The most ignored leadership skill? Crisis readiness

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Before becoming a coach for neurodiverse individuals with ADHD, Justine Capelle Collis had a successful advertising career. She worked in Australia and the UK, and also across the US and Canadian markets. Her clients have included Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. 

And she achieved all this without realizing that she has ADHD.

That realization came when she became a mother. Both of her sons were diagnosed with ADHD, and she started asking questions. “How do I advocate” and get “the system to bend” for them, rather than having them “fit into the system and then break?” she asked.

She then went on a personal journey to retrain. Collis enrolled in post-graduate study, and went through a specialist coach training in neurodivergent coaching. But along the way, she received her own ADHD diagnosis. 

Being a mother of two sons with ADHD required “a different way of parenting,” she says. It also highlighted the feeling that something was off. 

“I couldn’t make sense of it,” Collis recalls. “I can have a successful career, I can achieve all of these incredible things. Why am I failing at this thing that I’m biologically wired to do: which is to have kids?” A conversation with a coach friend of hers, who was also practicing to be a neurodiversity coach, revealed some ‘penny-dropping’ moments. 

The reason she was able to succeed in her professional career, she explained, was that she had freedom and agency to design her working life in a way that aligned and worked for her. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case with other neurodiverse employees, who are often forced to survive in a world that is not designed or conducive to them doing their best.

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What do Marriott, Peloton, and Major League Baseball (MLB) have in common? Each has recently navigated a major crisis in the court of public opinion. Marriott’s licensing agreement termination with Sonder left guests stranded and fuming mid-stay. Peloton announced its second product recall in just two years. And the MLB is the latest major sports organization whose players have been swept up in sports betting scandals.

Crisis is everywhere. And while big brands may dominate the headlines, smaller companies face equally urgent situations. Regardless of a company’s size, leaders must be prepared when the ever-turning wheel of misfortune lands on their spot—because it will.

Despite this inevitability, less than half of U.S. companies have a formal crisis plan in place according to a 2023 report by Forbes. I see it in my workshops all the time. Fewer than a fourth of the countless leaders I’ve worked with have a dedicated crisis plan or team in place to help them navigate a crisis. Whether they are consciously kicking the can of crisis preparedness down the road or simply don’t know where to start, the consequences are the same. It’s not if you will ever experience a crisis, it’s when and how severe. Failing to prepare can shatter reputations, destroy careers, and cripple revenue in a matter of moments. Here are four actionable steps to ensure you aren’t caught off guard when crisis hits.

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