Navigating Change and Crisis for Good

Henry Kissinger is said to be the first person to utter the now famous words,  

“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.”

Most leaders have heard this statement at some point or another. Sometimes its uttered when what began simply as a “change” grows far past being manageable. Other times we invoke Kissinger when things have spiraled to the point of no return – and everyone knows there is a price to be paid. So we go searching for inconsequential “moral” victories to lessen the pain from what will otherwise be a total mess.

Does it need to be this way? Maybe. Because when it comes to change in the form of crisis, we often find ourselves trapped in some predictable leadership postures and approaches. 

Some leaders try to beat change and crisis to the punch. This usually involves white boards and brainstorming sessions in a focused effort to anticipate what may or may not take place. Inevitably, contingency plans emerge for various imagined scenarios, “just in case” the change at hand unfolds in the ways we predicted (it rarely does).

Others are unknowingly allergic to white boards and proactive preparedness, as evidenced by a youthful ignorance around change and crisis. So their only detectable response to this possibility is to drill down on day to day operations, hoping they can tweak and alter internal processes enough to offset any potential crisis-based cost. Some leaders take this approach because they naively imagine they are immune to change. Others do so because they are gamblers, hoping to beat the odds. 

What if there’s a better way to approach change and crisis? 

Put more succinctly, 

What if we could be less Henry Kissinger and more Winston Churchill, who said “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

Some readers might be skeptical, so perhaps a few examples might help. 

What is if the present crisis became your communications tutor, teaching and improving your distribution of data and information in ways you never would have imagined on your own?

What if the storm currently lashing your organizational ship is just in time preparedness training for a reprioritization of vital processes, decisions making, growth strategies, and more?

What if for you personally, the goodness of the crisis you are in is that it is pointing you to finally take the next step as a leader – even in that area that feels vulnerable – so that you can have the internal “stuff” to truly thrive in the next season of your life and leadership?

There is nothing in this article that should suggest navigating crisis and change for good will be simple or easy. In fact, it will take a great deal of effort. And, many will be disquieted by it. But none of this changes the reality that you can either minimize the crisis at hand in every way, or mine it for every ounce of goodness and opportunity. 

The choice is yours.