Leading the Adaptive Challenge - Crisis

A crisis challenge is a perilous predicament in which the group is under attack from forces within or without. It is a sudden unpredictable event that jeopardizes the accrued value and resources of the group or enterprise.
 

The condition of the people facing a Crisis challenge: People in a crisis challenge are anxious and afraid. They are under threat, so naturally they worry what will become of themselves, their group, or their enterprise.

The barrier that impedes progress is primarily the “forces” that have generated the crisis condition and the emotional and psychological state of the people.

The promise or aspiration (vision) on the other side of the barrier is that if the group can get beyond the “fog” of the situation, they will discover a deeper underlying issue that must be addressed.

The leadership work in a period of grave danger must be to restore calm; protect the people or the enterprise from further threat or attack, and assist the people channeling their fear, anxiety, and aggression toward creative and workable solutions.
 

This necessitates managing the groups emotions, illusions, fears, and interpretations so that the people face the reality of what lies beneath the crisis and attend to the real issue that must be engaged in order for the situation to be brought to resolution. Therefore, those who seek to exercise real leadership in such circumstances must keep their own heads clear and remain cool under pressure as they work to diagnose the reality of the predicament and figure out where and how they should intervene.

During a crisis challenge, usually two challenges must be addressed concurrently: the volatility of the situation and the unresolved issue below the surface that is actually the reason for the volatility.

Many would-be leaders in a crisis chase false solutions that may make some people feel better but avoid the real problem. Given the pressure on the leader to do something, leaders might feel compelled to come up with a simple but palatable solution that brings temporary relief, such as finding a scapegoat for the crisis are redirecting the people's attention to some other issue and thereby bypassing the real underlying issue altogether. The work of genuine resolution is then, irresponsibly, left to others-even future generations.