Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most

Abstract

Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most Praeger (January 18, 2016) $37.00 (hardcover), 166 pagesLeaders can't afford to fall apart.IN NAVIGATING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CRISIS, Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson teach that even the best disaster preparations are too often insufficient for events of the greatest consequence, and for which the most is expected from organizational leaders. Extraordinary events have inundated organizations just as significantly as rogue waves that have been known to top lighthouses. The authors breathe life into a variety of powerful stories of leaders standing firmly at the helm while navigating uncharted waters. From the 2008 financial crisis to a contamination crisis at Genzyme, from instances of racism at the University of Oklahoma to the rescue of IBM from bankruptcy, the authors pull from more than three decades of experience as leadership coaches to craft a book for anyone who aspires to lead at any organizational level.In each of the first five chapters, the reader is introduced by example to five prototypical stages whereby leaders take the reins and steer their organizations through crisis: Respond, Reflect, Reach, Restore and Renew. The book opens with a true rogue wave story to portray the need to put a name to the event in order to respond directly and resolutely. The boat of Alaskan crabber Kale Garcia was unexpectedly and violently struck by an estimated 60-foot wave, which by Kale's recollection "...ripped open the front of the wheelhouse and peeled it back like a can opener." The authors use this and other provocative examples to characterize their archetype of organizational catastrophe: A rogue wave that is sudden, spontaneous, and that has significant impact to any organization in its path. September 11. Oklahoma City. Hurricane Katrina. These catastrophic events and others provide a backdrop for the reader to appreciate the magnitude of the personal and professional challenges that today's leaders have faced, and that tomorrow's leaders cannot hope to avoid. Speaking directly to the need for leaders to lead during crisis, the authors conclude the introductory chapter by making clear that, in such an emergency, "...you will need every bit of you at the helm".In each of the subsequent chapters, Hutson and Johnson relay stories that personify appropriate leadership behavior during organizational crisis. Leaders must first respond to the crisis. The authors quote the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, who advises that the objective of a proper response "...should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over." Just as important is to name the issue. "Weak leaders who don't/won't/can't name disasters are problematic." A stark example is provided that clearly describes the authors' meaning. When video surfaced of a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma singing a racist chant, University President David Boren moved swiftly to name "...racism as the evil on the table-in the earliest moments of this Rogue Wave". Leaders are instructed to directly face their challenges. Leaders "...can't sidestep crisis, dive behind a door, or get it wrong when destruction looms. …