Leading Under Pressure: Crisis Management and Leadership

Written primarily for managers and C-suite executives, Leading Under Pressure: From Surviving to Thriving Before, During and After a Crisis, the new book by Erika Hayes James and Lynn Perry Wooten, analyzes recent major PR crises such as the BP oil spill, the Toyota and Tylenol recalls, or the collapse of the banking industry, to better explain how to properly manage and lead a company through a crisis situation.

The deep exploration of both successes and failure by companies such as Tylenol (which was great with the help of Burson-Marsteller), Coca-Cola, Exxon (which many believe APCO Worldwide did terrible at), and the City of New York provide the background to teach managers and C-suite executives how their leadership impacts crisis management and how they can steer the business they’re running away from devastating repercussions.

“Managing a crisis is not enough. What’s needed is crisis leadership—before, during, and after a problem surfaces,” says Erika Hayes James, PhD, coauthor of Leading Under Pressure.

“Most leaders do not know how to lead during a crisis,” says co-author Lynn Perry Wooten, PhD. James agrees: “Often, executives who are working wonderfully well in normal times are not necessarily equipped to deal and manage with situations of urgency such as a crisis. Leading Under Pressure helps people learn to leverage and use strength and build strength so they are better able to lead their organizations in times of crisis.”

The main topics covered in Leading Under Pressure: From Surviving to Thriving Before, During and After a Crisis are:

• Current and recent crises such as the BP oil spill, the Tylenol and Toyota recalls, and the collapse of the banking industry.
• Developing crisis leadership skills at every stage of an executive’s career.
• Assembling a crisis team by recognizing leadership qualities that are sharply different from those that are effective during calmer times.
• Communicating effectively via not only traditional media but also the ever more powerful social media outlets.
• Emerging from crisis as a stronger, more resilient organization.
• “No one teaches you to deal with a crisis,” Wooten says. “ But we lay out the groundwork. We tell you what you need to do and what the competencies are.
• Leading Under Pressure fills that gap in executives’ education and experiences.”