Leadership is a constant need for any organization. Good leadership is always needed. The saying is, “Everything rises and falls on leadership!” If an organization is successful, it is because of good leadership. If it is a failure, it is because of bad leadership. While the circumstances determine what kind of leadership is needed, an organization’s success or failure is not the result of the circumstances! How the circumstances are handled by the leader will determine if the organization rises, falls, or continues!

All circumstances can be classified in only one of two categories: Either there is a crisis or there is calmness. A good leader can take a crisis and turn it into a blessing instead of a curse. A good leader can also use calmness to prepare so that a crisis doesn’t happen! It takes two very different actions to respond to these two categories.

 

Crisis Leadership

When is crisis leadership needed and what is the purpose of leading during a crisis? Generally, a crisis is the result of bad leadership. A crisis is when things are so bad that action needs to be done to avert the crisis. The purpose of leadership during a crisis is to stop the crisis and restore calmness.

Here is a circumstance that is a crisis: You are on a boat in the ocean and water is coming through a leak, filling the boat with water. It is apparent that if something isn’t done the boat is going to sink and many will drown or be eaten by sharks. A good leader will take control and get everyone to bail water and find a way to patch the leak. Water is thrown back overboard, and the leak is patched. Crisis averted! If the leak can’t be fixed, the good leader will start a rescue operation. He will see that all are in life jackets and in lifeboats. He will notify someone to get help. He will continue to make good leadership decisions until all are rescued. Again, the crisis is turned into calmness!

Calmness Leadership

Back to the boat sinking analogy. Before the boat ever leaves harbor, the good leader will make sure there are supplies on board to bail the water and patch the leak if it occurs. He will make sure there are plenty of life jackets and lifeboats. He will also make sure there are training sessions while underway so that all personnel are prepared when a crisis occurs. The problem with this type of leadership is that this leader is not really noticed as having done something heroic. No glamor and no glory! Often the leader is not noticed because no crisis occurs!

A truly great leader will learn how to adapt the leadership styles to be ready for either scenario. When calmness is happening, it is not time to relax or quit leading. Preparation must be made to prepare to avoid or handle the next crisis! When the crisis is over it is extremely important to quickly transition to the calmness leadership style!