Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most
How are leaders facing a crisis supposed to handle and overcome an unknowable set of issues? This book demonstrates how effective leaders under pressure work from an understanding of the situation at hand and of their impact on others, and explains how leaders can best apply their internal strengths.

Most leaders are steeped in risk management, crisis response tactics, readiness for disaster, continuity-of-operations planning, and logistical and agility capabilities. These preparations are critical but not complete. The reality is that even experienced leaders themselves need guidance when it comes to managing a crisis. This standout book fills that need, drawing on interviews with successful leaders; research findings on trauma, neuroscience, and crisis management; and the authors' own extensive career experiences. The chapters suggest and probe ideas from various angles rather than promoting simplistic formulas or nostrums that are unlikely to apply to all circumstances and present new angles on self-awareness and management under pressure for the practitioner.

The book leads off with a description of organizational disaster and crisis leadership—topics of considerable concern as disasters are becoming the "new normal." The authors then explore three critical but very different types of responses by leaders at such a time: recognition and response, care of self and others, and storytelling. A detailed case study of a leader in the midst of Hurricane Katrina—the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history—provides readers with a real-world practicum for the theories and ideas suggested.
1121754513
Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most
How are leaders facing a crisis supposed to handle and overcome an unknowable set of issues? This book demonstrates how effective leaders under pressure work from an understanding of the situation at hand and of their impact on others, and explains how leaders can best apply their internal strengths.

Most leaders are steeped in risk management, crisis response tactics, readiness for disaster, continuity-of-operations planning, and logistical and agility capabilities. These preparations are critical but not complete. The reality is that even experienced leaders themselves need guidance when it comes to managing a crisis. This standout book fills that need, drawing on interviews with successful leaders; research findings on trauma, neuroscience, and crisis management; and the authors' own extensive career experiences. The chapters suggest and probe ideas from various angles rather than promoting simplistic formulas or nostrums that are unlikely to apply to all circumstances and present new angles on self-awareness and management under pressure for the practitioner.

The book leads off with a description of organizational disaster and crisis leadership—topics of considerable concern as disasters are becoming the "new normal." The authors then explore three critical but very different types of responses by leaders at such a time: recognition and response, care of self and others, and storytelling. A detailed case study of a leader in the midst of Hurricane Katrina—the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history—provides readers with a real-world practicum for the theories and ideas suggested.
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Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most

Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most

Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most

Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most

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Overview

How are leaders facing a crisis supposed to handle and overcome an unknowable set of issues? This book demonstrates how effective leaders under pressure work from an understanding of the situation at hand and of their impact on others, and explains how leaders can best apply their internal strengths.

Most leaders are steeped in risk management, crisis response tactics, readiness for disaster, continuity-of-operations planning, and logistical and agility capabilities. These preparations are critical but not complete. The reality is that even experienced leaders themselves need guidance when it comes to managing a crisis. This standout book fills that need, drawing on interviews with successful leaders; research findings on trauma, neuroscience, and crisis management; and the authors' own extensive career experiences. The chapters suggest and probe ideas from various angles rather than promoting simplistic formulas or nostrums that are unlikely to apply to all circumstances and present new angles on self-awareness and management under pressure for the practitioner.

The book leads off with a description of organizational disaster and crisis leadership—topics of considerable concern as disasters are becoming the "new normal." The authors then explore three critical but very different types of responses by leaders at such a time: recognition and response, care of self and others, and storytelling. A detailed case study of a leader in the midst of Hurricane Katrina—the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history—provides readers with a real-world practicum for the theories and ideas suggested.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798216122005
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: 01/18/2016
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 192
File size: 3 MB
Age Range: 7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Harry Hutson, PhD, is an independent consultant who coaches leaders, designs and delivers leadership development initiatives, and writes about leadership.

Martha Johnson, MBA, is an author, speaker, and consultant with a 35-year career in public and private organizations.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 Rogue Wave: When Catastrophe Calls 1

2 Hell's Bells and Buckets of Blood! Name It and Face It 15

3 The Dark Night of the Soul: When Leaders Help Themselves 35

4 Don't Just Do Something. Be There! (For the Organization) 57

5 It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Leadership Storytelling 75

6 Whitecaps on Canal Street: A True Story of Crisis Leadership 103

7 The Calm after the Storm: Trauma, Growth, and Renewal 123

Notes 143

Recommended References 157

Index 161

About the Authors 167

What People are Saying About This

John Kim

"A must read for a fast moving and volatile world."

Dr. Michael Conforti

"In Italian, the word nave refers to a large, ocean-worthy ship, built to withstand the rigors of these journeys. Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson's new book provides such a nave for individuals and corporate systems alike, in helping us to withstand all that can and will happen in such journeys. It is their deft weaving of trauma and chaos theory into the real life of organizations whose moorings have come loose that sets their work apart. Fortunately they steer clear of those pleasant but useless aphorisms such as 'it will get better,' 'just wait for the next day,' etc., and instead show how such 'dark night of the soul' experiences may lead to what I have termed 'secular miracles.' A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the real life experiences of change and turbulence in organization and leaders."

Amy Avergun

"Prepare to be captivated by the depth of wisdom offered by Harry and Martha in this strikingly well-written book. The authors surprise and engage you with their ability to share their stories, the stories of others, and a cornucopia of research to provide much-needed guidance to leaders who will sooner or later have to deal with a crisis of unexpected magnitude."

Josh Sawislak

"In a crisis, it is often about winning the day, and the next day, and the one after that. They have written the Scout's Handbook for leadership in a crisis."

Ramon C. Barquin

"I knew Martha Johnson professionally from her time at GSA and respected her as a leader in the federal service. Her resilience in dealing with the situation that senselessly brought about her resignation was amazing, and this book provides insights to us all who have undergone some personal crisis of our own. As a political exile from Cuba and a veteran of such an unmitigated disaster as the Bay of Pigs, this book would have been very helpful to all of us who had to navigate our individual catastrophes and get back on our own two feet."

Sharon Benjamin

"Should be required for leadership development curricula. Hutson and Johnson reach deeply into both what to do and how to be when faced with a crisis in our complex and dangerous world."

Michael Dukakis

"Take it from me, real leadership is never an easy ride. There are pearls of wisdom in this book that continue to be helpful to me as a leader, though one in particular stands out: be a listener, a good listener, even when you don't like what you're hearing."

John Graham Cook

"Those involved in leading large organizations . . . or those who aspire to lead . . . may never encounter an organization-threatening crisis. But for those who do, their ability to lead their organization out of the valley of crisis will be the critical event by which, when all is said and done, their careers will be measured. Ignore this story at your peril!"

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