7 Steps For Dealing With Crisis On The Job

The freak October snow storm has left 86% of my town without power. The temperature in my house when I woke up this morning was 54.8 degrees. Outside it was 26. Halloween has been cancelled. There are trees and power lines down everywhere. To say the least, this week is going to be filled with a fair amount of adversity for me, my family and my neighbors as we try to get through this crisis. Seems like an opportune time to think about how adversity and crisis relate to our careers if you ask me...

How do you respond to adversity? When it gets tough on the job, do you step up? Do you adopt a "Do whatever it takes" attitude to get the job done? Or do you find yourself struggling to cope with the pressure? My coworker referred to in this post did not deal well when things didn't go right and her reputation reflected as much.

Granted, no one likes it when things go wrong. We don't go looking for trouble at work. By nature, we actually plan in ways that avoid disaster and crisis rather than invite them.  But at the same time it's bound to happen eventually and how we deal with it makes all the difference in the world. A few simple steps may help you get through the storm and its aftermath while also helping you build a reputation as someone who can be counted on to rise to the occasion when things don't go right.

Control Your Emotions
Allowing your emotions to take over, especially in the early stages of a crisis, can be detrimental. Be prepared at all times. Know that as problems arise your emotional response may be to overact or panic and get out in front of that so you can...

Maintain a Clear Head at All Times
Being able to think clearly is imperative and you won't be able to do that if your emotions have gotten the best of you. You don't want to say something you will regret later. So step back, take a breath and...

Fully Assess the Situation
Gather the facts and listen carefully to people even if they are upset to the point that they are yelling at you. Many a time in the theatre was I confronted by an artist who had allowed his/her emotions to take over to the point of yelling. Sometimes we get yelled at even when the problems aren't our fault. If you get upset and start yelling at people too, then there are two upset yelling people, which will never allow a solution to be reached because you won't be able to stop and...

Listen
If people, no matter how upset they are, know that you are listening to them you are going to build credibility. Listening allows the upset people to vent their frustrations and allows you to hear what they believe the problems to be. It might also help to repeat what you are hearing just to make sure you understand the situation and prove that you hear what is being said. So instead of responding when emotions are high, listen and...

Gather the Facts
In order for any solution to be reached we must first get all of the available information so that a course of action can be reached. In some cases, it may be a good idea to...

Ask for Help
Getting through a crisis situation as a team or at least with one other person is much better than doing it by yourself.  Even if they aren't involved, bending the ear of someone you trust can help. The other people will help think of things you might miss. They can also lend their experience to the situation and help you be sure that everything is being thought of.  After all, isn't the ultimate goal to...

Decide On the Best Course of Action
You need to do the best you can with the resources and knowledge you have available to you at the time. In the end, your course of action may prove to be the wrong one but you will at least know that you did everything you could to make the right choices.