Enhancing Communication During Crisis Situations

There are always situations in which you need to communicate fast and clearly. Especially in a crisis, in new situations, or when there is time pressure. The STICC protocol helps you achieve this. The STICC Protocol was developed by psychologist Gary Klein as a tool for managing the unexpected. STICC stands for: Situation, Task, Intent, Concerns, Calibrate and is a technique for productive communication about what to do when you face a new, unexpected situation. This is what it means: S - Situation = Here’s what I think we face. The leader summarizes how they see the situation, problem, or crisis at hand. T - Task = Here’s what I think we should do. The leader explains their plan for addressing the situation, problem, or crisis at hand. I - Intent = Here’s why I think this is what we should do. The leader explains the reasons why they think this is the best way of addressing the situation, problem, or crisis at hand. C - Concerns = Here’s what we should keep our eyes on. The leader mentions possible downsides or future consequences of the solution suggested to be taken into account as well. C - Calibrate = Now talk to me and give me your views. The leader asks others in the team to give their feedback and viewpoints, and especially invites them to disagree and add. This technique helps you in managing pressured situations in three ways: First, once something unexpected happens, it helps to develop appropriate responses. The five steps are aimed at discussing with a team what to do in cases that are not familiar. Through its focus on concrete action, on gathering different viewpoints, and on speed, the STICC protocol is a quick way to take appropriate action in new situations. Second, in step 4 (Concerns), you open up the discussion for further uncertainties and other changes that may follow. In this way, you mentally prepare people that there will always remain uncertainties. This helps in developing a crisis-ready mindset that is not only helpful in the current crisis, but also in the next. Third, the fact that a constructive dialogue takes place also facilitates communication and mutual learning. Even though the leader brings the suggestions here, it is the team together that comes to a solution. And while doing that, they learn together and from each other in an open and adaptive way, which helps further prepare them for future crises. My advice: use STICC whenever you have to communicate fast and clearly. === Follow me or subscribe to my Soulful Strategy newsletter for more: https://lnkd.in/e_ytzAgU #communicationtips #agile #teamexercise

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?

Let’s face it - current headlines spell a recipe for employee stress. Raging inflation, recession worries, international strife, social justice issues, and overall uncertainty pile onto already full work plates. As business leaders, keeping teams motivated despite swirling fears matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies I lean into to curb burnout and boost morale during turbulent times: 1. Overcommunicate Context and Vision: Proactively address concerns through radical transparency and big picture framing. Our SOP is to hold quarterly all hands and monthly meetings grouped by level cohort and ramp up fireside chats and written memos when there are big changes happening. 2. Enable Flexibility and Choice: Where Possible Empower work-life balance and self-care priorities based on individuals’ needs. This includes our remote work policy and implementing employee engagement tools like Lattice to track feedback loops. 3. Spotlight Impact Through Community Stories: Connect employees to end customers and purpose beyond daily tasks. We leveled up on this over the past 2 years. We provide paid volunteer days to our employees and our People Operations team actively connects our employees with opportunities in their region or remotely to get involved monthly. Recently we added highlighting the social impact by our employees into our internal communications plan. 4. Incentivize Cross-Collaboration: Reduce silos by rewarding team-wide contributions outside core roles. We’ve increased cross team retreats and trainings to spark fresh connections as our employee base grows. 5. Celebrate the Humanity: Profile your employee’s talents beyond work through content spotlight segments. We can’t control the market we operate in, but as leaders we can make an impact on how we foster better collaboration to tackle the headwinds. Keeping spirits and productivity intact requires acknowledging modern anxieties directly while sustaining focus on goals ahead. Reminding your teams why the work matters and that they are valued beyond output unlocks loyalty despite swirling worries. What tactics succeeded at boosting team morale and preventing burnout spikes within your company amidst current volatility?

🚨 The Email That Made 200 Employees Panic The subject line read: “We need to talk.” That was it. No context. No explanation. Within minutes, the office air felt heavier. You could hear chairs creak as people leaned toward each other, whispering: 👉 “Did you see the mail?” 👉 “Do you think layoffs are coming?” 👉 “Why would he say that without details?” The silence in the cafeteria was louder than usual that day. Coffee cups stayed untouched, half-filled. Some stared at their screens, pretending to work, but their fingers hesitated above the keyboard. One manager later told me it felt like “a ticking clock in the background you can’t turn off.” What was meant to be a simple one-on-one call turned into an organization-wide anxiety spiral. Productivity dipped. Trust cracked. By evening, HR’s inbox was full of panicked questions. ⸻ 💡 When I stepped in as a trainer, the leader admitted: “I just didn’t think one line could create so much fear.” And that’s the truth: Leaders often underestimate the power of their words. A vague message is like sending a flare into the sky—everyone sees it, no one knows what it means, but everyone assumes the worst. We worked together on Crisis Communication Frameworks: • Lead with clarity: “I’d like to connect regarding Project X progress this Friday.” • Add emotional context: “No concerns—just a quick alignment call.” • Close with certainty: “This will help us stay on track as a team.” The difference? Next time he wrote an email, instead of panic, his team replied with thumbs-up emojis. Calm replaced chaos. ⸻ 🎯 Learning: Leadership isn’t just about strategy—it’s about how you sound in the small moments. One vague sentence can break trust. One clear message can build it back. If your leaders are unintentionally creating chaos through unclear communication, let’s talk. Because the cost of poor communication isn’t just morale—it’s millions. ⸻ #LeadershipCommunication #CrisisCommunication #ExecutivePresence #LeadershipSkills #CommunicationMatters #Fortune500 #TopCompanies #CXOLeadership #FutureOfWork #OrganizationalExcellence #StorytellingForLeaders #LeadershipDevelopment #CorporateTraining #ProfessionalGrowth #PeopleFirstLeadership

The best thing a social manager can do when it comes to responding to breaking news is set up processes before any news breaks. You should first gain a deep understanding of the causes your brand believes in and supports. This includes organizations the brand has donated to or worked with in the past. Documenting this will make it easier to craft statements when something does come up. Next, establish a core “social media breaking news” team. These people all know they will be on call when something comes up. For me this is usually my manager, a copywriter, a designer, a community manager, someone from legal, someone from PR, and potentially the CMO and/or CEO as final approver. Create an email list or Slack group with all of these people on it. Finally, create a decision tree to use when something does come up. Build a framework that helps answer questions like "should we pause?" or "do we need to put out a statement?". This will make decisions easier during high-stress situations.

Every leader eventually faces a moment when external forces test their systems, their culture, and their resolve. When you find yourself in these moments, your team watches you closely. They’re looking for confidence. Clarity. And proof that the mission still matters. Over the years, I’ve learned that how you communicate in those moments of adversity determines whether your team feels anxious or aligned. Here are five practices that have helped me motivate with both empathy and authority: 1. Mix up your delivery channels. Different messages need different mediums. Sometimes a quick memo or short video is enough. Other times, a personal note or live conversation builds more trust. What matters most is that your tone stays clear, honest, and human. 2. Invite questions, and answer them transparently. We use a simple “Ask Me Anything” format that lets employees submit and upvote questions anonymously. Everyone can see what’s on each other’s minds, and they see that no question is off limits. 3. Tell stories that connect the past to the present. Stories remind people they’re part of something enduring. When you revisit moments of resilience from your company’s history, it reminds the team what you’ve already overcome and what you’re capable of again. 4. Use symbols intentionally. Every season has its own rallying symbol: a gesture, a phrase, or even an inside joke that reminds your team of what really matters. When you repeat it, it becomes shorthand for courage and unity. 5. Recommunicate the vision. Your team needs to know that the destination hasn’t changed, even if the path looks different. When you restate the “why” behind the work, you create stability and restore forward momentum. As a leader, you won’t always have all the answers. But it is your job to communicate with enough clarity and empathy to steer your team in the right direction, no matter what the world throws your way. Patti Sanchez #leadingwithempathy #executivecommunication #communicatingchange

Uncertainty is a constant in business. As a leader, the question isn’t whether you’ll face it—it’s how you'll respond when there are no clear answers. One of the most defining moments of uncertainty in my career came when I joined ServiceNow. I started in January 2020, and it was a brand-new industry for me. About 70 days later, COVID hit. Bill had just begun as CEO a few weeks before me. We were navigating a CFO transition, a CEO transition, and a global pandemic—all at once. Operationally, our technology allowed us to get our then 10,000+ employees up and running remotely within 24 hours. We had solid systems in place, but as we know, leadership is also about creating trust, connection, and communication—especially when everything is suddenly remote and uncertain. Instead of opting out, we chose to lean in. We focused on what was knowable and controllable, letting decisive action build confidence and momentum. In that moment, it meant: - Prioritizing employee safety above everything else - Letting local regulations guide our decisions - Communicating clearly, frequently, and transparently—even when we didn’t have all the answers What I learned is this: uncertainty only shrinks when you engage, decide, and move forward, even without all the answers. You don’t wait for certainty to lead. You lead through uncertainty. When have you faced real uncertainty in your career—and what helped you navigate it?

Empathy isn't soft. It's one of the hardest leadership skills to practice. Because it’s not just about being kind.  It’s about choosing curiosity when your instinct is to move on. When someone on your team is frustrated or overwhelmed, it’s easy to want to smooth things over quickly. But instead of solving or softening, try starting with: “I can see this matters to you.” That sentence opens the door to the real issue. The words we choose in tense moments either shut people down or open them up. When someone's upset, they don't need us to fix it instantly. They need to feel heard first. Here are 12 phrase swaps that can transform how leaders communicate: 1. Instead of "calm down," try "I can see this matters to you." 2. Instead of "that doesn't make sense," try "help me understand your perspective." 3. Instead of "it's not a big deal," try "I can see why this is frustrating." 4. Instead of "stop being emotional," try "take your time. I want to hear you." 5. Instead of "I don't have time," try "this deserves my full attention." 6. Instead of "let's just move on," try "I don't want to rush past this." 7. Instead of "you're making this harder," try "what would make this easier?" 8. Instead of "I already explained this," try "let me try saying it differently." 9. Instead of "there's nothing I can do," try "let's explore our options together." 10. Instead of "why are you so upset?" try "something's bothering you. I'm here." 11. Instead of "everyone else is fine with it," try "your experience matters too." 12. Instead of "that's not what I said," try "let me clarify what I meant." These aren't magic words. They're tools for creating space when tension runs high. They help leaders build trust instead of reinforcing hierarchy. And they turn ordinary managers into the kind of leaders people actually want to follow. What phrases have helped you navigate difficult conversations? ♻️ If this resonates, repost for your network. 📌 Follow Amy Gibson for more leadership insights.

Staying in a “good mood” isn’t the point. Staying composed is. In moments of pressure, leaders don’t earn trust by being upbeat. They earn it by being steady. When stress rises, people stop listening to explanations. They start reading signals. Your tone. Your pace. Your presence. I’ve seen reputations damaged not by bad decisions but by how pressure showed up in a leader’s voice. Composure isn’t emotional detachment. It’s emotional discipline. It’s the ability to remain clear when others are reacting. That steadiness doesn’t just calm the room. It restores credibility. In a crisis, your emotional control becomes public leadership. Follow for weekly insights on leadership, reputation, and crisis communication.

Most leadership teams I start working with are in one of two modes: 👉 1. Build psychological safety without intellectual honesty: everyone’s kind, no one’s challenged. 👉 2. Or they build intellectual honesty without safety: everyone’s smart, no one’s learning. The research published in MIT Sloan Management Review (Jeff Dyer et al., 2023) confirms what I’ve seen in practice: Innovation doesn’t come from ideas alone but it comes from friction that’s safe to hold. The researchers found that organizations fall into 4 cultural types based on two dimensions: psychological safety (can people speak up?) and intellectual honesty (do they tell the truth even when it’s hard?). Their analysis across hundreds of companies revealed that the most innovative organizations combine high trust and high truth-telling. They create conditions where people: • challenge assumptions without triggering defensiveness, • admit uncertainty without losing credibility, • and debate ideas without damaging relationships. In contrast, the majority of workplaces sit in one of the three traps: ⚪ Comfortable cultures (high safety, low honesty) Polite, stable, but stagnant. People withhold critical feedback to “keep the peace.” ⚪ Anxious cultures (high honesty, low safety) Driven, but brittle. Meetings feel like battles; mistakes get hidden. ⚪ Distressed cultures (low on both). Silence, cynicism, and a slow loss of creativity. Only the Innovative culture balances both truth and trust. It’s not psychological safety first and honesty later. They develop together, through the daily micro-behaviors of leaders. That’s the essence of my Safe Challenger Leadership™️ approach: leaders who blend care with candor, trust with tension, and safety with stretch. Because innovation dies from the absence of honest conversations that feel safe enough to stay in. P.S.: What’s harder for organizations in your opinion: making honesty safe, or making safety honest?