Leadership in Times of Crisis
Five years ago, the world was in an uproar. The unseen enemy, known as Covid-19, had brought our planet to its knees. Leadership within the business, governmental, medical, and religious worlds was tested. So, how do we lead in times of crisis?
At VitalChurch Ministry, leadership in times of crisis is our normal. The following are a few important lessons I’ve learned during those times.
Have an accurate assessment of reality. No one is helped by pretending or assuming things are okay when they are not. No one is helped by making promises of a quick fix either. All that does is defraud those who actually believe the false promise and embitter those who don’t. This is especially true when things don’t go as planned. This assumes that an accurate assessment is being communicated as needed. Overcommunication can be overwhelming, while under-communication is unnerving. The wise leader intuits the difference.
Tell the truth…period! Don’t lie. And don’t pretend you know what is going on when you really don’t. Leaders who regularly lie, fudge the truth, or mislead out of ignorance will find it increasingly difficult to lead in times of crisis. Why? Because those who follow will become increasingly uncooperative as time moves on. In a church, people leave. In the business world, employees quit and consumers stop making purchases. But in government, people rebel! This is especially true when times get really tough. When crisis hits, the line between civility and barbarism is thinner than most of us think. This is true even in churches.
Communicate the truth tactfully and with integrity. In other words, be gracious in telling the truth and have the facts right. This demands that leaders prepare before meetings and honestly admit if they don’t know something. When communicating, be frank, direct, and to the point. Be gracious. This lowers people’s anxiety and builds comradery.
Maintain a non-anxious presence. Best I can tell, family systems guru Edwin Friedman coined this phrase to describe the personal presence needed to function effectively in an emotionally charged environment. Reactivity rarely helps. Leaders with a non-anxious presence instill a sense of calm into a toxic environment. Using self-deprecating irony and appropriate humor may also help.
Make hard decisions. Make those decisions even when people don’t like them, then stick with them—stick with them, stick with them. I’m not talking about being inflexible. There have been plenty of times I’ve had to change course in midstream because new information became available. But making hard decisions that are the right decisions, then working “the decision,” is a sign of good leadership. Flip-flopping unnerves those who have to follow.
Think ahead of the curve. Leaders lead, which means they think ahead. This demands proactivity, not reactivity. It also demands innovation. What decisions have to be made now that won’t be implemented for six months, a year, or even five years from now? This also demands openness to the reality that things will change. Some people find this very difficult.
Avoid blaming or critiquing others publicly. This can be difficult, especially when other people are legitimately to blame. Trashing others who are trying—in a different way or even in an ineffective way—to resolve the same problems never helps. Saying “I’d prefer that so and so would do this or that…” may be a gracious way to address a difference of opinion publicly.
Share the burden and the glory. Crisis is a time to help bring out the best in others and then publicly highlight what they are doing well. This demands a non-narcissistic approach to problem solving. Sharing both the load and the success softens the burden borne by the leader during difficult times.
Crisis is also a time when genuine leaders emerge. Keep your eyes open for them—they are there. Consider the content of your heart. Anxiety, stress, crisis, tragedy, and pain are revelatory. The content of the heart is revealed in how we react to crisis. Jesus said it best, “For from within, out of the heart of man comes [what is real]” (Mark 7:21-23).
The beautiful thing about the gospel is that it can change the heart. Real leaders develop gospel-shaped hearts in the midst of turbulent crisis because they regularly remind themselves of Christ’s work and its implications on their behalf (Romans 1:16-17; 2 Peter 1:5-9).
It is likely that five years ago was the only time in world history when the entire planet was actively united against a single enemy. It’s my belief that real leaders emerged, and those who failed to step up to the situation, in many cases lost the influence they had—even when they retained positional authority.
The principles listed above are simple yet powerful practices Christian leaders can follow to effectively navigate transition or crisis in any situation.
