Techniques For Managing Team Dynamics In Crisis Situations

Your "resilient" team might just be a group of burned-out people afraid to quit. Hustle culture isn't human culture. We've glorified resilience to the point of delusion and totally redefined it to fit a hyper-individual, cowboy narrative. ✖️ We celebrate teams who "push through" under pressure. ✖️ We reward people for "doing more with less." ✖️ We post mantras like "tough times don't last, tough teams do." But here's the truth I've learned working with traumatized organizations: 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Work trauma without acknowledgement is social gaslighting and institutional betrayal. If your team "survived the storm"...(layoffs, scandals, mergers) 𝟭. 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 -Have candid conversations about what was sacrificed -Acknowledge the personal toll on health, relationships, and wellbeing -Honor that survival is not the same as thriving 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 -Create safe spaces for people to share their genuine experiences -Look for signs of burnout that persist beyond the crisis -Evaluate if your culture rewards unhealthy sacrifice over sustainable output 𝟯. 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 -Establish clear boundaries between crisis management and normal operations -Create recovery periods that match the intensity of what was endured -Develop early warning systems to prevent future storms from becoming catastrophic 𝟰. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 -Shift from "pushing through" to "responding wisely" -Measure success by sustainable outcomes, not heroic efforts -Value the courage to set limits as much as the willingness to stretch -True resilience isn't about enduring more—it's about building systems that require less endurance in the first place. ________________________________________________________________ Join us for our 5th Trauma-informed & Team Resilience cohort facilitated with Heliana Ramirez, Ph.D., L.I.S.W. (former senior researcher at the VA, and work trauma expert). Link in comments.

dear leadership teams with employees in southern california, the fires across our region have grown 50x more widespread, leaving devastation in their wake. two of my former colleagues have already lost their homes, and countless others are navigating unimaginable uncertainty. this is not just a news headline — it’s a lived experience for many of our employees, colleagues, and neighbors. if you’re having a performance management conversation with an employee whose neighbor’s house is on fire, or if you’re asking someone to lead a discussion while they’re preparing to evacuate, it’s important to remember: they won’t be fully present. their minds are understandably elsewhere. with LAUSD schools closed today (nation’s 2nd largest school district), and universities also shutting down, many employees are juggling work, full-time caregiving, and crisis preparation. parents, including teachers, across Los Angeles are understandably nervous about the safety of their children and families. what started as a local issue has now become a national issue, as families and loved ones across the country await updates and resources. what does this mean in coaching your leaders and their their people managers? this is the time to pause, lead with care, and think about the whole person—not just their role. i’ve penciled together a top 10 empathy checklist for managers during crises to help leaders show the flexibility and compassion their teams need right now. Empathy Checklist for Managers During Crises 1️⃣ Acknowledge the Crisis. Recognize the situation’s impact on your employees and validate their feelings. 2️⃣ Check In Individually. Schedule one-on-one conversations to ask how team members are doing 3️⃣ Be Flexible with Deadlines. Adjust timelines and expectations to reduce stress for affected employees. 4️⃣ Support Working Parents. Offer flexibility to help parents balance work and childcare during school and university closures. 5️⃣ Pause Non-Essential Feedback. Delay performance reviews or tough conversations until stability returns. 6️⃣ Provide Mental Health Resources. Share Employee Assistance Program (EAP) details or other support options. 7️⃣ Simplify Workloads. Reassess tasks and redistribute if needed to avoid overwhelming employees. 8️⃣Communicate Clearly and Often. Keep your team informed and maintain open lines of communication. 9️⃣ Create Safe Spaces. Allow team members to express concerns without judgment. 🔟 Show Gratitude and Compassion. Acknowledge their efforts and offer words of encouragement during this time. this is a moment for deep thoughtful leadership. by cascading empathy together, we can make a real difference in the lives of our teams and our customers. if you have ideas or best practices for leading through crises, i’d love to hear them. let’s share, learn, and lead together.

In 2011, the Amazon Appstore failed on launch and Jeff Bezos was furious. It was my fault, and I handled one aspect of recovery so poorly that one of my engineers quit. I still regret it 14 years later. Please learn from my mistake. The main lesson is that when you are leading through a crisis, it can feel like it is all about you. It isn’t. It is about: 1) Solving the problem 2) Guiding your team through it The product issue was that there were some pretty simple bugs, and we solved those problem well enough that I was eventually promoted. Where I failed was in guiding my team through the crisis. My leadership miss was that I neglected to encourage and support the engineer who had written the bad code. He did a great job stepping up and supporting the effort to fix the problem, but shortly afterward, he resigned. During the crisis, I failed to make clear to him that we did not blame him for the launch failure despite the bugs. I imagine that left room for him to think we blamed him or that he didn’t belong. It is also possible that others did blame him directly and that I was too caught up in the crisis to realize it. Both instances were my responsibility as the leader of the team. His resignation taught me a valuable lesson about leading through a crisis: No matter how bad the situation is, your team must be your first priority. If you make them feel safe, they will move heaven and earth to fix the problem. If you don’t, they may still fix the problem, but the team itself will never be the same. As a leader, here is how you can give them what they need: 1) Take the blame and do not allow others to be blamed. In some bug cases after this we did not release the name of the engineer outside the team in order to protect them from judgment or blame. 2) Separate fixing the problem from figuring out why it happened. Once the problem is fixed, you can focus on root-causing. This lowers the risk of searching for answers getting confused with searching for someone to blame. 3) Realize that anyone involved in the problem already feels bad. High performers know when they have fallen short and let their team down. As a leader you have to show them the path to growth and success after the crisis. They do not need to be beaten up on- they have taken care of that themselves. 4) See crises and problems as growth opportunities, not personal flaws. Your team comes with you in a crisis whether you like it or not, so you might as well come out stronger on the other side. As a leader, the responsibility for a crisis is yours in two ways: The problem itself and the effect it has on the future of the team. Don’t get too caught up in the first to think about the second. Readers- Has your team survived a crisis? How did you handle it?