ABSTRACT
Chapter 22 explores Leading in a Crisis. When dealing with a crisis, leaders must resist the urge to over-centralise the response. Risk and ambiguity increase during a crisis because so much is uncertain and volatile, and the trap for leaders is trying to control everything by creating new layers of approval for minor decisions. This only makes the organisation less responsive and frustration grows with each new constraint. The solution is to seek order rather than control. Order is about people knowing what is expected of them and what they can expect of others. Leaders, therefore, must acknowledge that they cannot control everything, determine which decisions only they can make and delegate the rest, establishing a clear framework of values, principles and intent in which others can act.
