{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Crisis Leadership","description":"If you look at current events, communication is being substituted for leadership. PR professionals have gotten ingrained in organizations and are muddling down messages. When a crisis happens, they try to diffuse it or craft a narrative that paints them in the most favorable light. Coronavirus is an example of this. The effort to use narrative to manipulate the public is clear. You see this cover-your-ass approach within corporate leadership as well. When a CEO needs to lead a group through difficult times, narrative-crafting has become the answer. Boeing recently had the  737 MAX problem and didn\u2019t own it. They tried to hide and minimize it, and it just dragged on. They tried to massage the narrative\u2014instead of owning it and laying out a plan. During a crisis, some leaders have the tendency to push it away and try to buy more time to figure out the right response. But we all admire somebody who will stand up and tell the truth, especially when it sucks to tell it.&amp;nbsp; The number one thing is you\u2019ve got to know your message\u2014and you\u2019ve got to practice it. If a crisis happens that affects you directly, then step in and own it. Get to it early and take full responsibility. Explain what happened and what you\u2019re going to do next. Once you have people\u2019s attention, don\u2019t patronize them or treat them like children. Don\u2019t give them buzzwords or slogans. If the crisis doesn\u2019t directly impact your business, look for ways to contribute. Attention is the most difficult thing to gain for anyone. When you have it\u2014whether it\u2019s for a \u201cgood\u201d reason or \u201cbad\u201d reason\u2014don\u2019t hide from it. You don\u2019t get it often, and you don\u2019t know when it\u2019s going to come again. So, use it properly. https:\/\/smith.substack.com\/p\/crisis-leadership ","author_name":"Smith Sense","author_url":"http:\/\/smithsense.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/14179328\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/71274797"}