When thinking about managing crisis, leadership is paramount. All organizations have leadership
in place, but not all leaders are equally equipped to manage crisis situations (Bhaduri 2019)
Organizations, whether at the district or school level, are challenged to hire people who they
believe can lead no matter the situation. High functioning organizations want someone that is not
only intelligent, but self-confidant, determined, sociable and a person who operates with
integrity. These types of organizations place values on creating an environment where employees
believe in their leader and trust their decision making. However, finding a leader with all these
prerequisite traits who is also equally effective can be a challenge for any organization. An
organization’s hiring and recruitment practices can be both a “saving grace” or a “nail in the
coffin.” Organizations, especially those in high needs or high stakes settings cannot afford to be
unsure of a candidate's human or conceptual skill set. Conceptual skills are the most important at
the top management level. In fact, when upper-managers do not have strong conceptual skills,
they can jeopardize the whole organization (Northhouse 2019)
Successful leadership in crisis demands a strong organizational culture. There is nothing more
vital than culture. Culture is the foundation upon which practices are built. Once a leader is hired
they must devote time to creating an organizational culture that will withstand the daily trials of
both people, process, and obstacles. Organizational culture is defined as “the set of key values,
assumptions, understandings, and norms that is shared by members of an organization and taught
to new members as correct” (G. Luco., J. Leon., F. Alonso 2013) While creating an
organizational culture the leader’s trait of being sociable and their human skill will be utilized.
They must convey the organization's beliefs, mission, and vision to its employees. Highly
successful companies understand the importance of creating culture and capitalize on its value by
continuing to keep key elements of the organization's culture in the forefront of their work. They
make sure that not only do they share the organization's culture in words but that it is lived out
through actions as well. Therefore when a crisis arises, the employees believe in the leader’s
ability to manage the crisis. Crisis management can be defined as the process where the
indicators of crisis are obtained and assessed for the risk of a potential crisis and where necessary
measures are taken and applied in order to experience minimum loss in a state of crisis. (T.
Fener., T. Cevik 2015)
Last but not least, effective leaders do not allow crisis or potential crisis to move them to
paralysis. They are cognizant of trends and work to anticipate problems and crises. Even in this,
they understand and remember their own personal beliefs. A leader who puts God first
understands that there is more to any situation than what can be seen by the natural eye and
considers the spiritual aspects of the work. God said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6-7 English Standard Version). Knowing this truth allows
and having a strong faith allows effective spiritual leaders to move beyond the questions many
may allow to waylay them into paralysis may question God when they are aware the crisis is
coming, because they don’t understand why. They question why their company is the one that is
under attack. The leader must realize God didn’t give them an idea nor a suggestion. He gave a
command, therefore for any leader it is not something easy to do during the mist of a crisis. But
they must go to the Lord in prayer and put it in his hands. The Lord says if you go to him he will
give you rest.
References
Bhaduri, R. (2019), "Leveraging culture and leadership in crisis management", European
Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 43 No. 5/6, pp. 554-569.
Northhouse, P. (2016). Leadership theory and practice, seventh edition. SAGE Publications.
Luco, G. A. M., León, J.A.M., Alonso, F.M., (2013) “Authentic leadership and organizational
culture as drivers of employees’ job satisfaction”, Journal of Work and Organizational
Psychology, Vol. 29. No. 2, pp. 45-50.
Fener, T., Cevik, T (2015),”Leadership in Crisis Management: Separation of Leadership and
Executive Concepts” Procedia Economics and Finance, Vol 26, pp.685-701.
