How to Lead When the Room Panics: 7 Essential Strategies

CRISIS doesn’t create leaders; it reveals them. It strips away the trappings of title and tenure and shines a spotlight on judgment, courage, and decisiveness. And while no sane executive welcomes a crisis, the best don’t waste one either. Crisis is the ultimate leadership stress test. If you want to pass it—and elevate your organization in the process—here are seven lessons you’d better take seriously.

1. Smoke Usually Means Fire

Ignore the early warning signs, and you’ll soon be standing in the ashes of your own inattention. Every crisis starts small. A dip in customer satisfaction. A missed deliverable. A bizarre memo from compliance. Pay attention to these flares. If you don’t, they become grenades with the pins pulled. Leaders don’t have the luxury of surprise. If something feels off, it probably is. Probe early. Intervene sooner. Make a nuisance of yourself—your board will thank you later.

2. Don’t Lose Altitude or Airspeed

Pilots live by this. Leaders should, too.

• Altitude is perspective. It’s your ability to rise above the noise and see where the business is really headed. Lose it, and you’re flying blind.
• Airspeed is momentum. If your team stalls, if decisions drag, if execution slows, gravity wins.
• Ideas are your engine. Without innovation and creative problem-solving, you’re dead stick—no thrust, no options.

Want to survive a crisis? Keep one eye on the horizon and one hand on the throttle—and make sure someone’s thinking clearly.

3. Face Reality or be Replaced by Someone Who Will

Leaders who sugarcoat bad news don’t build trust—they build exits. Denial is not a strategy. When the Tylenol crisis hit Johnson & Johnson in 1982, their leaders didn’t issue platitudes or duck responsibility. They pulled $100 million worth of products off shelves, stopped production, and offered full exchanges. Painful? Absolutely. But it saved the company—and became a business school case study on how to lead in disaster. You don’t need a cyanide capsule to tell the truth. Own it. Communicate it. Fix it.

4. Prepare as if it Matters (Because it Does)

You don’t train for the marathon in the middle of the race. And yet, I watch leaders “practice bleed”—agonizing over hypotheticals, spinning their wheels in the name of preparation that’s neither practical nor actionable. Instead, do this:

• Monitor cash as if it were oxygen—because it is.
• Create a crisis response team with decision-making authority.
• Map out the top ten disasters that could hit your organization. Plan responses now.
• Build strong external relationships before you need them.
• Maintain a real-time contact list of every stakeholder who matters.

Preparation beats panic. Every. Time.

5. Be Realistic Without Becoming Fatalistic

Optimism isn’t denial—it’s discipline. It’s knowing how bad things are and leading anyway. Don’t declare false victories or pretend a new coat of paint will keep the ship afloat. Be honest about what you are facing. Share what you know and what you don’t. But don’t ever say, “It can’t get worse.” Because it can, and you’ll sound like a fool when it does. Instead, project confidence in your team’s ability to adapt and overcome. Resilience starts at the top.

6. Control the Microphone

In a crisis, silence is not golden—it’s cowardice. If you’re not filling the information void, someone else will. Employees, clients, media—they will all be watching and wondering. So, speak. Clearly. Often. Honestly. And strategically. Ask yourself daily:

• What must happen today to turn the tide?
• What can I clarify or simplify?
• What are people afraid of—and what real reassurance can I offer?
• What do I need to say that no one else will?

Don’t let PR run the narrative. You’re the leader. Act like it.

7. Don’t Let the Media Outmaneuver You

The media is not your enemy. But if you treat them as if they are, they’ll become one. “No comment” is not strategy—it’s surrender. Instead:

• Be quick. Delay signals guilt or confusion.
• Be honest. Spin is dead.
• Be consistent. Focus on three key messages and repeat them relentlessly.
• Don’t minimize the crisis—or compare it to something worse. That’s not perspective; it’s evasion.
• Never blame the victims. Take responsibility, even if someone else messed up.

And remember: accessibility earns credibility. If you vanish during good times, don’t expect goodwill when things go south.

Machiavelli got it right: never waste the opportunity of a good crisis. Because crisis will either bury you or it will catapult you to the next level of leadership. You decide. Leading through uncertainty doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence, perspective, and the guts to do what’s right when it’s hard.

Don’t wait for the smoke to clear. Get in front of it. That’s what real leaders do.

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Dr. Linda Henman is an advisor, speaker, coach, and author or co-author of 11 books. She founded Henman Performance Group, a leadership consulting firm that works with C-suite leaders from organizations like Avon, Emerson Electric, Estee Lauder, Kraft, and Tyson Foods. Her work with executives is guided by her PhD research on how American POWS (including John McCain) maintained resilience by making pivotal decisions during their brutal imprisonment. Her strategies in decision-making to increase profitability, mergers & acquisitions, succession planning, and other issues have never failed. Her work with John Tyson helped land one of the most successful acquisitions in the twenty-first century. Her new book is Healthy Decisions: Critical Thinking Skills for Healthcare Executives. Learn more at Henmanperformancegroup.com

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:03 PM
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Leading Thoughts for June 12, 2025

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

I.

Matt Higgins on self-awareness:

“Self-awareness telegraphs to supporters that it’s safe tobelieve. When you meet someone with high self-awareness, even if you consciously surmise they’re on the wrong path, you subconsciously think, ‘They’ll figure it out.’ You instinctively trust that they will course correct when the ship runs aground.”

Source: Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential

II.

Stan Slap on leadership:

“Here’s what you need to know most about leadership: Lead your own life first. The only thing in this world that will dependably happen from the top down is the digging of your grave. You’re waiting for leadership to happen to you? Leadership happens to you as soon as you understand your own values and understand how to enroll others in supporting them. Instead of waiting for a leader you can believe in, try this: Become a leader you can believe in.”

Source: Bury My Heart at Conference Room B: The Unbeatable Impact of Truly Committed Managers

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Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 11:00 AM
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Business Leaders: It’s Time to Start Thinking About Our Talent in New Ways

SUCCESSFUL enterprises are those that can command significant margins by doing a great job of understanding what drives their customers. They know their customers’ pain points, how their product or service addresses them, and what they can provide that no one else does.

But while many of us think about our customers this way, we haven’t learned to think about our talent in the same way. Most of us think of employees as simply entering and exiting our enterprises randomly. But imagine if we got curious about talent — if we understood our talent — the same way we understand our customers. Imagine if we understood their values, pain points, and passions. How much more effective and resilient would our organizations and our people be?

I’d be surprised if any honest CEO could say that they spend 10 percent of their time thinking about what’s important to the people who work for them. They may spend that time thinking about wages, benefits, and compliance. But rarely are they spending it trying to design opportunities that will be attractive to people.

Many believe that the drive for retention or reducing turnover takes their eye off the ball. Yet worrying about what it costs, and not why people want to stay, is a misdirection. We would be much better off investing time, energy, and resources in connecting on those more profound values, pain points, and passions than on surface wage issues. Our lack of intentionality around talent creates waste in the system — for both us and the people who work for us.

Think about how often we bring people in without truly understanding them. We say: “Here’s your job, and here’s what we’ll pay you for it.” But we don’t help create their purpose-drive connection to the organization. We may succeed at out-bidding our external competitors for the particular skill set we need, but if we don’t connect the person’s purpose to our own, the people working for us may not care whether we’re successful. There’s no “stickiness” to the relationship.

We may pay a lot to get a certain kind of talent, but disregarding their passions and needs means we risk that person leaving for the next best salary offer in six months.

Here are some considerations for how to retain our people:

1. Make employee upskilling available. In light of the automation era in which we’re embarking, the skills needed for future-oriented jobs are foremost on both employers’ and employees’ minds. Leaders have an opportunity to provide their own talent with the skills they need — and that the organization needs them to have — to meet the changes that are coming. It means moving beyond the current strategy of displace and replace. Afterall, training people who we already know are hard workers and have a good attitude is less of a crap shoot than hiring new people.

2. Offer access to professional development resources. Band together with other companies and tap into local community colleges or online training courses with the goal of equipping non-technical employees with essential skills for transitioning into new roles. Subsidize the cost of the courses as a way to build employee loyalty. Several companies already investing in retraining programs include Amazon, Accenture, AT&T, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Salesforce — among others.

3. Strive to understand the people who work for us. Sadly, many of us tend to put people in boxes — this person will be successful; this person doesn’t have it in them. Some workers may be efficient but don’t seem fully engaged. Yet, they could be outstanding if their work and skills aligned with their passion. One way to discover the dreams of the people who work for us is by initiating simple PDPs, or personal development plans. Start with a few people and see how it goes and what you learn.

4. Connect to community social services. As employers, we are well-positioned to offer stabilizing benefits so people will be able to work through some destabilizing complexities. Without finger-pointing, we can build the framework that makes success possible. Sharing wrap-around services, such as affordable housing, childcare, healthcare providers, and more, that are critical to the success of individuals. (There is a model for this: www.grsource.org.)

By offering career-stabilizing benefits for our talent, we add value that supports our people, our businesses, and our communities. Investing in our people and encouraging them to take advantage of personal and professional development opportunities not only helps them prepare themselves for the future, but enables us to differentiate our enterprises as great places to work. Through thinking about our talent in new ways, we tap the power of compounding.

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Mark Peters is CEO of Butterball Farms, Inc., recognized nationally as one of The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® from 2018 to 2025. In 2003, he organized a West Michigan-based pioneering group of CEOs and community leaders to create The SOURCE, a nonprofit that has helped hundreds of workers navigate challenges interfering with their jobs and delivered an average annual return on investment of 200 percent to its partner organizations. Peters is an engaging speaker and storyteller who has addressed TED-x and other audiences. His new book, The Retention Trap: Stop Measuring Turnover, Start Measuring Talent Investment (Post Hill Press, June 3, 2025), follows his first book, The Source. Learn more at www.RetentionTrap.com.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 06:31 PM
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Leading Thoughts for June 5, 2025

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

I.

Rosamund and Benjamin Zander on accepting reality:

“When we dislike a situation, we tend to put all our attention on how things should be rather than how they are. When our attention is primarily directed to how wrong things are, we lose our power to act effectively. We may have difficulty understanding the total context, discussing what to do next, or overlooking the people who ‘should not have done what they did’ as we think about a solution.”

Source: The Art of Possibility : Transforming Professional and Personal Life

II.

Joe Davis on taking the perspectives of others:

“Generous leadership is about setting yourself aside to make room for the way someone else is thinking, to make room for the way they might see the world. It’s an openness and an active setting-aside of our own experiences and beliefs to believe in another way of being, another person’s way of seeing the world. As you ask and try to understand another’s point of view, be attuned to whatever information, facts, and insight they can offer that can be added to what you do know. Then that combined knowledge will afford you a better view into the option sets and a more deeply rooted understanding of the best possible paths forward.”

Source: The Generous Leader: 7 Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone’s Gain

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 06:31 AM
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Loving Leadership Isn’t Soft—It’s Essential

IF you close your eyes and visualize “peak performance,” what comes to mind?

A Tour de France champion training in a wind tunnel, with wires monitoring the disciplined, finely tuned athlete? A highly efficient, symbiotic team delivering breakthrough innovation in record time? A climber overcoming every adversity to summit Mount Everest?

How many leadership posters hang on office walls, calling us forward for peak performance, perfection, execution, and winning through focus, discipline, and hard work? As if that’s where the magic lives.

Yes, determination and drive matter, and excellent execution leads to achievement. But peak performance is fueled by brilliant minds powered by beating hearts—where teammates work with purpose, passion, and free will, chasing outcomes they deeply desire alongside people they care about and feel appreciated by in return. United in mission and powered by purpose, these individuals and teams become larger than themselves and tap into an essential energy called meaning.

Those of us lucky enough to join these teams—with loving leaders who care—love our work and enjoy showing up at the office. It’s more than a paycheck or benefits package; satisfaction, joy, and connection make Mondays a pleasure.

Any leader or manager can set goals and work plans. But loving leaders bring intention and attention to how the work is done in five critical ways:

1. They know their teams: It’s one thing to know a person’s skills, experience, and education and to match talent with the work to be done. It’s an entirely different thing to understand people’s motivations, ambitions, challenges, and dreams.
   
   Loving leaders connect with teammates through genuine care, curiosity, and concern for their performance and well-being. Monthly 1:1 time is highly effective for maintaining consistent engagement in critical programs—but it will also help you know your people and see how they think, analyze, and execute.
   
   
2. They curate microclimates: Your company may have a long-standing culture, but each division, department, and project lead has the power to shape the daily working climate.
   
   The more diverse the team, the more styles and behaviors are present—especially when pressure rises or problems appear. Make time for proactive and retrospective check-ins with both teams and individuals. They protect psychological safety and trap division or dissent before it boils over or breaks out into chaos.
   
   
3. They help teams fail fast: High-performing teams pursuing change and breakthroughs are bound to face unpleasant surprises and failures along the way. Yet when the pursuit of ambitious goals is transparent and supported, problems aren’t setbacks; they become learning opportunities and avenues to pivot and persevere.
   
   Expensive and catastrophic failures that waste time and money start with fear and anxiety about sharing bad news. With loving leadership, teammates are quick to turn uh-oh moments into a-ha outcomes, with everyone jumping in to shape solutions.
   
   
4. They treasure trust: Stuff happens in business, relationships, and life. Trust ebbs and flows with colleagues, customers, suppliers, and collaborators. We’re all human, after all.
   
   Loving leaders value integrity and take action to maintain and restore trust, not to eliminate or avoid conflict. When teams can identify what’s eating away at trust—addressing the pain and the cause—trust grows, and relationships strengthen. Customers and colleagues become more connected and loyal when issues are managed quickly—and managed well.
   
   
5. They catch people doing a great job: Most people appreciate being recognized for their efforts, contributions, and strengths. Loving leaders capture these moments and acknowledge momentum, reinforce values, celebrate successes, and reward hitting once-out-of-reach milestones.
   
   Performance reviews and bonus plans are great, but people remember thoughtful notes, unexpected gratitude, and reinforcement when they’ve taken risks and chances. Being open and vulnerable when times are tough should be applauded. Those who have the courage to challenge the path are rarely alone.

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Kelly Hall is a leadership expert and business strategist who helps individuals and organizations move from surviving to thriving. As the founder of Live L.A.R.G.E., she brings 30 years of experience leading diverse teams and transforming struggling businesses into high-performing, self-directing organizations. She is the author of Love Works: Transforming the Workplace with Purpose and Authenticity. Find her at kellywinegardenhall.com

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 09:37 PM
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First Look: Leadership Books for June 2025

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in June 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month.

The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies by Robert E. Siegel

A groundbreaking blueprint for mastering “cross-pressures” in a rapidly changing world, teaching leaders to execute and innovate, think locally and globally, and project ambition and statesmanship alike—from a Stanford Business School lecturer and consultant to some of the biggest and most innovative CEOs. Part of the problem is that these challenges, while acutely felt, are rarely articulated in a way that makes them graspable and actionable. Robert E. Siegel has witnessed the impact of these cross-pressures from different perspectives. As a lecturer in management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, an operator, a venture capitalist, and a consultant, he sees countless teams of managers, at all sorts of companies, struggling to lead their companies into the future.

The Dark Pattern: The Hidden Dynamics of Corporate Scandals by Guido Palazzo and Ulrich Hoffrage

From the creators of the theory of ethical blindness comes an investigation into how corporate scandals happen, revealing the common pattern behind them and how your organization can avoid them. Too often, the stories of corporate scandals are narrated like Hollywood movies in which once-celebrated CEOs are unmasked as sociopaths and ultimately convicted for their crimes. What we fail to realize, however, is that most bad things are done by average people with honorable values and without bad intentions.

Lean Learning: How to Achieve More by Learning Less by Pat Flynn

Navigate the chaos of information overload and supercharge your efficiency with Lean Learning, a groundbreaking guide that reveals a counterintuitive approach to success: winning by learning less. From an early age, we’re taught that more is better. More money, more information, more skills. But times have changed. What was once valuable has now become a burden, and if information alone were the answer, we’d all be exactly where we want. In today’s fast-moving world, the difference between success and failure is not in what you know but in what you do with what you know. Lean Learning equips you with the tools to do just that, propelling you towards your goals with greater efficiency, purpose, and results.

Founders, Keepers: Why Founders Are Built to Fail, and What it Takes to Succeed by Richard Hagberg and Tien Tzuo with Gabe Weisert

Based on decades of empirical research and data, Founders, Keepers gives founders a practical roadmap for navigating the inevitable challenges that come with startup growth. It’s a brutal paradox—the same founder attributes required to put a startup in motion will invariably blow it up. The difference between success and failure lies in the personal journey that every founder must pursue to avoid their own worst impulses. Steeped in nearly forty years of research in leadership psychology, Founders, Keepers begins with the same personality assessment Rich Hagberg, a psychologist and executive management coach, gives his clients. Hagberg and Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO of Zuora, help founders build a Swiss Army knife of practical tools that will give them a much better chance of making it to the next level of success.

Firm Feedback in a Fragile World: How to Build a Winning Culture with Critical Conversations by Jeff Hancher

Turn dreaded workplace feedback into opportunities for growth and trust with Firm Feedback in a Fragile World, your guide to fostering stronger teams and a thriving workplace through effective, confident communication. “We need to talk.” It’s a phrase that can fill us with dread. For many, the statement signals conflict or criticism. But what if it didn’t? What if feedback and conversations in your workplace inspired growth, built trust, and created thriving teams? In Firm Feedback in a Fragile World, Jeff Hancher redefines how we approach feedback in the workplace. Combining relatable stories, research, and practical tools, Hancher offers a roadmap to turn feedback from a source of tension into a powerful leadership tool. As a military veteran, corporate leader, and leadership coach, he provides actionable insights that help leaders and employees alike navigate feedback with confidence and clarity.

Go One More: Find the Clarity to Make Intentional, Life-Changing Choices by Nick Bare

top holding yourself back and make a powerful impact by taking control of your life and transforming your mindset around health, relationships, and success. Growth doesn't happen overnight; it's a choice. You must wake up every day and choose growth. These decisions compound over time, and with ruthless consistency, the outcomes are life-changing. Whether training for a marathon, leading a family, or starting a business, being intentional with everything we do is essential for success. Nick Bare shares a simple philosophy for helping people tap into the clarity and resolve they need to keep progressing: go one more.

For bulk orders call 1-626-441-2024

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“You can't think well without writing well, and you can't write well without reading well. And I mean that last "well" in both senses. You have to be good at reading, and read good things.”

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:46 AM
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LeadershipNow 140: May 2025 Compilation

Here is a selection of Posts from May 2025 that you will want to check out:

• Disagree with the direction? Don’t just sit there – here’s what to do instead by @suzimcalpine
• John F Kennedy and the Art of Becoming by @jamesstrock
• The Importance of Leading in Small Places by @PhilCooke
• Memorial Day | Gratitude, Humility, Resolve by @JamesStrock National Pride, International Precarity.
• 3 Signs It’s Time to Recharge Your Leadership Battery by @WScottCochrane
• Turning Adversity Into Advantage: The Championship Mindset by @AlanSteinJr
• Writing a Book? You May Need Professional Help by @wallybock
• What Comes Next Isn’t a Product. It’s a Provocation. by Nicholas Negroponte History tells us that significant ideas rarely come from the center. They begin at the margins, where ideas are allowed to be incomplete, even incorrect. Places where success is not the goal, but learning is
• The Secrets of Building Great Teams by @PhilCooke
• 10 Culture Builders Every Leader Should Master by @Get4Sight Jenni Catron
• The Daily Discipline of Humility via @TheDaily_Coach The very things that challenge our humility—pressure, complexity, doubt—are the very things humility helps us navigate with greater grace
• Leading with Intentionality by @James_Albright
• Personal Grounding: Staying Sane Amid the Madness via @HagbergGroup
• The Map Is Not the Territory by @AdmiredLeader
• Zuckerberg Superyacht Aircraft Carrier Invades Arctic by @jamesstrock Have We Reached Peak Oligarchic Excess?
• Is It Time To Redefine Your Leadership Story? by @TerriKlass
• Leadership Caffeine — Do Something Courageous (60-second tips series) by @artpetty
• Why Are We Surprised? by @mr_swarr Jeffrey Swarr
• When You Can’t Fix It, Care: The Leadership Imperative for Uncertain Times by @Julie_WG
• CEO Coaching: Humble Pie, Buffett-Style by @toddordal
• Why Great Leaders Break Their Own Rules by Craig Groeschel
• 10 Culture Busters That Sabotage Your Team (and What to Do About Them) via @Get4Sight Jenni Catron
• Leadership Caffeine — Raise your questions-to-comments ratio (60-second tips series) by @artpetty
• Idea Alchemy: Improve Your Writing With the 5 Cs by @wallybock
• An American Century | 1 of 4 by @jamesstrock From the Four Freedoms to the National Security State
• An American Century | 2 of 4 Leader of the Free World by @jamesstrock
• Don’t let your creativity destroy your productivity by @wallybock
• Write Your Business Book Even Though You Have No Time (Seriously) by @wallybock
• What Will Your Book Do for You? by @wallybock

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 07:13 AM
Permalink | Comments (0) | Find more on this topic in LeadershipNow 140

Leading Thoughts for May 29, 2025

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

I.

Rich Diviney on the notion of peak performance:

“Repetitive peak performance is unrealistic because performance is often conditional. It typically requires a predictable and familiar environment. Repetitive peak performance is unrealistic because uncertainty is life’s foundational state. True success in life and business hinges instead on optimal performance, which means delivering your “best” in the moment, whatever your best looks like in that moment. However, sometimes your best is about persevering, moving forward step-by-step in the midst of challenges, embracing the messy, grueling, and unpolished reality.”

Source: Masters of Uncertainty: The Navy SEAL Way to Turn Stress into Success for You and Your Team

II.

Robert E. Siegel on moving forward in a changing world:

“Fully understanding the reasons for past successes can help you internalize whether your old ‘playbook’ is still useful for a current or future challenge.”

Source: The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross-Pressures That Make or Break Today’s Companies

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Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 03:09 PM
Permalink | Find more on this topic in Leading Thoughts