I went to a concert on Friday night and all I’ve been thinking about since is crisis leadership and communication. It was an up-and-coming folk band I've been listening to on repeat. During the show, two of the four band members started playing and it was wonderful… But I kept waiting for the other two to come out. They never did, and the musicians on stage never acknowledged their absence. Unfortunately, I see this impulse in leadership, too, both in myself and my coaching clients. Just like these musicians who played edited versions of their songs without their missing bandmates as if nothing was up, leaders will do the same when facing team departures, budget shortfalls, distressing news headlines, or other challenges. We don't want to acknowledge that anything's wrong perhaps because we don't have all the answers yet, or we can't share them, or we're afraid of how people will respond. But the impulse to carry on as if “there’s nothing to see here, folks,” can undermine your credibility and performance more than the challenge itself, whatever it may be. Your people are smart - they know when something is up -- In this case, even people who had never heard of this band before were wondering how this unpolished acoustic duo managed to open for a big name touring musician -- Your team will probably know you’re facing budget pressure, even if you don’t tell them In many situations, people are rooting for you to succeed - or they would if you let them -- If this group had said “we’re normally a 4-person band and we’re down 2 people due to an unforeseen emergency, we appreciate you pumping us up while we do our best to give you a taste of what we do” - the whole audience would have been with them -- Instead, the audience was confused and unimpressed It’s better to acknowledge the challenge head on, even with incomplete information, rather than letting people fill in the blanks on their own ➡️ In what part of your work are you holding back acknowledging a challenge because it’s uncomfortable? ➡️ What would it look like to acknowledge the challenge for your team? ➡️ How might you respond if they’re not happy with what you’re sharing? #leadershipcommunication #leadership

To be successful, CEOs must articulate a compelling vision, align people around it, and motivate them to execute it. But there’s one thing that can make or break them: how they respond in real time to unforeseen events. On average, addressing unexpected issues—which range from fluctuations in stock price, to just-discovered product flaws, to major accidents and crises—consumes 36% of a CEO’s time. That’s a big proportion, and not all those problems merit a leader’s attention. To help CEOs understand which ones they truly need to focus on, Nohria, the former dean of Harvard Business School, has created a framework that sorts events into four categories—normal noise, clarion calls, whisper warnings, and siren songs—and offers guidance on how leaders should handle each type.

In leading their teams and organizations through a crisis, women have repeatedly stepped up to the plate. We celebrate four of these women and highlight the ways they’ve been resetting priorities, demonstrating resilience and agility, and communicating effectively. Then, leadership coach Muriel Wilkins gives advice for taking care of yourself while taking care of the people you manage.

An analysis of 360-degree assessments done during the pandemic.

Don’t lash out at employees who aren’t as cool under pressure.

A psychiatrist who’s also a professor of organizational behavior observes that times of crisis usually evoke familiar images of generals or endurance athletes. Instead, he argues, “a public health crisis is not a war or a race.” Here’s what it will take.

Four lessons from Lincoln, Churchill, MLK, and others.

Explore resoures from CCL to improve leadership during coronavirus and beyond, as well as answers to frequently asked questions on leading through crisis.