ABSTRACT
Crises that disrupt and jolt entire systems, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, place organizations in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments that often affect all aspects of enterprises, communities, and society. These system shocks can lead to extensive organizational damage, affecting economics, human resources, operations, and can interfere with overall mission accomplishment. Leadership is considered one of the most pivotal resources for organizations both in times of normalcy and crisis, but recent events have exhibited the exacerbated effects of ineffective leadership during crises, exposing a vital need for improved leadership development with an increased emphasis on preparing for and dealing with organizational emergencies. This chapter explores the leadership challenges associated with highly chaotic environments and posits that leadership effectiveness in crises can best be realized through an advanced, preparedness-based model of leadership—Shock Leadership, and how mindfulness, as a core component of Shock Leadership Development, is necessarily intertwined throughout every element of the preparedness model and is absolutely essential for effective crisis leadership.
