Effective crisis management demands exemplary leadership, clear strategic direction, an aligned team with a shared sense of purpose and timely decision making.
Conflict within a crisis team can be catastrophic. It delays decision-making, preventing the organisation from exerting influence over unfolding events. Worse, at a time when the business needs to demonstrate the quality of its leadership, if disagreements become public it can cast further doubt on its ability to weather the storm.
In the Forbes article below, I am quoted alongside other crisis experts on how to avoid decision-making inertia in a crisis.
To avoid this fate, key internal stakeholders should be involved in the crisis preparedness programme. Boards of directors need to be clear about their role in crisis and how they will interface with the leadership team. Lawyers and communicators must understand how the approval process for statements will work.
Use the time ahead of a live crisis to build understanding and trust among team members; strangers with unclear expectations of each other do not make for an effective and cohesive crisis management team.
If you have planned effectively as a team ahead of a live incident, conflicts can usually be avoided. But if they do arise, the CEO must listen to the views of his team, then decide and act. Advisors advise, leaders decide.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2025/06/14/crisis-management-lessons-from-the-immigration-deportation-protests/