The Ultimate Guide To Excellent Crisis Leadership

This book is for anyone who is interested in crisis leadership. The concepts offered apply to anyone whether he or she is a seasoned leader or inspiring new one, for public or private life, for any type of crisis or any type of discipline. This is a comprehensive examination of all aspects of crisis leadership. We will cover several overarching themes. We will look at the skills needed to be an effective crisis leader. We will examine leadership styles, how best to communicate in a crisis, and the human component of a crisis. We will examine the team concept of crisis management. We will look at how leadership can and should function during the prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of a crisis. We will examine decision making and problem solving. We consider how we might use after action reporting to enhance future responses or prevent, prepare for, or mitigate crises.

The text presents a systematic, behavioral model that underlies crisis management, showing which personality functions are required for managing and preparing for major crises. The book discusses the extreme importance of Emotional IQ in handling, responding, and preparing for any crisis. Crisis Leadership presents the findings from new national surveys and new concrete, easy-to-understand models for implementing programs of proactive leadership. The combination of models-including a comprehensive look at what happens before, during, and after a crisis-creates a truly integrated and systematic approach.

This book is for anyone who is interested in becoming a leader/manager or who already is in such position. For those seeking such responsibilities or promotion, those just starting out in a leadership position, or those who want to learn new tips and to brush up, my hope is that you will find value in this book. Public service includesbut is not limited toemergency management, emergency medical services, military personnel, fire, first responders, corrections officers, law enforcement, dispatchers / 911 operators, probation and parole officers, transportation, social services, and the list goes on. These servants can be found at the local, state, and federal levels. The principles and concepts in this book are just as useful to those in the private sector who have similar duties as well as volunteer groups. We will go into detail about how to be the best leader you can be. As a caveat, the term leader will mainly be used throughout the book. As you will see, there are differences between leaders and managers, but one key point of this book is that one must strive to be both a leader and a manager.

Why do some managers shine during a high-level crisis while others stumble? Those who have an action plan in place are the ones who can react quickly, manage rumors, and respond to victims and stakeholders sincerely and adequately while keeping their organization afloat. Leading crisis management expert Laurence Barton has spent more than two decades consulting with top companies on how to anticipate and respond to workplace threats and tragedies. In Crisis Leadership Now he offers concrete solutions for managing disruptive events-from industrial accidents and acts of violence to embezzlement, product recalls, and terrorism. Barton takes you through his journey of advising senior executives on crisis events and examines: The characteristics that define a true crisis Proven strategies to help you understand and respond to early warning signals Ways to mitigate threatening situations How to effectively communicate your decisions in a timely manner to employees, shareholders, customers, and other constituencies In this forward-looking guide, Barton applies his corporate insider's insight to numerous case studies, demonstrating how such catastrophes happen to real companies and real people every day. These studies form a framework for building crisis management thinking into your company's strategic toolbox. Anticipating all forms of trouble, advising senior management and boards of directors about potential events, and devising a business recovery plan will allow your organization to rebound should tragedy strike. Barton has also created an indispensable sample crisis management plan, and includes detailed templates for addressing a wide spectrum of incidents and threats. Arming you with an arsenal of strategies, tools, and know-how, Crisis Leadership Now ensures that your company's leaders will demonstrate confidence and implement solutions in the midst of chaos.

Business leaders would be better served by understanding key crisis concepts and applying them to their own situation rather than relying on crisis advisors to swoop in to take care of a problem once it has become a crisis. Loaded with Case Studies! How leaders deal with crisis can clarify character and strengthen reputation. On the other hand, the wrong words and actions from the C-Suite can worsen the crisis spiral. Crisis management does not begin on the day the fire erupts, the hurricane barrels through, or the accident happens. Dr. Jo Robertson, a leading expert in heading off and containing crisis, lays out the key concepts that business leaders need to apply to their own organizations so they don’t have to rely on outside crisis advisors to swoop in and save the day.

Uniquely two-books-in-one, this 2nd Edition of Blindsided covers both Crisis Response and Crisis Preparedness and interweaves the principles of Crisis Leadership through every phase. Intensely experiential, the book lands you in the middle of a fast-breaking crisis and uses riveting case studies/examples to demonstrate what a top-notch leader would say and do at every turn. Then, based on this eye-opening simulation, the author uses his 30 years of global crisis experience to show you how to write and implement a real-world crisis management plan. Blythe has divided Blindsided into two operational sections: Crisis Response and Crisis Preparedness. His emphasis throughout is on the often-neglected human side of crisis management, going beyond protecting tangible assets and instilling principled concern for human well-being into every decision. Part 1. Crisis Response: Using the technique of focused imagery, Blythe places you in a dramatic and realistic scenario. You're now an unprepared manager blindsided by the reality of an active shooter loose in your building. Some workers may already be injured or dead. What's your next move? How do you make sure everybody is safe? How do you set up teams, command centers, crisis containment, and effective communication? How do you protect your corporate reputation? Can you rebuild the spirit, cohesion, and productivity of employees in the post-crisis "new normal"? At the start of the book, before you faced the sudden crisis in this simulation, a crisis response plan may have been a project for 'someday', now it's a priority. Part 2. Crisis Preparedness: Now you embark on building a crisis response plan – or enhancing the one you have. Blythe guides you and your teams to analyze foreseeable risks, evaluate existing controls, add new ones, test and re-evaluate the plan. Analyzing the behavior of national and world leaders, you distinguish clearly the two kinds of leaders who emerge in a crisis: the "crisis whisperer" who becomes a calm center in the storm, and the one in the "crisis red zone," worsening the situation with every word and every decision. You learn to employ the Be-Know-Do leadership model (adapted from military) that has been implemented by senior management teams throughout the world. Blindsided includes practical forms, checklists, case studies, real-life examples, glossary, index, discussion questions, and other take-and-use tools, including: Quick Use Response Guide: Each chapter ends with a summary checklist, all 15 can form a ready-reference pocket guide. Incident Checklists for 9 Major Crises: Practical checklists for accidental deaths, aircraft crash, chemical/toxic exposure, civil unrest, earthquake, explosion/fire, flood, kidnap ransom, shooting, plus 20 other foreseeable risks. 20-Page Guide for Addressing Families of the Injured: What to say/do to help families of fatalities or seriously injured with medical/financial assistance, emotional support and training teams assigned to work with them. Your next crisis will happen when least expected, but with Blythe's guidance, you'll never again be blindsided!

The Definitive Guide to Communicating in Any Crisis “When facing an already difficult crisis, the last thing a company needs is to make it worse through its own communications – or lack thereof. As one who has lived through a number of [business] crises and served as an independent investigator of the crises of others, I consider Steven Fink’s book to be an excellent guide to avoiding collecting scar tissue of your own by learning from the scar tissue painfully collected by others.”—Norman R. Augustine, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin There are few guarantees in business today. Unfortunately, one of them is the inevitability of a crisis having a potentially major effect on your business and your reputation. When your company finds itself in the midst of a crisis, the ripple effects can disrupt lives and business for the foreseeable future if public opinion is not properly shaped and managed. Skillfully managing the perception of the crisis determines the difference between a company’s life or death. Because in the pitched battle between perception and reality, perception always wins. Fortunately, there is a solution. Crisis communications and crisis management legend Steven Fink gives you everything you need to prepare for the inevitable—whether it’s in the form of human error, industrial accidents, criminal behavior, or natural disasters. In this groundbreaking guide, Fink provides a complete toolkit for ensuring smooth communications and lasting business success through any crisis. Crisis Communications offers proactive and preventive methods for preempting potential crises. The book reveals proven strategies for recognizing and averting damaging crisis communications issues before it’s too late. The book also offers ways to deal with mainstream and social media, use them to your advantage, and neutralize and turn around a hostile media environment Steven Fink uses his decades of expertise and experience in crisis communications to help you: UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND REALITY CHOOSE THE BEST SPOKESPERSON FOR THE CRISIS PROTECT YOUR BRAND AND REPUTATION THROUGH CRISES LARGE AND SMALL MAKE WISE, VIGILANT, AND DEFENSIBLE DECISIONS UNDER EXTREME CRISIS-INDUCED STRESS TELL THE TRUTH NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING IT MAY BE TO MISLEAD USE SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT A CRISIS The explosion of the Internet and, especially, social media, has added a new layer to the business leader’s skill set: the ability to handle a crisis quickly and professionally within moments of its occurrence. Livelihoods depend upon it. With in-depth case studies of Toyota, BP, and Penn State, Crisis Communications provides everything you need to successfully lead your company through today’s rocky landscape of business—where crises large and small loom around every corner, and the lives of businesses and management teams hang in the balance. PRAISE FOR STEVEN FINK’S CRISIS MANAGEMENT “Every major executive in America ought to read at least one book on crisis management. In this way, he or she might be better prepared to deal with the disasters striking organizations at an ever-increasing rate ... The question is: ‘Is Steven Fink’s book one that busy executives ought to read?’ The answer is a resounding yes.”—LOS ANGELES TIMES, FRONT PAGE SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW

A major investor is on line one, CNN is on line two, and social media is exploding in anger. When you're a 'Leader Under Fire,' the next few moments can be an incredible opportunity... or they can destroy your career.In the past, companies prepared for crisis with expensive, static crisis communications plans. The pace was slower. You had time to process and plan a response with your senior team and lawyers. But those old-school plans don't work anymore. Many companies these days have no plan whatsoever and are simply sitting ducks.Today, managing a PR crisis is ALL about speed. With 24-hour news cycles and social media mobs, if you're not controlling your message by lunchtime, you could be convicted in the court of public opinion before dinner. Speed kills careers.'Leaders Under Fire' is for anyone who values their reputation, and understands how fragile it is today. Leaders who have spent decades building reputations have seen them destroyed in minutes. We'll help you avoid those traps.This executive-length book uses real-life examples to illustrate what works - and what doesn't - in managing a crisis. We'll also introduce you to two fictional CEO's who handle their crisis in very different ways. You can follow their story throughout the book as they learn some lessons the hard way - so you don't have to.