Course Introduction

As the risk stakes increase in our uncertain world, the requirement to plan ahead for crisis has never been greater.  If you are undecided where to begin or require a refresher on latest international best practice, then I can think of no better place than attending this new dynamic Oxford Management Centre training course.  It will assist and guide you to understand the nature of crises, how to get the utmost from your response team and crucially, how you respond as a leader. This includes how you manage yourself, your team and the stress and emotions encountered in a crisis.

It will centre on your role as a leader through turbulent times – what interventions to make and when to delegate, this will ensure your team and organisation stays positive, productive and connected. 

The training course will highlight: 

• The nature of a crises – how they typically pan out - models and stages?
• Human behaviour traits - how people respond to crises?
• Command of the Decision-Making process in times of high stress levels
• Leadership interventions, what skills are required to maintain morale and productivity
• How to lead and get the very best out of your teams, the tools, and best practices?

Objectives

By the end of this training course, you will have learned how to: 

• Identify the potential impact of Crisis, and importantly, how to circumvent it
• Managing your own emotions ensures minimization of stress to yourself & your team
• Proactively plan through the identified stages of crisis management
• Recognise and deal with dysfunctional behaviour, often caused by crises
• Create a compelling clear vision to guide people to a future beyond the crisis

Training Methodology

This Leading through Crisis training course will utilise a variety of proven highly interactive adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension and retention of the information presented. This includes syndicate and individual exercises, relevant videos and case studies and role-play exercises. A comprehensive e-version of the training course manual including copies of all slides, handouts and checklists will be provided.

Organisational Impact

This training course will benefit organisations in all business sectors. It will provide tools and techniques to refocus the risk, the response and the decision-making process towards business survival in a major crisis.

• C-Suite board members awareness of risk identification & crisis management
• Enhancing the qualities of key corporate decision makers
• Enhancing communication skills for and between stakeholders
• Over the horizon scenario planning for future events
• Identifying role specific training for all CMT members

Personal Impact

Delegates attending this course will gain an improved personal knowledge of threats and risks to their organisation and how as individuals they can respond to incidents and crises in a calm, decisive and professional manner.

• Assessment of your current Leadership Skills in all key sectors
• Enhancing team and self-management skills
• Personal self-evaluation audits on decision-making
• Understanding your team’s behaviour and psychology in a crisis
• Enhancing your emotional intelligence and managing stress levels

Who Should Attend?

This training course is extremely valuable for all those professionals who have responsibility for Emergency Response or Crisis Management Teams. For those who aspire to become a leader during a future or potential crisis situation.

It is suitable to a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit: 

• Team leaders
• Team managers
• HSSE Professionals
• Project team managers
• Fire & Security Professionals
• Process Safety Professionals

Course Outline

DAY 1

No Organisation is immune from crisis, recognition of this is essential for Leaders to create a crisis-resilient culture.

• Definition and nature of a crisis, how to recognise a crisis-prone organisation
• Advising the C-suite of all the potential critical risks
• Reactions to crises – a set of models to help you understand yourself & team
• Personal response to crisis - qualities of leaders in times of crisis - a self-audit
• Leadership skills - Creating a pro-active crisis management culture
• Leadership skills - How to manage the “denial-curve”
• Leadership skills - How to avoid “Group-think”
• Example of corporate self-inflicted Crises & Discussion

DAY 2

Leading Teams & Organisations Through Crisis

• Six key steps for achieving effective Team Management in a Crisis
• Team makeup, who are the key members
• Crisis Communications – how to avoid the ten most common mistakes
• Using social media to keep ALL your stakeholders informed
• How to keep your team motivated, focused and productive in a crisis
• Building a culture of self-reliance in crisis and remote working situations

DAY 3

Basically, leadership in a crisis comes down to the skills, abilities and decision-making of you and your team 

• Rational Human Behaviour in a Crisis
• Individual and Collective Psychology in a crisis
• Individual and collective Decision-making in a crisis
• Techniques for managing stress - your own and your team’s
• How different personalities respond to crises and how you can help them through it
• How personal experience can help or hinder your leadership in a crisis
• Working with emotional intelligence in a crisis

DAY 4

Operations, Emergency Response, and Incident Command

• Discuss the three main levels: Strategic, Tactical and Operational
• Core Roles & Responsibilities: Analysis of the whole team
• Delegation through mission-based leadership
• Opportunity in times of crises – looking beyond the horizon
• Setting a clear, inspiring vision for exiting the crisis
• Managing the new ‘Business as Usual’ in the return to ‘normality’

DAY 5

Training & Exercising of your Crisis Management Team CMT

• How to build a culture of learning and development during a crisis
• “One size does not fit all” - How to identify “role-specific” training for the CMT
• What Crisis “Drills” can be considered from a provided list
• Investigate the many types of Crises Exercises that are available
• Exercising, selecting the most appropriate type of event and objectives
• Using scenario planning to look at potential future events
• Overview of the Course
• Individual Action Plans