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Riding Out the Storm Is Not Enough

Dave Swanson

Updated: Oct 29, 2024

The easiest thing to do when your organization hits an alarming public difficulty is panic.  Under the pressure of an unexpected storm, it is usually automatic for leaders to focus anxiously on the perceived problem and go into damage control mode.  It feels obvious and natural for worried organizational leaders to assume that the job of good leadership is to try to convince stakeholders that either the problem is surmountable or that the perception of danger, instability, or misfortune is an illusion. We want to ride out the storm, wait for it to pass, and then, we hope, all will return to normal. 



But, whether it is staff, clients or other stakeholders, people smell the fear in reactionary messaging that seeks to downplay or otherwise diminish the reality of difficulty or disturbance.  And on its own, this type of communication can damage the long-term health of an organization.  Damage control focuses on “the problem” and orients itself toward it, unintentionally drawing the emotional focus of the entire group in the same direction. In doing so it distracts people from the organization’s mission and also makes it less likely that stakeholders will remain deeply confident and holistically invested in the organization. Most people want to distance themselves from an anxious organization.


However, every potential crisis is also an opportunity for people to deepen their commitment and connection to an organization.  It is an opportunity to become more flexible while also becoming clearer about who “we” are and what matters most. An organization faced with unexpected or unprecedented challenges needs leadership that is first, calm, and second, clear about and invested in the group’s core identity, values and mission. This calmness, and clarity of purpose creates the space to slow down enough to understand and face the issue while intentionally utilizing the group's identity, values and mission for guidance.


Within this calm space, the process and quality of conversation become as important as any end to which they might lead. The communication that flows out of these conversations will then be an effective demonstration of the power and relevance of organizational mission, as well as its flexibility and health. When a crisis has been well handled and narrated, constituents will sense that they have experienced the organization’s values in action and have been carried through the difficulty by the power of those values held with integrity.


Periods of crisis are when the values and identity of a community are actually tested and a well prepared organization will weather major challenges on the strength and depth of commitment to its identity and mission and come out stronger on the other side.  

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Dave Swanson serves as President of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and Pastor of Pittsburgh Mennonite Church

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