CAN YOU PROFILE THE PERFECT CRISIS MANAGER?
The recent anniversary of 9/11 reminded us what good looked like in a crisis – it looked like New York City firefighters and of course Rudolf Giuliani, the mayor of New York in 2001.
Prior to the catastrophe Giuliani had been a divisive figure and by no means universally popular, but cometh the hour cometh the man. He seemed up to the job in both word and deed. When asked how many people he thought had died in the tragedy his immediate response was “more than any of us can bear.” Perfectly capturing the public mood at the time of overwhelming crisis.
So what qualities are required in a disaster and is it possible to profile individuals who might be effective crisis managers?
Tipping Point
In his 2000 bestseller, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell looks at three different character types who when working together can be pivotal instigators of change and provide a successful crisis response. He calls them Connectors, Mavens and Persuaders.
What makes a Connector? Put simply, they know a lot of people, they are outgoing, gregarious types who are never shy of introducing themselves to strangers. You can see them at networking events, they aren’t standing in the corner nursing a glass of wine, they are working the room, collecting business cards and moving on.
In a crisis they will know who to contact and will instinctively stay in touch with the public mood and make sure that a company’s message is heard loud and clear. They belong in the pressroom.
The word Maven comes from the Yiddish meaning to collect knowledge. A typical Maven will have his nose in a book or a computer hoovering up information about a specific discipline. Because of their knowledge they often have an astonishing ability to cross reference problems with solutions.
If Connectors are conduits and Mavens are teachers – then who and what are Persuaders? You’re probably going to find them in the sales office. In a crisis, people may have to be persuaded to do things they might not choose to do. The role of the Persuader is to make things happen.
Persuaders may not have in-depth knowledge, but through their tone of voice, their physical appearance and their empathy with others, Persuaders are able to convince people to take a particular course of action. They sound like successful politicians or perhaps the CEO.
According to Gladwell these are the abilities required to affect change and overcome a crisis, but only rarely are one or more of these skill sets found in a single individual.
Emergency response
A crisis is not a static event; crises develop and as they do different talents will be required. In the early minutes and hours of a disaster there may be people to protect and casualties to care for. So initially the incident manager could benefit from a background in emergency response.
As the situation stabilizes and evolves, the incident manager may change and the role filled by someone with solid business skills. The difficulty could be deciding when that change should occur.
The UK emergency services use the Gold, Silver and Bronze command and control framework. Some use the terms: Strategic – Tactical – Operational or put more simply: Think – Plan – Do. This framework has proved very successful, but problems arise when roles become blurred.
We like to see senior executives pitching in during a crisis, rolling up their sleeves and doing some of the heavy lifting, but is that really helpful or perhaps just a good photo opportunity?
If the CEO is in the frontline, who is doing the thinking? If the head of press is constantly picking up the phone to talk to journalists, who is deciding on key messages and lines to take?
The Go Point
In his book ‘The Go Point’ Mike Useem explains that a team leader in a mountaineering expedition often remains at base camp rather than hiking to the summit. Thus enabling the leader to direct operations from a secure place where they can see the whole mountain or in effect the bigger picture.
So can you profile the perfect crisis manager? Almost certainly not, because as Gladwell suggests the perfect responder is likely to be several people working in harmony. Pick a leader, train the team and allow them all to get to know each other’s abilities, limits and strengths.