Leading from the Frontline : Leadership Lessons from Times of Crisis

A unique look at crisis leadership and the hard but invaluable lessons that can be learned in difficult and uncertain times. Our fascination with leadership runs deep and has done so for centuries – just witness the books on Nelson, Churchill and Thatcher. But what exactly are the attributes and competencies that separate those who lead effectively from those who won’t, don’t or can’t? For many people, the acid test of true leadership comes during moments of crisis, when the stakes are highest and the decisions most difficult. It’s no surprise, then, that our fascination with stories of leaders overcoming great adversity is endless. This interest has been exacerbated in recent years as every organisation in the world has found itself in a crisis at some level, whether due to a collapse in sales, an unexpected spike in demand, a logistics nightmare or the sheer uncertainty that the pandemic has wrought. Leading from the Frontline offers multiple perspectives of leadership from across multiple types of crisis. Each chapter tells the story of a leader who steered their organisation through a particularly tumultuous period. It looks at the challenges they faced, the decisions they were forced to make, the personal pressures they encountered, the lessons they learned and the mistakes they made. It also examines how the crisis they responded to subsequently changed their organisation or the environment in which they operate. Including issues of a medical, socio-political, environmental and military nature, while featuring a range of reputational crises case studies, Leading from the Frontline is essential reading for any leader to prepare their organisation for uncertain futures.