What Is The Most Important In Crisis?

Even if you are prepared carefully, and have an impeccable reputation and an exemplary employee, you still can have to face some bad things. In those times, efficient leaders have to know what they have to do more than manage only. They should react empathetically to all stakeholders who will protect themselves in crisis and present this consistently. Response procedures will become more efficiently if crisis team leadership can assist everyone to do their best even though there are a lot of impacts of an abrupt and adverse event.

Empathetic responses build trust and mobilize hope in those who work toward solutions. They offer reassurance and validate the humanity of all involved-personnel and those who rely upon them for resolution. Empathy recognizes and meets the need for strong, ethical and judicious leadership while performing at maximum capacity with strained resources. Meeting the heightened demands of crisis requires a sound foundation from which to batten down, gear up and keep going. Effective leaders in crisis provide this touchstone for their responders.

Empathy is not just the awareness of others’ distress. It is an active and responsive process through which a flexible and adaptive ‘dialogue’ is sustained. The empathetic team leader, for example, is aware of the need for visible and accessible leadership in crisis, but more, continues on to provide it. Awareness is the foundation. Using that awareness brings everyone ‘home’ after a successful resolution. Knowing the concerns, feelings and needs of responders will inform a team leader. Acting upon this information completes a critical dialogue between an effective team leader and those that rely upon that leadership.

Crisis evokes a trauma response in everyone involved. Emergency responders have taught us this valuable lesson well; however, survival reactions are not limited to life-endangering circumstances. They emerge in all types of dangerousness whether it is the potential for financial loss or the loss of integrity, respect and reputation. Understanding the dynamics of trauma and mediating these is a critical role of the empathetic and successful crisis team leader in any critical project.

Crisis of any sort psychologically overwhelms and threatens to persist against talent, expertise and experience. Empathetic leaders will balance two perspectives: the ‘aerial’ view of the bigger picture and the up close, in-the-trenches view of the individuals involved. They will meet the needs of their project and their stakeholders with frequent and detailed information, reliable avenues of communication, a vision of successful resolution and a belief that efforts will pay off. These empathetic leadership responses build trust, a vital bridge between all involved. However, while having confidence in one’s leader can evoke resolve, we know that this is not always enough in an ongoing crisis. The toll of a maximized workload and prolonged tension can eventually override resolve. Resiliency, or access to resources that sustain and optimize coping, are needed for the long haul.

Research has shown us that resiliency will dramatically increase when leadership is responsive to the feelings, concerns and needs of those affected by crisis. Such leaders not only demonstrate empathy, but rely upon it to increase their effectiveness. A visible and accessible leader who responds empathetically mobilizes and supports a positive response to abrupt change and adversity.

Leadership empathy supports stakeholder access to protective factors during exposure to high-risk. Consequently, the increased risks during crisis can be weathered with greater resolve, adaptability and positive expectancy. In short, stakeholders become more resilient with empathetic leadership. Empathetic leadership and resiliency go hand in hand.

Effective crisis team leaders support stakeholders to use protective resources when exposed to high-risk situations. They understand that crisis responders are themselves in crisis and that their optimum well-being during response will lead to a more successful resolution. Empathy is a cornerstone of effective crisis management. Empathetic team leaders are themselves more resilient; perform more optimally and with greater success.

Awareness is the key to our safety.