How do you balance empathy and professionalism when dealing with a crisis?

2 critical actions a leader must do: (1) Take the blame. The captain goes down with the ship. Do not allow others to be blamed. (2) Realize that whoever was remotely involved in the problem feels bad. We all want to succeed and none of us want to let teammates down. You do not need to tell any good performer they fell short. They have already told themselves this much more harshly. You have to show them the path to growth and success from where they are.

Key here is the ability to see the event as an opportunity for learning. This helps us to frame the event as something which can lead to progress rather seeing it as a blocker to success. Leaders play an important role here as their response to a crisis will set the tone for the entire team and organisation. Seeing the possibilities and articulating those to everyone involved, co-creating them together where possible, can turn a crisis into an opportunity for a team to show what it’s really made of.

Unless you operate from a position of growth mindset, this will be harder to do. Believing that everyone has the capacity to learn and grow, that challenges are an opportunity for growth, and knowing that there is learning that can be done in any and every situation, will put you in a strong position to adapt to any change.

See crisis and problems as learning and growth, not personal flaws. No leader has the luxury of a private crisis. Your team comes with you. Bring them along and they will carry you through it.

Separate fixing the problem from the later process of figuring out why it happened. As a leader, closely look for: (1) Was the error accidental, negligent, or nearly willful (intentional)? (2) What systems were in place to avoid relying on human diligence (which we know will always fail in the end)? Sometimes peer pressure outweighs manager support. Clearly communicate the message to the entire team and coach your direct reports on how to handle team engagement on a day-to-day basis.