pandemic), these are the four leadership skills that leaders must have in order to navigate the situation. In turn, I have added my top 10 ways to lead through a crisis below.

Adaptability (Creativity)

Even the most well-planned events can go wrong, and sometimes they evolve into a crisis. Being able to handle these less-than-perfect situations and adapt your approach is what the best leaders do. You need to have a Plan B, and be able to quickly devise a creative Plan C (or D, or E…) if the situation requires it.

Gather input from your team to get other perspectives and collaborate on a creative solution. In times of crisis, this is what will help you to adjust and solve the problem.

Self-Control

When faced with a crisis, leaders must stay calm and collected. This involves a great deal of self-control, as it’s a natural reaction for many people to panic and become frantic. With self-control, a leader can take charge, communicate clearly, and think rationally and logically to get the situation under control.

Relationship Management

Even in a crisis, the best leaders know how to manage their relationships with those around them. Assertive but friendly, they can encourage teamwork, direct people and inspire them, even in a crisis.

It takes self-control to not lose patience and start ordering people around; relationship management skills go hand in hand with self-control. Do not let a crisis get the best of you, because it can affect your relationships with your team.

Communication

Communication is critical for any leader to excel in, and it’s probably most crucial during a crisis. Timely, concise and clear communication in a calm manner helps get important information across fast when dealing with a crisis. It’s much easier to work toward the best outcome with effective communication with team members.

There’s usually no warning (or very little) before a crisis occurs, and they can take a variety of forms. A leader must be able to communicate effectively, control themselves, be creative and adaptable, and keep relationship management in mind during any situation, but especially in a crisis.

When faced when a crisis – how do you lead? My mantra during this time is “Crisis can lead to growth and opportunity, stuff-up’s can lead to resilience and lessons, and purpose and vision can withhold any challenges.”

Here are my top ten ways and a blog to lead through a crisis –

1. You must align expectations

2. Focus on more of what makes you who you are

3. Demonstrate on positive energy and actions

4. Be authentic and tell the truth

5. Remember and know what you stand for

6. Always demonstrate kindness and empathy

7. You must remember and see the big picture

8. Please stay calm and courageous

9. Have a flexible and focused plan

10. Leaders must simply lead

Have you had to lead your team during a crisis? You no doubt used these skills and ways to lead, even if you weren’t consciously aware of it.

About McDonald Inc.

Our Leadership Legacy

At McDonald Inc., we know that courageous leaders inspire courageous action. For more than 20 years our founder Sonia McDonald has been nurturing executives, businesses and leadership teams through leadership coaching, workshops and leadership programs.

We don’t just train your employees we transform them into courageous leaders. Whether you are looking to continue to develop your high performing leaders and teams or need help turning around a poor leadership culture, McDonald Inc. offers in-house programs and coaching.

Mission

To foster courageous leadership in organisations across the globe by training, mentoring and coaching emerging leaders, team leaders, managers and executives.

Vision

At McDonald Inc. we seek to foster courageous and kind leadership so that the people leave work smiling each day, in turn creating more prosperous and successful businesses.

Brand Values

McDonald Inc. develops the skills, confidence, and leadership of leaders at any point in their journey as well as facilitating cultural transformation. We benefit our clients by assisting them to have higher staff retention, improved performance through teamwork and an overall more profitable bottom line.

Our Online Programs and Workshops

• Online Leadership Academy
• Online Self Paced Courageous Leadership Program and Group Coaching
• Online Modules – Courageous Conversations, Leader as a Coach, Leading Teams…

Contact us

Websites –https://www.mcdonaldinc.com.au/ and https://www.outstandingleadershipawards.com.au/

Email – [email protected]

Phone – 1300 719 665