Leadership in Times of Crisis

VUCA Times

We live in a VUCA world, and there is no escape. The word "crisis" has appeared on almost every front page in recent months: the war in Ukraine, the aftermath of the pandemic, the economic crisis, the energy crisis, the political crisis. The effects of these difficult times are trickling down into most organisations. In some, workers face temporary unemployment as production falls under the weight of skyrocketing energy and raw material costs. Rising bankruptcies, shrinking temp agency contracts, increased outplacement activity, and the mounting use of furlough schemes all point in the same direction: a deep and prolonged recession may be coming. More than ever, organisations face the challenge of reinventing themselves simply to stay afloat.

In these turbulent times, when uncertainty sometimes reigns supreme, we might ask whether there is an "ideal leader" for crises, and whether certain skills are essential to building organisational resilience. We could have asked the same question two years ago, when the pandemic forced mass remote working: "Is there such a thing as a digital leader?" The answer to both questions is the same. There is no such thing as an ideal "digital leader" or "crisis leader." Leadership in a VUCA world comes down to mastering the fundamentals of leadership well enough to make them second nature. But what are those fundamentals?

Strong leaders can reframe VUCA itself. The V becomes Vision: what is our direction? The U becomes Understanding: what forces are shaping us? The C becomes Clarity: what are our priorities? And the A becomes Agility: how do we adapt while staying true to our values?

Leaders need to build resilient teams and resilient organisations. The way to do that is to bring humanity into business. That may sound lofty, but strategies only fail because of people, and they only succeed because of people's competencies, resourcefulness, and agility.

The Essentials

1. Trust is the glue in times of uncertainty

The worst thing a leader can do in a crisis is pretend it isn't happening, or deliberately withhold information about it. Knowledge hiding has well-documented negative consequences for collaboration, creativity, and innovation. It also breeds insecurity and erodes trust. Trust is what gets people on board and makes organisations resilient when conditions are difficult. In the simplest terms, trust is what moves people from A to B.

Trust in organisations is often taken for granted, yet many people today distrust their leaders. Wider social division compounds this problem. People build trust in good times, but the real test comes when things get hard. Three basic questions help assess a leader's trustworthiness: Is this person competent? Are they loyal to me? And do they tell the truth?

2. Motivate your people

Keeping employees motivated during tough times is perhaps the hardest thing a leader has to do. One effective approach is to make progress visible, even when it is modest. People tend to overlook progress because the gap between where they are and where they want to be feels too large to acknowledge. Leaders who put progress on the agenda, especially during setbacks, help people maintain a sense of forward movement.

"Be more interested than interesting" is a well-worn phrase, but it captures something important. Curiosity, genuine listening, and attention to individual needs are at the heart of motivating people. Inspirational leadership also means crafting a story that speaks to every stakeholder. Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for keeping people engaged and willing to go the extra mile when conditions are tough.

When people ask how to motivate others, a useful first principle is this: if someone is already motivated, don't disrupt it. Telling a compelling story can reinforce a sense of meaning, and meaning is one of the most powerful motivators there is. People may not love every aspect of their work, but if they believe it matters, they will give it their best. Leadership, at its core, is about creating a context that inspires people to perform beyond what they thought possible.

3. Find a balance

In a crisis, external pressures shift objectives, compress timelines, and increase demands on people. Task-oriented leadership has its place here: clear direction, close monitoring, and accountability for deadlines. But people-oriented leadership is equally necessary as a counterweight. If employees are heading toward burnout, deadlines will be missed regardless of how firmly they are set. Sustainable leadership means holding both orientations at once.

There is no real contradiction between task focus and people focus. Both are necessary, and the best leaders integrate them. What matters is versatility: the ability to read the situation and adapt the approach to what the moment and the people require. Leaders also need to be clear about how they relate to power within their organisations. Those who shy away from the dynamics of power altogether are unlikely to lead effectively.

Leadership quality is a significant determinant of employee engagement, trust, adaptability, and well-being. That is precisely why it deserves serious attention.

4. It all starts with me

Inspiring leadership begins with self-awareness. Self-reflection is a kind of pit stop: a moment to assess where you are as a leader, where you want to go, and what is getting in the way. It means asking honestly what could be done better, recognising which role is needed at which moment and for whom, and knowing both your strengths and the points at which those strengths can become liabilities. Developing as a leader is a continuous process, and it deserves at least as much attention as the pursuit of results, if not more.

Individual resilience can be developed in several ways: through cultivating positive reappraisal, through coaching, and through deliberate resilience training. Research shows that resilience training not only strengthens individual resilience but also supports mental health and generates subjective well-being. Additional benefits include improved psychosocial functioning and better performance overall. Resilient individuals form resilient teams. Resilient teams build resilient organisations. And resilient organisations contribute to a resilient society.

5. Executive coaching

"It all starts with me" also raises the question of executive coaching. Self-care should be a priority for leaders, and in times of crisis more than ever. Yet it is frequently neglected. Leaders often focus on their teams and their organisations, assuming their own wellbeing will somehow look after itself. It rarely does.

Executive coaching in times of crisis is valuable on three levels. First, having a neutral, attentive presence offers something close to priceless when a leader is trying to step back from the chaos and navigate it more deliberately. Second, it creates structured space for reflection on one's own leadership, which remains important even when crisis management seems to demand all available attention. Third, it opens up reflection on the kind of leadership the organisation will need in the future, and how to begin developing it now.

Individual conversations are among the most powerful forms of intervention available. Attending to someone's specific needs is far more effective than any collective approach, as we see consistently in career counselling, change management, and leadership development. Some people need a mentor; others need a coach. But the impact is similarly significant in both cases. Coaching is one of the most powerful levers for leadership development because it builds self-awareness and places responsibility for growth squarely with the individual. Self-efficacy, a foundational condition for effective leadership, is profoundly shaped by the coaching relationship.

Conclusion

In the end, leadership is about effectiveness. The simplest definition of leadership is getting people from A to B. How you do that is the central question, and answering it requires understanding the impact you have on people's willingness and ability to make that journey. On calm days, influence comes more easily. But the real test of leadership is how you show up when the weather turns.

References

Cerne, M., Nerstad, C., Dysvik, A. and Skerlavaj, M. (2014). What Goes Around Comes Around: Knowledge Hiding, Perceived Motivational Climate, and Creativity. The Academy of Management Journal, 57, 172-192.

Legood, A., van der Werff, L., Lee, A. and Den Hartog, D. (2021). A meta-analysis of the role of trust in the leadership-performance relationship. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 30(1), 1-22.

Webb, T., Chang, B. and Benn, Y. (2013). "The Ostrich Problem": Motivated Avoidance or Rejection of Information About Goal Progress. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7, 794-807.