Crisis Leadership Playbook

CRISIS PHILOSOPHY

Crisis Leadership Fundamentals

CRISIS LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY

WHY CRISIS LEADERSHIP MATTERS:
☐ Crises reveal true leadership
☐ How you respond defines culture
☐ Trust is built or broken in crisis
☐ Teams need calm leadership
☐ Recovery depends on initial response
☐ Stakeholders remember how you handled it

CRISIS LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES:

1. CALM IS CONTAGIOUS
   ☐ Your demeanor sets the tone
   ☐ Panic spreads faster than calm
   ☐ Model the behavior you need
   ☐ Take a breath before acting

2. FACTS BEFORE CONCLUSIONS
   ☐ Gather information first
   ☐ Distinguish facts from speculation
   ☐ Resist the urge to explain immediately
   ☐ Say "I don't know yet"

3. OVER-COMMUNICATE
   ☐ More communication, not less
   ☐ Regular updates even if no news
   ☐ Transparency builds trust
   ☐ Silence creates anxiety

4. SPEED WITH DELIBERATION
   ☐ Move quickly but thoughtfully
   ☐ Don't let urgency cause carelessness
   ☐ Prioritize decisions
   ☐ Some things can wait

5. CARE FOR PEOPLE
   ☐ People first, then process
   ☐ Check on team wellbeing
   ☐ Support those affected
   ☐ Remember the human element

CRISIS LEADERSHIP MISTAKES:
☐ Panic or visible anxiety
☐ Blame before facts
☐ Hiding or going silent
☐ Making it about yourself
☐ Overreacting or underreacting
☐ Forgetting to care for team

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CRISIS FRAMEWORK

Comprehensive Crisis Assessment

CRISIS LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK

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CRISIS CLASSIFICATION
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CRISIS TYPE:
☐ Operational (outage, failure, security)
☐ Financial (cash, fraud, losses)
☐ PR/Reputation (media, social, scandal)
☐ Legal (lawsuit, regulatory, compliance)
☐ People (safety, misconduct, departure)
☐ Market (competitor, disruption)
☐ Customer (loss, breach, safety)
☐ Natural/External (disaster, pandemic)

SEVERITY ASSESSMENT:
| Factor | Low | Med | High | Score |
|--------|-----|-----|------|-------|
| Business impact | | | | /3 |
| Reputation risk | | | | /3 |
| People impact | | | | /3 |
| Time sensitivity | | | | /3 |
| Recovery difficulty | | | | /3 |
| TOTAL | | | | /15 |

Severity level:
☐ 3-5: Minor - Monitor closely
☐ 6-9: Moderate - Active management
☐ 10-12: Severe - Full crisis response
☐ 13-15: Existential - All hands on deck

URGENCY:
☐ Immediate (minutes matter)
☐ Hours (same day response)
☐ Days (rapid but deliberate)
☐ Weeks (managed response)

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FIRST 60 MINUTES
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MINUTE 0-15: STOP AND ASSESS
☐ Take a breath (literally)
☐ Gather immediate facts
☐ Identify what's happening
☐ Don't react yet

Questions to answer:
☐ What happened?
☐ When did it happen?
☐ Who knows?
☐ Who is affected?
☐ Is it ongoing?

MINUTE 15-30: ASSEMBLE
☐ Alert crisis team
☐ Establish communication channel
☐ Assign initial roles
☐ Set first meeting time

Crisis team (who to call):
☐ CoS/EA: _______________
☐ CFO: _______________
☐ Legal: _______________
☐ Comms: _______________
☐ Relevant function head: _______________

MINUTE 30-45: ASSESS
☐ Share facts with team
☐ Identify unknowns
☐ Assess severity
☐ Determine immediate actions

MINUTE 45-60: ACT
☐ Make necessary immediate decisions
☐ Assign actions
☐ Set communication plan
☐ Schedule next check-in

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CRISIS TEAM STRUCTURE
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CRISIS LEAD (Usually CEO):
Responsibilities:
☐ Overall command
☐ Key decisions
☐ External communications (major)
☐ Board communication
☐ Tone and culture

OPERATIONS LEAD:
Responsibilities:
☐ Managing the operational response
☐ Coordinating resources
☐ Tracking actions
☐ Reporting status

COMMUNICATIONS LEAD:
Responsibilities:
☐ Internal communications
☐ External/media response
☐ Stakeholder messaging
☐ FAQ preparation

LEGAL LEAD:
Responsibilities:
☐ Legal risk assessment
☐ Documentation guidance
☐ External counsel coordination
☐ Regulatory response

PEOPLE LEAD:
Responsibilities:
☐ Employee support
☐ HR implications
☐ Safety considerations
☐ Team wellbeing

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT:
Responsibilities:
☐ Technical/domain expertise
☐ Root cause analysis
☐ Solution development
☐ Expert guidance

CRISIS TEAM ROSTER:
| Role | Primary | Backup | Contact |
|------|---------|--------|---------|
| Crisis Lead | | | |
| Ops Lead | | | |
| Comms Lead | | | |
| Legal Lead | | | |
| People Lead | | | |
| SME | | | |

Crisis Communication Framework

CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAYBOOK

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COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES
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WHAT TO COMMUNICATE:
☐ What we know (facts)
☐ What we don't know
☐ What we're doing
☐ What happens next
☐ How to get support

HOW TO COMMUNICATE:
☐ Honest and direct
☐ Empathetic and caring
☐ Clear and simple
☐ Consistent across channels
☐ Updated regularly

TIMING:
☐ Communicate early (even if incomplete)
☐ Update regularly
☐ Don't wait for "perfect" information
☐ Set expectations for next update

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STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION MATRIX
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| Stakeholder | Timing | Channel | Owner | Content |
|-------------|--------|---------|-------|---------|
| Crisis team | Immediate | Direct/War room | CEO | Full details |
| Leadership | <1 hr | Video/call | CEO | Assessment |
| Board | <4 hrs | Call | CEO | Situation + plan |
| Employees | <8 hrs | All-hands/email | CEO | Facts + support |
| Customers | As needed | Direct/email | Relevant | Impact + plan |
| Partners | As needed | Direct | Relevant | Impact |
| Investors | <24 hrs | Email/call | CEO | Assessment |
| Media | If needed | PR/statement | Comms | Prepared |
| Public | If needed | Public channels | Comms | Prepared |

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COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES
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INTERNAL INITIAL COMMUNICATION:
"Team,

I want to share what we know about [situation].

WHAT HAPPENED:
[Clear, factual description]

WHAT WE'RE DOING:
[Actions being taken]

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW YET:
[Honest about uncertainties]

NEXT UPDATE:
[When they'll hear more]

If you're affected or have information:
[How to reach out]

We'll get through this together.
[CEO]"

BOARD COMMUNICATION:
"Board,

Alerting you to [situation].

SITUATION:
[Brief description]

SEVERITY:
[Assessment]

RESPONSE:
[What we're doing]

NEXT STEPS:
[Immediate actions]

Will update [timing]. Please
call if questions.
[CEO]"

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION:
"Dear [Customer],

We want to inform you about
[situation] and how it may affect you.

WHAT'S HAPPENING:
[Clear description]

IMPACT TO YOU:
[Specific impact]

WHAT WE'RE DOING:
[Response]

SUPPORT:
[How to get help]

We apologize for any inconvenience
and are committed to resolving this.
[CEO/Relevant leader]"

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MEDIA RESPONSE
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MEDIA STATEMENT FRAMEWORK:
☐ Acknowledge the situation
☐ Express appropriate concern
☐ State what you're doing
☐ Commit to transparency
☐ Keep brief

BRIDGING PHRASES:
☐ "What I can tell you is..."
☐ "Let me focus on what matters..."
☐ "The most important thing is..."
☐ "What we're focused on now is..."

DO NOT:
☐ Speculate
☐ Blame others
☐ Say "no comment"
☐ Get defensive
☐ Promise what you can't deliver

Crisis Decision Process

CRISIS DECISION-MAKING

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RAPID DECISION FRAMEWORK
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STEP 1: WHAT DO WE KNOW? (Facts only)
☐ _______________
☐ _______________
☐ _______________
☐ _______________

STEP 2: WHAT DON'T WE KNOW?
☐ _______________
☐ _______________
☐ How are we finding out?

STEP 3: WHAT DECISIONS MUST BE MADE NOW?
| Decision | Deadline | Decided by |
|----------|----------|------------|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |

STEP 4: WHAT CAN WAIT?
☐ _______________
☐ _______________

STEP 5: WHO DECIDES WHAT?
| Decision Type | Decision Maker |
|---------------|----------------|
| People safety | |
| Legal/regulatory | |
| Communications | |
| Operations | |
| Financial | |

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CRISIS DECISION LOG
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DECISION #1:
Time: _______________
Decision: _______________
Made by: _______________
Rationale: _______________
Communicated to: _______________

DECISION #2:
Time: _______________
Decision: _______________
Made by: _______________
Rationale: _______________
Communicated to: _______________

DECISION #3:
Time: _______________
Decision: _______________
Made by: _______________
Rationale: _______________
Communicated to: _______________

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POST-CRISIS
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IMMEDIATE (24-48 hrs):
☐ Stabilize situation
☐ Communication to all stakeholders
☐ Thank the crisis team
☐ Check on affected people

SHORT-TERM (1-2 weeks):
☐ Lessons learned session
☐ Root cause analysis
☐ Process improvements identified
☐ Update playbooks

LONGER-TERM:
☐ Implement improvements
☐ Training if needed
☐ Follow-up with stakeholders
☐ Monitor for recurrence

LESSONS LEARNED QUESTIONS:
☐ What went well?
☐ What didn't go well?
☐ What would we do differently?
☐ What process gaps were revealed?
☐ What capabilities do we need?

Crisis Readiness Checklist

Category	Ready?	Owner	Last Updated
Crisis team roster	☐
Communication templates	☐
Contact lists current	☐
War room setup	☐
Legal counsel on call	☐
PR firm on call	☐

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