Crisis Leadership: Three Is the Magic Number
Crises don’t send RSVPs, but your institution can be ready for them.
Anthony Barbar, the longtime chair of the Florida Atlantic Board of Trustees, and I had so much fun on a recent webinar for the Association of Governing Boards about crisis communications that we turned it into a blog post.
Spoiler alert: The steadiest institutions don’t rely on one heroic message or spokesperson. They use a triangle where the communications team explains, the president heals and the board chair stabilizes governance.
We also talked about the moves boards need to make now before the next crisis or issue hits.
Convene the triangle—chair, president, communications lead—and clarify roles.
Build a board update plan and practice it.
Put messenger discipline in writing: Who speaks for the board, who speaks for the institution, and what channels you’ll use.
Commit to speed and candor; be first with the facts you can verify; and be honest about what you don’t yet know.
Plan your after-action process now and treat it as a trust-building opportunity
Before the next call comes, make “three is the magic number” more than a metaphor: Build the president-board chair-communications partnership; clarify who explains, who heals, and who stabilizes; and practice the cadence that keeps trustees informed without confusion.
Because when the storm hits, it won’t be the loudest institution that earns trust. It will be the steadiest one.
You can read the entire AGB blog here.