PAPER making! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Volume 6, Number 1, 2020
4. Be present, visible, and available. During a crisis, leaders should be accessible. Because it’s not always possible to walk around your facility and talk to colleagues in person, let employees know how they can best reach you with status updates and questions. “Particularly during a crisis, employees have a need to hear from their leaders frequently. When leaders appear calm, concerned, knowledgeable, and in charge, workers feel encouraged and are more likely to have confidence that things are under control and will be fine,” says Klann. Understand that organizational protocol needs to account for flexible leadership ranks during an emergency. Whoever is in charge is whoever is there. An entire operation cannot be hamstrung because bureaucracy didn’t account for a key player being unavailable when an emergency struck. 5. Dedicate organizational resources for future crises. As any crisis transitions from its urgent phase, the time pressure will ease, as will the need for split-second decisions. At that point, the plan must evolve into a more complex system that looks at recovery and getting things back to normal — whatever the new normal looks like. If a similar emergency unfolds in the future, will you be prepared? “All leaders will admit that crisis planning — for example, having a Crisis Action Plan and setting aside resources for a crisis — are important,” says Klann. “But experience shows that ke y resources are seldom placed in reserve for contingencies. And if they are, they’re usually inadequate.” While improvisation cannot be planned, thinking and team-building exercises can be built into a training program that prepares everyone for a similar, future crisis. RELATIONSHIPS MATTER DURING A CRISIS During a crisis, leaders who have built a personal, relational, and cultural foundation can then focus on the immediacy of the moment. According to Klann, effective crisis leaders often do the following. Four Ways to Stay in the Present: Face your emotions . Recognizing and managing the emotions of the situation — others’ as well as your own — can help with individual and group resiliency, getting people to safety, and then back to normal (or a new normal). People with an imbalanced emotional state don’t process well. It is important to do anything you can to reduce the emotional stress on people while “doing the job.” x x Show respect. Treat people with sincere consideration and genuine concern. Show it by paying attention, listening, and responding to what people are telling you, as well as considering what is not being said. Make connections. Draw on a sense of loyalty, courage, morality, or other principles that tie your crisis response to what is important to people. x x Be positive. A leader’s attitude is contagious. Leaders are dealers in hope. Even in extreme crisis, an upbeat, can -do attitude keeps people going.
Article 11 – Leading in a Crisis
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