Why You Shouldn’t Wait for a Crisis to Become a Better Leader
- John
- 12 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Introduction
We tend to talk about leadership in the middle of the storm. In crisis mode. When everything’s breaking. When people are burning out. When the margins are tight, the deadlines are tighter, and the pressure is smothering.
But here’s what I’ve learned after over a decade in tech, live events, and managing teams through real-time chaos:
You don’t become a better leader in the crisis. You become one before it.
When you wait until everything is falling apart to develop your leadership skills, you’re already too late.
This is about becoming the kind of leader who doesn’t just react. One who is clear, grounded, consistent—and already trusted when things get hard.
Let’s break down exactly what that looks like.
1. Leadership Is a Habit, Not a Role
People think leadership starts when the org chart says so. It doesn’t. It starts when you build habits that make others feel supported, understood, and safe.
Habits like:
Asking good questions before giving fast answers
Creating documentation before you think you’ll need it
Following through every single time
Staying calm when others escalate
Leaders who do this consistently before they’re in charge are the ones people naturally turn to when a fire breaks out.
2. Crisis Doesn’t Build Character—It Reveals It
In high-stakes moments—network crashes, launch failures, angry customers—people revert to their default.
If your default is panic, avoidance, blame, or ego? It shows.
But if your default is steady communication, shared ownership, and solution-oriented clarity? That shows too.
Want to lead through adversity? Build your emotional intelligence and stress response before you're in the fire.
3. Build Systems That Work Without You
One of the strongest signs of good leadership is how well things run when you’re not in the room.
This means:
Documenting decisions and rationale
Setting clear expectations
Creating backup plans
Empowering your team to act without your input
You won’t always be there to guide the ship. Good systems are your stand-in when chaos hits.
4. Communicate When It’s Easy So It Works When It’s Hard
Want people to listen to you during a crisis? Then they have to already trust you.
That trust is built in the small moments:
Weekly check-ins where you actually care
Clarifying a vague task before someone has to guess
Sharing context when you don’t technically need to
When a real emergency hits, they’ll follow your lead because they want to—not because they have to.
5. Normalize Feedback Before It’s Critical
You don’t want the first time someone hears your constructive feedback to be when they’re already overwhelmed.
Leaders who bake in feedback loops early create:
Resilient teams
Less ego-driven reactions
Growth even during difficult seasons
Make it normal to talk about what’s working and what’s not—before things break.
6. Train for Crisis the Same Way Pilots Do
In aviation, you don’t learn what to do when an engine fails during the failure. You train for it. Simulations. Procedures. Repetition.
Tech leaders should do the same:
Practice tabletop exercises
Review failure modes and response plans
Debrief even "near-misses"
If your first time navigating a failure is live, the cost is almost always higher.
7. Lead with Transparency—Even When It’s Uncomfortable
In a crisis, trust is oxygen. And nothing kills trust faster than confusion or withheld information.
Don’t wait until you’re forced to share. Practice open communication now:
Share project risks early
Be honest about capacity
Admit when you’re uncertain, but share how you’ll figure it out
It’s not weakness. It’s clarity.
8. Your Calm Is Contagious
In the middle of a crisis, people don’t need a hero. They need a steady hand.
Learn how to regulate your nervous system. Don’t downplay the issue—but don’t fuel panic either. Use calm, clear language. Stay grounded.
Your presence is the most stabilizing force in a high-stress environment. But you can’t fake it.
You have to build it.
9. Practice Asynchronous Leadership
Most real-time emergencies don’t wait for perfect scheduling.
The best leaders build systems where:
People don’t need to wait on you for progress
Critical info lives in documentation, not Slack threads
Teams default to action, not permission-seeking
This decentralizes your power—and increases your team’s resilience.
10. Start Today, Not When It’s Too Late
There’s no perfect time to start becoming a better leader. But the best time is before the pressure’s on.
If you wait until the emergency to develop:
Communication habits
Self-awareness
Trust capital
…it’s already too late.
Build now. Show up now. Practice now.
Bonus Section: Real-World Leadership Drills to Start Doing Weekly
Here are small, weekly leadership drills that help sharpen these muscles before the next crisis hits:
Documentation Drill: Every week, write or update one SOP or process.
Check-In Challenge: Ask 1 team member a question that has nothing to do with their output.
Clarity Rundown: Take one project and simplify its goals into a single sentence.
Feedback Flex: Ask someone for feedback about your leadership—actually listen.
Delegation Move: Delegate one task you usually hold onto. Give them ownership and don’t hover.
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