59185 11p

Chapter 11. Ethical Crisis Leadership

Crisis: An Overview

A crisis is any major unanticipated event that poses a significant threat.

Such events are rare (making them difficult to prepare for), they generate a good deal of uncertainty (their causes and effects are unclear), and they are hard to resolve (there is no set formula for determining how to act).

Decisions about how to deal with the crisis need to be handled quickly.

© 2015 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Crisis: An Overview

Crisis management experts Matthew Seeger, Timothy Sellnow, and Robert Ulmer identify ten types of crisis.

1. Public perception 2. Natural disasters 3. Product or service 4. Terrorist attacks 5. Economic

6. Human resource 7. Industrial 8. Oil and chemical spills 9. Transportation 10. Outside environment


The 3 Stages of a Crisis

Stage 1. Precrisis Precrisis is the period of normalcy between crisis events. During this, the longest phase, the group or organization

typically believes that it understands the risks it faces and can handle any contingency that arises.

Barriers to crisis prevention include:

Complacency Human biases Institutional failures Special interest groups


Precrisis Stage

5 Crisis Myths that are debunked:

Myth 1: “Crises are Inevitable.” Myth 2: “We Lack the Basic Knowledge to Prevent or

Understand Crises.” Myth 3: “Better Technology Will Prevent Future Crises.” Myth 4: “Crisis Management Is Inherently Detrimental

to Progress.” Myth 5: “Emotions Have No Place in Crisis

Management.”



Stage 2: Crisis Event

The second stage commences with a “trigger event.” It ends when the crisis is resolved. Ethical leaders play a critical role during this stage. Leaders are also responsible for speaking on behalf of the

organization. Those directly impacted by the crisis have particularly

important information needs and should take top priority.



Stage 3: Postcrisis Investigation and analysis take place during the third and final

stage. This is also a period of recovery where ethical leaders try to

salvage the legitimacy of the group or organization, help group members learn from the crisis experience, and promote healing.

Organizational crisis learning takes three forms. Retrospective sensemaking Reconsidering structure Vicarious learning


Box 11.3: Crisis Leadership Competencies

Additional competencies to navigating each crisis phase:

Precrisis: Sense making Perspective taking Issue selling Organizational agility Creativity

Crisis Event Decision making under

pressure Communicating

effectively Risk taking

Post Crisis Promoting organizational

resiliency Acting with integrity Learning orientation


Components of Ethical Crisis Management

Assume Broad Responsibility

Responsibility is the foundation of ethical crisis leadership. Preventing, managing, and recovering from crises all

depend on the willingness of leaders and followers to accept their moral responsibilities.

In addition to engaging in, and fostering, ethical behavior, the responsible crisis leader fights against complacency, human biases, institutional weaknesses, special-interest groups, and other obstacles to crisis prevention.


Components of Ethical Crisis Management

Practice Transparency

Like responsibility, transparency is another requirement placed on groups and organizations operating freely in society.

Failure to disclose information spawns abuses of power and privilege and makes it impossible for individuals to act as informed members of the community.

Transparency begins with openness. Transparency also involves symmetry.



Maintaining transparency is particularly difficult when a crisis is triggered. First, there are privacy concerns. Second, admitting fault can put the organization at a disadvantage

in case of a lawsuit. Third, there may be proprietary information about, say,

manufacturing processes and recipes, which should not be released to competitors.

Fourth, uncertainty makes it difficult for an organization to determine what its course of action should be, and, as a result, to communicate concrete details to the public.

Fifth, being specific may offend some stakeholders who feel that they have been treated unfairly.

Sixth, making a commitment to a single course of action too soon may limit the group’s ability to deal with the crisis.



Some observers suggest that leaders in a crisis situation use strategic ambiguity as an alternative to transparency. In strategic ambiguity, communicators are deliberately vague, which allows them to appeal to multiple audiences.

More often than not, however, strategic ambiguity is unethical, used to shift the blame and to confuse stakeholders while providing them with biased and/ or incomplete information.

While the amount and type of information to be shared will vary with each crisis, the goal should always be to be as open as possible.



In order to be ethical, the group’s explanation of events and response to public criticism must have the right manner and content.

Manner refers to the form of the communication, which needs to: (1) be truthful (2) be sincere (3) be timely (4) be voluntary (5) address all stakeholders (6) be in the proper context



The content of the message is just as important as the form it takes. The ethical story of events: clearly acknowledges wrongdoing; accepts full responsibility for what happened; expresses regret for the offense, the harm done, and failure

to carry out responsibilities; identifies with the injured asks for forgiveness; seeks reconciliation with injured parties; fully discloses information related to the offense; offers to carry out appropriate corrective action; and offers appropriate compensation.


Demonstrate Care

Demonstrating concern has practical as well as ethical benefits.

While it is in the interest of leaders and organizations to act in a compassionate manner for image and financial reasons, it is even more important to do so for ethical reasons. i.e. Altruism

Showing concern during a crisis goes well beyond addressing the physical and financial needs of victims. Emotional and spiritual needs as well


Leadership Ethics at the Movies: Argo

Discussion Questions:

How would you evaluate the crisis preparedness of the embassy staff?

2.What risks did the Canadian ambassador, his staff and the Canadian government face in harboring the fugitives?

3.What components of ethical crisis management and what crisis leadership skills do you see in the story of the rescue of the six Americans?


Rational thought, problem solving, and other cognitive skills and strategies are important complements to care and compassion in ethical crisis management.

Moral leaders respond with their heads as well as their hearts.

Ethical crisis leaders, in addition to paying heedful attention themselves create mindful cultures.

Engage the Head as Well as the Heart


Engage the Head as Well as the Heart

Aircraft carrier exampleNavy leaders encourage five mindful practices:

Carrier crews are preoccupied with failure. Those who work on carriers are reluctant to simplify. Third, carrier crews sustain continuous sensitivity to

operations. Fourth, people on carriers share a commitment to

resilience. Fifth, carrier personnel demonstrate deference to expertise.


Engage the Heart as Well as the Head

Leaders responding to crises also need to employ ethical rationality.

Rationality is defined as “a firm’s ability to make decisions based on comprehensive information and analysis.”

Ethical rationality serves firms well in crisis management. Ethically rational companies (and nonprofits) are more likely to make sound moral choices during a crisis because leaders are in the practice of incorporating ethical principles into routine decision making.


Focus on Follower Ethics: Whistle Blowing

Key ethical tension points in whistle-blowing What is our obligation to

the organization? What are our moral

obligations to colleagues in the organization?

What are our ethical obligations to our profession?

Will the act of whistle-blowing adversely affect our families and others close to us?

What moral obligation do we have to ourselves?

What is our ethical obligation toward the general public?

How will my action affect important values such as freedom of expression, truthfulness, courage, justice, cooperativeness, and loyalty?


Improvise From a Strong Moral Foundation

The ability to ethically improvise is critical in a crisis because no amount of planning and practice can totally equip individuals for the specific challenges they will face during the crisis event.

Successful improvisation requires that employees be empowered to act on their own initiative.


Case Study: The Terrorist and the Time Bomb

Discussion Questions:

Do you believe that extreme measures like killing civilians and interrogational torture are ever justified? Why or why not?


Case Study: Deadly Prank Call

Discussion Questions: What warning signs were

ignored in this crisis? Was it ethical for the DJs to

make a prank call to a hospital? Should all prank calls be banned?

Would you evaluate the prank call differently if it hadn’t resulted in the death of a nurse? Why or why not?

How much blame should be assigned to the DJs, to the station, and to the hospital for what happened?

How would you evaluate the crisis response of the Southern Cross Austereo? What did it do right? Wrong?

What steps should Southern Cross Austereo take to restore the firm’s reputation and that of station 2DayFM?


Case Study: Long Island Port Authority

Discussion Questions: Why do you think officials at LIPA ignored the advice of

experts? Can you think of other organizations that are unprepared for

crisis? What characteristics do they share with LIPA? What steps do leaders need to take to better prepare LIPA for

future disasters? What obstacles could they face as they take these actions?

Should the utility be held legally liable for damages done to those who lost power?

Can LIPA be saved or should it be converted into a private utility?


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