Managing yourself during a crisis

Focus your energy

Managers can show themselves as true leaders during a crisis. But how do they handle their uncertainty and fear? They use the energy they derive from their feelings to face the crisis and deal with it as effectively as possible.

Dealing with a short-term crisis

If the crisis flares up and is over quickly, then try these simple steps to maintain your own emotional balance.

1. Stop. As soon as you begin to feel the first rush of anxiety flooding your mind, say "Stop!" to yourself. To face a crisis, you need to have a clear mind as unclouded by anxiety, toxic stress, and fear as possible. Thus, recognising those feelings and verbally pushing back can block them from controlling your mind and actions.

2. Breathe. Take a deep breath. Just as the word "stop" blocks the negative thoughts from your mind, breathing overcomes the stress-induced tendency to hold your breath.

3. Reflect. By interrupting the pattern of toxic stress and giving yourself energy through breathing, you can now focus on the real problem, the crisis you face. By reflecting on your stress response, you can begin to distinguish the different levels of thought and to sort out reasonable from irrational stress responses. You can see the practical situation more calmly and realistically and distinguish it from the distortions of your anxiety-influenced thoughts.

4. Choose. Finally, with your attention now on the practical situation itself, you can choose to find real solutions, follow the crisis plan your group has developed, and tend to the needs of the people you lead.

Deal with a long-term crisis

You may have to handle another kind of crisis - one that starts as a slow burn and then breaks out into a wildfire of trouble. For example, financial crises often start as small problems in receivables, or perhaps cash flow fluctuations, and then build to an inability to borrow or cover basic expenses. You may have a sense of the emerging crisis for several weeks or months, yet you're unable to stop the spread of trouble.

In this case, when you're coping with stress over long periods of time, taking care of yourself becomes even more important. Long-term stress can be toxic - physically harmful to you.

Taking care of yourself gives you the strength and stamina to take care of the impact of the crisis. So even when you feel hemmed in by the growing crisis, remember to:

• talk to people - don't become isolated
• get enough sleep
• exercise regularly
• eat a balanced diet
• avoid alcohol, caffeine, and sugar
• take a break whenever you can
• find humour wherever you can

Frequently asked questions

What if my boss wants to cover up a problem?

First, talk to your boss. If that doesn't work, get a new job or tell his or her supervisor, or both. If your boss is trying to cover up a problem, then you will either become part of the cover-up, or you will appear to be part of it. In some cases, you might even be blamed for the problem. In any case, your reputation will be damaged and you will suffer serious repercussions. Reveal the cover-up and/or get out.

Should I disclose possible problems (to the public, my boss, my colleagues) if I am not certain that they are real problems or if there is a possibility that they might be avoided altogether?

In general, it is best to disclose even potential problems. Although one does not want to make a habit of crying wolf, it is much worse to surprise others when problems do become serious. Furthermore, when problems are disclosed, your company may be able to find a way of avoiding them.

What if I discover that a capable and loyal employee has violated the law and done so thinking that it would be in the interest of the company?

The violation should be disclosed immediately to at least the legal department and generally to the authorities. The company can provide the employee with good outside legal assistance, but a firm can never condone any form of violation of the law, no matter how well intentioned.

How do I deal with rumours that are damaging morale?

The only way to stop rumours is with the truth. It is important that management be very candid and that it make available to employees, and others, truthful information in a timely fashion. This can be done with Web sites, taped messages, memos, and the like.

How can I carry out my normal responsibilities and fight a crisis at the same time?

You probably can't. In times of true crisis, it is best that you focus your attention entirely on resolving the crisis and delegate to some other capable individual the responsibility of day-to-day operations.

When managing a crisis, I may simply not have time to devote a great deal of effort to communicating with everyone who wants to know what it is happening. How can I handle this?

Take the time! Communications are absolutely critical in solving problems. And the best communications of all are face-to-face and from the person in charge.

In the middle of a crisis, should I throw away records that might indicate how errors were made?

This is, of course, a legal issue and there are laws that govern the destruction of documents. From an overall management view, however, it is best never to destroy relevant materials bearing on a crisis until long after the crisis has been resolved. In short, comply with the law, but err on the side of not destroying relevant documents.

If I am required to speak to the media, should I talk off the record?

In general, it is a poor practice to speak off the record. If you don't want to see statements you are making in print, you probably shouldn't be making the statements in the first place. On rare occasions, it may be helpful to provide background information, but this should be done only in extraordinary circumstances.

If I have important information to reveal relating to a crisis, whom should I tell first: the media, the employees, the shareholders, or the public?

All should be told at the same time. First of all, in this modern age information travels very quickly. Even though each of these constituencies and others are extremely important and have a right to know, the only practical solution is to inform everyone at about the same time.

If I'm in charge of a geographically diverse team, should I return to headquarters where I have good communications and staff support, or should I go to the location of the crisis?

The answer to this obviously depends on the circumstances, but it is generally best to be at the location of the crisis. One can bring along the key members of the staff, and communications today can be established rather quickly.

Should I say publicly how bad the outcome of a given situation might turn out to be?

Any effective leader cannot be a pessimist. By the same token, a good leader must be a realist. Most people, particularly most employees, would rather know the full range of "reasonable possibilities" than to be surprised by a very negative outcome. By adopting this strategy of total candour, the possibility always exists for positive news - something that is welcome in time of crisis.

If a key person is not performing well in the midst of a crisis, should that person be replaced?

Changing leadership in the middle of a crisis is not a desirable action and should be avoided if possible. Changes in personnel are best handled in more normal times. But if a person is simply not performing the job, then there is no alternative than to make a change.

Am I obliged to follow the advice of my lawyer if I don't agree with it?

This is a difficult question. If the advice concerns the possibility of breaking the law, it would be wise to follow the advice of the lawyer - or at least to obtain an independent opinion. In matters not involving the law itself (for example, involving possible financial liability), a lawyer's view is often based on the desire to avoid damaging legal judgments.

Management's responsibility is much broader and includes other outcomes that can harm the company - the most important of which are ones that can affect the firm's reputation. In most cases, one should carefully consider the views of the legal department, but consider it as only one among many inputs to be weighed when arriving at decisions during periods of crisis.

Should I publicly admit error?

If an error has been made, the answer would generally be yes. There are, of course, legal implications to doing so that must be weighed. In the long term, however, if errors have been made, it is best to recognise them - if for no reason other than they will almost inevitably come out in any event.

Should the public spokesperson in times of crisis be the head of public relations?

If it is a true crisis affecting the corporation as a whole, the spokesperson should be the CEO. Only the most senior individual can be broadly recognised as having authority to speak on behalf of the entire organisation. For crises confined to an individual part of the corporation, it may well be that the head of public relations should be the spokesperson.

July 2009