How to lead the room before the crisis hits

Crises can strike at any moment and the pressure to respond quickly can feel overwhelming.

But there is a practical solution for communicators navigating high-stakes situations, Michelle Earhart, CMO and CCO at the University of Memphis and author of “Crisis Compass: How to Communicate When It Matters Most”, said during the Future of Communications Conference.

The following preparation tactics are imperative before a crisis response is necessary.

Know your organization inside and out: Understanding the business, its structure and potential vulnerabilities is crucial to every crisis response. “A crisis communicator needs to understand the business almost as good as anyone in the company,” Ehrhart said.  Knowing where risks may appear allows communicators to anticipate challenges and act decisively. Speak to employees at each level as often as you speak to leaders. Spend a day with frontline employees, collect their feedback on challenges, what’s working well and where gaps exists. Then repeat this with different departments. Don’t just focus on the executive office, she said. It’s important to understand how the company functions as a whole.