The Psychological Implications Of Leading During A Catastrophic Event

Critical incident stress results from the crisis of a critical event such as a death of a loved one, a traumatic incident, or an officer-involved shooting. A crisis for an individual is defined as “the perception or experiencing of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping mechanisms” (James & Gilliland, 2013, p. 8). For a law enforcement officer, “Mitchell (1991) said that a critical incident is one in which the officer’s expectations of perfect performance suddenly are

But many leaders who are otherwise given credit for vision, strategic focus, and discipline preside over undisciplined crisis responses, often at great risk to their career and their company’s future.”

Situational and Authentic leadership are increasingly important skills to possess in today’s era of technological changes and availability and flow of information we have in this day and age. Leaders today must be able to adjust their leadership styles to the whatever situation arises as well as to the people who they are leading. Leaders are not limited to just use one style in one situation, being able to adapt appropriate styles to different situations will influence and help a leader succeed. A leader’s judgement, intelligence, cultural awareness, and self-control plays major roles in helping them choose the proper style and appropriate technique for the task at hand (Lau & Cronin, 1998).

Moreover, in dynamic environments, leaders should be unwavering in the midst of a crisis. If an administrator does not have the emotional

This leadership style is best suited to emergency situations when the leader is competent and confident in his ability to succeed,

Leaders have a “the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 402). In the past leaders have been described by certain traits or characteristics. These traits can help an organization identify potential candidates who may be strong leaders. Later behavior approaches of leaders were identified that could be taught. In short, leaders could be made. Situations have an impact on which leader behaviors will be most effect at any given time. Several contingency theories have been formulated over the years to identify how situations influence leadership behavior. Each style has strengths and

argue that the leader should have ability to cope with uncertainty’ , ‘ to persistently improvise around obstacles’ (P.97).

“At times of change or dealing with uncertainty or in a crisis-- that is when the best leader will shine” (Ellis, 2016). A leader who can work effectively in a complicated, unpredictable situation is a competent leader and he tirelessly works to improve his capabilities (Ledlow & Coppola, 2010). All great leaders are known for communicating effectively what they want to achieve. They are visionaries who have the ability to lead others toward a shared goal (Gibson & Weber, 2015).

Leaders bring their own vulnerabilities, blind spots and misapprehension into the group; they are human (Cole, 2013). Leadership is present to provide support and connectiveness in order to explore feelings (Cole, 2013). The leader needs to recognize their own vulnerabilities, and that these vulnerabilities are okay and accept these as part of the leadership of a group (Cole, 2013). The leader should try to work on deeper skills for the benefit of the group, but recognize they cannot be perfect and that their own vulnerabilities can add value to the overall

“A crisis occurs when a stressful life event overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope effectively in the face of a perceived challenge or threat” (Arnold & Boggs, 2011, pg. 415). When people are in a crisis situation they tend to forget their normal coping measures. When people train on crisis situations, they tend to perform better during a crisis event. “A favorable outcome depends on the person’s interpretation of the crisis, perception of coping ability, resources, and level of social support” (Arnold & Boggs, 2011, pg. 416).

Encountering an organization trying to corral a chaotic situation reveals the character of leaders in it. My seminal introduction to such an occurrence was via the Marine Security Guard program back in 1988. The Marine Corps and Department of State had to get in front of a scandal and explain how they were going to revise the way training was done at the school house. Attempting to limit and control chaos would mean putting an emphasis on training which is a gigantic piece of any well-ran organization. Leaders must be intimately involved in any training cycles that mitigate crisis management scenarios. Training allows employees to acquire new skills, sharpen existing ones, and ultimately perform better. Most of us have heard one time or another how someone reacted in a crisis situation and had stated that their “training kicked-in” at the moment action was needed. Well trained employee’s breed confidence when faced with crisis management situations.

How do people respond to crisis? There are many different ways people respond to crisis. We will examine three ways people respond to crisis: people hide from it, people ignore it, and people take action and stay calm. We will examine these three things with the help of the following passages: “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe; “Scurvy at Sea” from “making History with Vitamin C” by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson. And finally “Heroics Behind the Miracle on the Hudson” written by Liana Stanley from “The New American”. So, once again we will see three ways people respond to crisis: people hide from it, they ignore it, and some people take action and stay calm.

Although not everyone that comes across a stressor in life will experience a crisis, some are unable to cope with the stressor in a healthy manner and eventually succumb to a crisis. If this person does not receive the adequate crisis intervention during this state, he or she is likely to be unable to function at the level he or she had been functioning before the crisis. This will inevitably lead to additional crisis scenarios for every stressor they must face in life. “This pattern can go on for many years until the person’s ego is completely drained of its capacity to deal with reality; often such people commit suicide, kill someone, or have a psychotic breakdown.” (Kanel, K. 2007).

I know that being a leader is hard. It is often a crafted form of art constantly tested by challenging situations

The topic of leadership evokes curiosity about our leaders and their approaches in decision making, leadership styles and the effectiveness of their leadership. At time leaders are critiqued for their actions or views on different business affairs. In today’s working environment leaders set the tone, vision, and goals of any organization. Leadership has a huge impact on the culture of an organization and how people communicate within the organization (Northouse, 2009). The actions of leaders should inspire and positively impact their followers. The approach of leaders in handling adversities highlights many features of their character.