Develop your crisis leadership skills to motivate others amid chaos

In normal circumstances, we can think of leadership as the daily management of micro-crisis incidents. Leaders often resolve issues and problems quickly or delegate them to others for resolution. However, in larger moments, such as war, natural disasters or pandemics, crisis leadership demands the expression of a unifying vision of mythic proportions because leaders must focus their efforts on returning everyday life to a sense of normalcy.

Crisis leadership requires intensely focused, committed actions to try to eliminate uncertainty, fear, panic and chaos.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created that chaotic atmosphere. Leaders of nations and corporations attempt to sort out priorities to protect citizens, public health systems and the global economy.

Crisis leadership differs from everyday forms of leadership (such as visionary leadership and reform leadership) in many ways — particularly the sudden threat to prioritized goals and objectives. When life, liberty or property are in jeopardy, all other considerations become secondary. These “black swan” events, which are characterized by extreme rarity, severe impact and the later insistence by all they were obvious in hindsight, can elevate leaders’ statures and statuses if the helpless, confused and lost turn to them for assurance.

In such times, leaders invoke powerful rhetorical messaging to help bring some sense of stability, balance and control. Such instances can precipitate “charismatic leadership,” also referred to as “crisis-response leadership.” (See “The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications,” by Bernard M. Bass with Ruth Bass, Free Press, 2010.)

Charismatic/crisis-response leadership

Let’s explore the attributes and circumstances of charismatic/crisis-response leadership that you might find helpful when the unexpected, improbable or catastrophic shows up in your environment.

The early Christian church used the word, “charisma,” which is derived from the Greek word for “gift,” to describe individual gifts of healing and prophecy. The term was later expanded and secularized to describe “any leader who derives his or her power from particularly exceptional personal traits.” (See “The Theory of Social and Economic Organization,” by Max Weber, The Free Press, 1947.)

Research suggests that an extraordinary circumstance can serve as an antecedent crucible for the emergence of a crisis-response leader with an innate charismatic leadership presence. (See Context and charisma: a ‘meso’ level examination of the relationship of organic structure, collectivism, and crisis to charismatic leadership, by Rajnandini Pillai and James R. Meindl, Journal of Management, volume 24, issue 5, 1998.)

A charismatic leader uses influential rhetoric and persuasive speech delivery to prime interactions with employees, supporters, followers and often the general population during or immediately after a crisis to obtain necessary commitments, sacrifices and courage to overcome a challenge.

“Not only is there a need for a charismatic leader to effectively direct the crisis response, it’s also important to have the right person in that role,” says Walt Manning, CFE, Techno-Crime Institute CEO, during a recent Fraud Magazine interview.

Charismatic/crisis-response leadership for you

An important characteristic of crisis leadership is the ability to anticipate “what if” scenarios and have the foresight to develop crisis action plans (CAPs) that address such situations. In the event of a major emergency, a thorough CAP helps minimize the uncertainty, confusion and fear that accompany the arrival of such chaotic events.

In the aftermath of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York, Morgan Stanley created a disaster preparedness plan that outlined evacuation routes, contingency operations and alternate work locations. That company initiated that plan minutes after the first plane struck the North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001. Because of the swift implementation, 2,693 out of 2,700 employees — who were working on 22 floors in the South Tower — made it out alive. (See By-the-numbers operation at Morgan Stanley finds its human side, by Seth Schiesel and Riva D. Atlas, The New York Times, Sept. 16, 2001.)

Cantor Fitzgerald had offices in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Those offices were two to six floors above where the plane hit, and unfortunately, the proximity to the catastrophic impact and the collapse of elevators and nearby stair wells prevented any of the 658 employees at work that morning from escaping. (See Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 of 960 workers on 9/11 thrives…but for the boss, the nightmare remains, The Daily Mail, Sept. 9, 2011.)

Days later, Cantor Fitzgerald pledged to distribute 25 percent of company profits for the next five years, and to pay for the health care benefits for families of those employees who were lost on 9/11. In 2006, the company fulfilled its promise and paid a total of $180 million, in addition to contributions by other relief funds. (See After losing 658 employees on 9/11, Cantor Fitzgerald Maintains Commitment to Help Victims’ Families, by Diane King Hall, NY1.com, Sept. 10, 2016.)

Morgan Stanley’s crisis leadership manifested as a ready-to-implement crisis action plan. Cantor Fitzgerald showed crisis leadership immediately after 9/11 that extended years afterward.

Crisis leadership is words in action

You don’t necessarily have to possess innate characteristics to be a charismatic/crisis-response leader. Here are some actions you can take:

• Articulate a strong — perhaps even radical — vision and mission to which others can tie their self-esteem and sense of self-control.
• Share your values, objectives and vision so others can internalize them.
• Embrace a strong personal ethical and moral commitment to those stated values, objectives and vision.
• Be willing to set aside personal self-interest during a crisis for the sake of others’ needs. (See Charisma under crisis revisited: Presidential leadership, perceived leader effectiveness, and contextual influences by Kelly M. Davis and William L. Gardner, “The Leadership Quarterly,” October 2012.)

Linguistic tools for charismatic/crisis-response leadership

Influence and persuasion strategies play a significant role in creating the allure of charismatic/crisis-response leaders. In that vein, your use of rhetorical devices (linguistic tools that use a specific sentence structure to evoke audience reaction) form the foundation for generating an emotionally focused appeal that the masses will (hopefully) embrace.

The philosopher Plato referred to the study of rhetoric as “the art of ruling the minds of men,” and we accomplish that with language, influence and persuasion.

• Logos: use of logic to convince or persuade. Includes use of statistics, facts, statements of authorities.
• Pathos: appealing to emotion to further advance prescribed actions, attitudes or behaviors.
• Ethos: ethical appeals for persuading others that the speaker and the cause are just, serious and necessary to affect arduous task(s) that lie ahead.
• Kairos: related to the timing of a prescribed course of action or idea where historical relevance, consequence and significance form an important part of an argument. (See What is a rhetorical device? by Jeffrey Somers, ThoughtCo., July 8, 2019.)

For example, as a charismatic/crisis-response leader who must appeal to a group’s sense of collective identity during and after a catastrophe, you would likely incorporate these rhetoric strategies into your speech:

• Make references to history and tradition as a binding agent to establish a sense of community.
• Use narratives (stories) that emphasize that collective identity.
• Reinforce the shared collective values to further unify.
• Focus on your similarity to those in the group. (“We’re all in this together…”)
• Highlight shared values and moral justifications to undertake necessary political, legal or social actions.
• Repeat calls for maintaining hope and faith going forward.
• Appeal to the group’s self-worth, which forms the basis of our very thoughts, feelings and behaviors, all of which a crisis can paralyze. Upholding the group self-worth is critical to the forward collective momentum. (See The role of rhetoric content in charismatic leadership: A content analysis of a Singaporean leader’s speeches, by Hwee Hoon Tan and Glady Wee, International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 2002, Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business, 2002.)

Here’s an example. The once-daily U.S. coronavirus task force briefings contained elements of statistics, facts and authority statements (logos); emotional pleas from authority figures to shelter in place, wear masks and practice social distancing (pathos); public appeals from authority figures conveying that the government’s severe measures were just, serious and necessary to affect the “flattening of the curve” (ethos); and that now was the time to take the necessary action to thwart this historic pandemic (kairos).

Charismatic/crisis-reform leadership vs. visionary/reform leadership

Leaders who are trying to combat and overcome crises often must use intensely focused extreme measures. During extended threats, high uncertainty and multi-faceted disruptions, leaders must decide quickly, unilaterally and with just-in-time input from “need to know” advisors.

Charismatic/crisis-response leaders often must bypass, amend or suspend traditional policies and procedures. Federal leaders must do the same while remaining under the guidance of constitutional foundations.

Crisis, calamity and catastrophe make little room for any other type of leadership style at the helm other than charismatic/crisis response. This hierarchical top-down command structure in government and corporations works well in crises — to a point. However, as a crisis-management task force tackles its responsibilities and logistics, the command-and-control approach of charismatic/crisis response must yield some of that leadership to those coordinating efforts along the front lines. (The U.S. Coronavirus Task Force is an example of leadership delegation.) They become crisis-response implementers where rapid, immediate execution of strategy is the priority.

Visionary, or reform, leadership often is present within leaders’ crisis-response efforts. Reform leadership involves different actors, actions and agendas. It typically demands that leaders listen to multilateral perspectives, participate in lengthy discussions and compromise.

Visionary/reform leadership — while valuable for ushering in new capital projects, acquisitions or initiatives — has a major drawback for addressing catastrophic events: Future-forward policies and thinking challenges leaders who need to focus on immediate crises on everyone’s doorstep.

Manning again offers a poignant perspective. “During a crisis, there’s usually not time for debate or for pursuing other agendas,” he says. “It’s a time that requires comprehensive, decisive and coordinated action with everyone pulling toward the same goal. Otherwise, you have a high possibility for disaster.”

Conflating charismatic/crisis-response leadership efforts with visionary/reform leadership dilutes or delays necessary implementation of emergency stopgap measures to counter catastrophic damages.

While some immediate and autonomous reform might be inevitable during crisis, it’s in the crisis-response leader’s best interest to consult with vested stakeholders for their support before the leader considers any extreme measures.

There’s a time and place for visionary/reform leadership; it’s just not when we’re trying to deal with a crisis, says former ACFE Regent Emeritus retired Lt. Col. Robert Blair, CFE, during a recent Fraud Magazine interview. “One of my mentors from 25 years in uniform was the 37th Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Larry Spencer,” Blair says. “Coming from the financial comptroller community, he taught us when we make a priority of taking care of the member’s pay meant to ease his concerns about his family. That freed his mind to focus on the battle in front of him. Take care of your people, and they’ll take care of you. That’s just Leadership 101.”

In other words, leaders shouldn’t try to reform their way out of a crisis. Crisis-response leadership can’t afford the posturing that reform leadership entails.

Donn LeVie Jr., CFE, is a leadership consultant, speaker and executive coach plus the author of several award-winning books on developing professional advancement strategies. He’s managed people and projects for Fortune 100 companies (Phillips Petroleum, Motorola, Intel Corporation), the federal government (NOAA), and academia (University of Houston) since 1979. Contact him at donn@donnleviejrstrategies.com.