Provide Resilient Leadership With These Crisis Management Tips

Vera Petryk is the former CMO at EOS Data Analytics, a global provider of AI-powered satellite imagery analytics.

We all face crises and difficult situations at some point in our lives, both personally and professionally. Throughout my 13-year career—seven of which I served as a chief marketing officer—I’ve navigated my share of challenging times. But nothing compares to the extraordinary circumstances I’m experiencing now. I have stayed in Kyiv, managing teams with members who also live in Ukraine and abroad, as we face the unimaginable horrors of war together.

While this may sound grim, I hope this article offers hope, practical advice and a path forward. My goal is to share the lessons I’ve learned through managing a team during these intense times, and I hope my tips can help you, no matter what kind of crisis or stress you’re facing in your own leadership journey.

1. Truth, Empathy And Action In Crisis Leadership

Truth: As a leader, it’s essential to truly understand who your team members are beyond their roles at work. In a crisis, such as a war, lives are deeply affected in ways that go beyond the office. It’s not just about deadlines; it’s about knowing the reality they are living in, whether that’s worrying about family, dealing with personal loss or managing disruptions like no electricity or internet. This truth forms the foundation for how you support them.

Empathy: While it’s important to maintain professional boundaries, leadership during a crisis calls for creating a safe space where people can be vulnerable. Empathy doesn’t mean becoming overly familiar, but it does mean genuinely caring about their well-being. People should feel supported, seen and heard. This helps them remain connected to the purpose of their work, even under immense stress.

Action: Once you understand your team’s challenges, you need to take action in a way that balances empathy with the reality that work still needs to get done. Flexible working conditions are key. Whether someone needs to leave the city, deal with power cuts or care for loved ones, as a leader, you should offer flexible schedules and adapt based on individual needs. However, this flexibility must be paired with clear goals and expectations, ensuring that people stay focused on their responsibilities.

2. Proactive Support: Giving What’s Needed Before It’s Asked

Emotional awareness: Being emotionally attuned to your team’s situations is key. As a leader, you need to know who is directly affected by certain crises and who might be silently struggling. You become, in a sense, part leader, part psychologist, offering tailored support to each person. This doesn’t mean overstepping into their personal lives, but it does mean being mindful enough to offer help before it’s asked for.

Holistic support systems: This approach includes not just financial assistance or flexibility with time off but also providing mental health resources, tools to keep working during outages and ensuring that people have what they need to function professionally. This means that when someone needs to take a week off for mental health, you support them fully without making them feel like they’re falling behind.

3. Remote Work As A Safe Haven

In times of stress, it’s not just about productivity—it’s about offering your team a place where they feel secure. Whether it’s their home or another safe space, the flexibility to work remotely allows them to remain grounded, both mentally and physically. When rockets are flying over their heads, getting to an office may simply not be feasible or safe. Believe me, that one taxi drive home under one of the biggest missile strikes during the war will remain with me as a reminder forever. Remote work becomes a lifeline—not just for performance but for survival.

4. Keep The Focus On Growth And Distraction From Crisis

Don’t get stuck on the crisis. While it’s crucial to acknowledge the reality of the war—or any crisis you’re facing—it’s equally important to ensure that your team doesn’t become consumed by it. As a leader, you have to keep people moving forward. What’s the latest industry trend? What’s the next big team initiative? Who’s leading the roundtable this week? Asking these questions keeps the team engaged and mentally active. By focusing on their professional growth, they feel a sense of accomplishment beyond simply surviving a crisis.

5. Balancing Empathy With Focus And Accountability

While empathy and personal support are critical, it’s equally important to remind the team that the company still needs to function, even in the face of extraordinary challenges. Everyone, from senior leadership to junior staff, must understand that while we are all facing our own battles, the business needs us to keep pushing forward to ensure everyone gets paid and the company remains stable.

6. Dealing With Underperformance And The Hard Reality Of Firing During Crisis

This is a hard truth: Despite all the support and flexibility you provide, the reality is that results still matter. If someone is consistently unable to deliver, even after you’ve exhausted every option to help them, you’ll ultimately have to make the difficult decision to let them go. It’s an ugly truth and an awful situation, but it is a necessary leadership responsibility. The key is to ensure that before reaching this point, you’ve truly covered every avenue to help that person succeed.

Leading a team through any crisis tests both your leadership and your humanity. While the circumstances may vary, the core principles remain the same: empathy, trust, flexibility and a focus on personal growth. By staying attuned to your team’s needs, providing the support they require and focusing on progress—not just survival—you can guide your business to survive and thrive, even in the most challenging times.

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