Anticipating the unexpected: mastering the art of crisis management

1. To begin with, could you tell us about your career path and what led you to specialise in crisis management in particular? 

In 2010, I founded Blackswan, my consulting firm. I named it after Nassim Taleb's book whose theory on black swans had caught my attention, and since then I have remained quite convinced by the concept he puts forward. And then there are the contexts. Indeed, by taking on the role of director and, subsequently, chair of the board, it was quite obvious that I would eventually be confronted with this. Crises did occur, some predictable, others less so, and what differentiates people during a crisis is how they deal with it.

2. In your opinion, what are the main mistakes organisations make when a crisis occurs?

Most people wait for a crisis to happen before reacting, which is the first mistake. Fortunately, with the obvious increase in uncertainty and multi-stakeholder issues, more and more organisations are taking training courses, and training organisations themselves are incorporating this into their curricula. One of the main mistakes at the onset of a crisis is to deny the crisis and then look for someone to blame. A lot of time is wasted at the beginning by refusing to face the following reality: 1. The crisis is here. 2. Responsibilities will be clarified later.

3. How can good preparation in advance transform the way a company navigates a crisis?

Preparation helps to establish reflexes and reassure people that they know what to do. Normally, one of the essential aspects is to clarify each person's roles and responsibilities so that they know if, when and how they should act. 

Crisis management is a process, and like any process, it must be defined, tested and improved as necessary. Finally, we must not focus solely on the negative aspects of a crisis: more often than not, crises occur for good reasons, such as highlighting malfunctions or inadequacies in a system, and provide an opportunity to correct the situation. 

4. What role should managers and HR teams play in preventing and managing a critical situation? 

They must be familiar with the processes and offer training and support to those in charge before a crisis occurs. During the crisis, they must enable those involved to focus on managing the crisis and, above all, after the crisis, there is a need to take stock of what worked and what did not, and to be able to openly debrief everyone's feelings. The greatest risk, and we see this with every crisis, is that once the crisis is over, we pat ourselves on the back and go back to business as usual, having learned nothing.

5. How is ongoing training for managers and employees essential to strengthening organisational resilience?

It is essential in several respects:

1. This is one of the skills that must be acquired, maintained and developed within an organisation.
2. Trained people benefit from tools they can use instead of reinventing the wheel.
3. This allows everyone to know their role and limits interference and excess stress. In crisis management, time management, planning and clear roles are key factors for success. And for leaders, the most important quality when facing a crisis is, of course, to keep a cool head.
   
   

OSAM, a tailor-made training and certification organisation, offers training in crisis communication eduQua certified.