A Crisis of Uncertainty

Who do we trust in times of crisis?

Hurricane, Bahamas by Winslow Homer, 1898 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)

“Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm.” — Publius Syrus, c. 40 B.C.

No one likes uncertainty.

Particularly in the midst of a crisis, when we need as many facts as possible, charting a course forward based on a shared reality.

The word crisis is based on the same Latin word meaning “judgment, critical stage,” and borrowed from Greek krísis “act of separating, decision, judgment, event, outcome, turning point, sudden change.”

Both indicate that we need to make a decision or judgment about something at the utmost moment.

As leaders, all eyes are on us in such circumstances, and our actions will either reinforce the trust people have in us or erode it in an instant.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Robert Ingersoll, 1883

Character Amid Crises

Leaders make decisions in moments of crisis that tell us something about their character.

Abraham Lincoln was a leader who was tested along those lines. He managed, over the course of his first term, when he led the country through a bloody and brutal civil war, to make it apparent to every American what he stood for. Then entrusted him with a second term to lead the country through the end of the war.

In 1982, when tampered bottles of Tylenol led to the deaths of at least seven people in the Chicago area, the CEO of Johnson & Johnson determined the company’s only hope was to issue the largest pharmaceutical recall in history and warn the public not to use its product. It was unprecedented and expensive, but it was essential to ensure safety and restore trust.

And this week, a man who would be king lied (and continues to lie) about the federal response to two back-to-back hurricanes. In doing so, he has created confusion, doubt, fear, and anger among Americans suffering in the midst of a crisis. Never one to let a good crisis go to waste, he decided that it was more important to serve his own needs, rather than reassuring the public about the resources and services available to them.

There is a certain level of trust (or lack thereof) that emanates from each of these leaders. Trust is the backbone of relationships and leadership.

What People Want in a Crisis

When we’re in the eye of a storm — literally or figuratively, as in a crisis — everything is swirling around us. This is when people are looking for reassurance from their leadership.

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Leading in a Crisis is one of the talks I give to executives, their teams and board members, and at industry events. If this is something you’d like to hear more about, we should have a conversation.

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Crises, whether self-induced or inflicted upon us by external forces, create a sense of fear, which arises from uncertainty. During these critical times, people want trusted sources of information and they want a demonstration of forthrightness from leaders.

As Doris Kearns Goodwin points out about Abraham Lincoln in Leadership In Turbulent Times, “the leader's strength ultimately depends on the strength of his bond with the people.”

When you’re focused on the well-being of your people and you demonstrate it through your words and actions, they’ll feel that bond strengthening.

Strength isn’t only expressed in toughness; we show it through compassion and kindness.

“When I was a boy I used to think that strong meant having big muscles, great physical power; but the longer I live, the more I realize that real strength has more to do with what is not seen. Real strength has to do with helping others.” — Fred Rogers, 2003

If you can be the kind of leader who leads with empathy and thinks of others in everything that you do, in times of crisis as well as in times of calm, you’ll be better prepared than most.

For you will have given your people the great gift of certainty and trust.

Your character will be evident in everything that you do, in times of crisis as well as in times of calm.

There’s so much to learn,