Crisis! Keeping a Cool Head When It Counts

How do human beings really act when things go wrong, and what can you do to create an organization that acts intelligently in times of crisis?

The crisis

The coal miners were well-trained in what to do in case of a fire. That's why what they actually did was so surprising. When the alarm sounded, the first thing they did was nothing – they ignored not only the alarm, but also a dispatcher's phone call telling them to evacuate. They had heard false alarms before and assumed this was the same; they chose an interpretation consistent with their past experience.

Then, when they encountered smoke, they realized the situation was different than "normal." At this point, they engaged in a flurry of disorganized actions, unrelated to what they were trained to do, running around, yelling, "What do we do? What do we do?"

Those actions were followed shortly by an "inventory" phase. They had a team meeting, took stock of the situation, and discussed what to do.

Finally, they started engaging in the actions they were trained to take – donning oxygen equipment and following evacuation routes to safety. Leadership emerged at this point, keeping people together and focus on productive actions. But the leaders people chose to follow were not necessarily the "official" leaders, i.e., the foremen; they were the more seasoned miners and those with experience in fires.

All 24 miners escaped unharmed. The events that occurred in this 1988 coal fire were studied by social scientists, who published their analysis in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 27, No. p, 1991, p. 452.

How the brain works

This event illustrates what happens when the human brain confronts crisis. Every leader will confront crises, and therefore, it's worth thinking about how to create an organization that is capable for making good decisions and engaging in productive actions when faced with an emergency.

Humans have both a rational brain (the neocortex) and an emotional brain (the amygdala). We like to think our rational brain is in charge, but in fact, in a threatening situation, our emotional brain is in charge. The amygdala is activated first in the case of a threat; it gets information and blood flow before the neocortex does. The amygdala prepares the body for action by flooding it with adrenaline and other chemicals the body needs to take immediate action. At that stage, the only actions available are those that are instinctive and those that are well-rehearsed habits.

The neocortext takes a back seat until the amygdala has done it's job and the chemical cocktail it dispenses has subsided. Then, and only then, do we start thinking rationally. Then, and only then, can we call on recent memories, such as what we learned in that that training course we took last week. Then and only then can we engage in planning.

Steps you can take

Here are the steps leaders can take to enable themselves and their organizations respond intelligently in times of crisis:

The immediate steps are:

1. Pay attention. Recognize reality. Recognize change. When you receive information that is inconsistent with your belief about the way things are, don't stick to your beliefs. Change your mental model as needed to accommodate new information. Welcome others who do the same. As the leader, don't place yourself in the position of being the sole interpreter of reality.
2. When an emergency occurs, resist the very strong urge to take immediate action. When possible, wait until the adrenaline surge subsides. Wait until your neocortex is in control.
3. Train people in what to do in case of predictable emergencies. This helps develop habits that will become automatic responses, so people don't have to rely on memory or planning, both of which are governed by the rational brain and therefore not operating at that time.
4. When leading others, be aware that they need to go through all the same stages you did (lack of awareness, denial, the flurry of disorganized activity) before they are willing to accept leadership and engage in planning. Provide lots of information and clear direction to help them through this initial stage.
5. Encourage natural leaders to step up to the plate and help lead. Don’t rely exclusively on people in formal leadership positions.
6. Work together. Help others. Humans are social animals and our brains are wired to work most effectively when interacting with others and thinking about others.

These are steps for building an organization that functions intelligently in times of crisis:

1. Learn from your experience. Conduct non-judgmental debriefings after the emergency has passed, to determine what happened, the results, and what can be done differently next time.
2. Create a culture that rewards methodical decision-making rather than heroics. In a culture that rewards heroes, people learn to act first and think later.
3. Create a culture that does not artificially induce a sense of crisis. Crises lead to poor decision-making. In the long run, the stress of being in a constant state of crisis burns people out.

Now, go back to the beginning of this article and re-read what the coal miners did. Then consider your own reaction during September and October of 2008 as the stock market tumbled. Anything look familiar?