Have you ever worked with someone that made you think, “Whoa! This person is so smart and insightful. I can’t believe I get to work with them.”? In the 16 years I’ve been teaching and had my own coaching practice, I’ve been fortunate to feel that way about a number of individuals, but I think Ken Keen may be a front runner in this department. As a retired Lt. General with a 38-year career in the US Army, Ken has been in situations I can scarcely fathom. He’s had opportunities to lead in unique places and during times of volatility. So, when I got to sit down with him recently to discuss “leading in times of crisis” you’d better believe I was taking notes. After listening to Ken, I found he was able to communicate “three things that the best leaders do in times of crisis” that I want to share with you.  

1. The Best Leaders Lead Themselves First

During our conversation, Ken described being in Haiti on January 12, 2010, the day of its most devastating earthquake. There on a US informational mission with his team, Ken was at the home of a Haitian dignitary when the earth rumbled and suddenly buildings around them began to collapse. Devastation ensued and among the tragedies, several members of Ken’s team were injured, and one was killed.  What became crucial to Ken and the other leaders in the situation was that first and foremost they were able to lead themselves. As Ken explained, it was their job to control their own emotions and show empathy to those around them who were suffering most.

Clearly, that’s no easy task! When I asked Ken how one prepares for such a situation, he reminded me,

“You have to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others. In order to do that, you’ve got to always be working to improve your own education, awareness and knowledge of your own strengths and your weaknesses and know how to leverage those strengths to be more attuned to understanding others.”

In other words, know yourself. Understand how you currently react in times of pressure and then ask, “How can I get better at handling situations like this?” Are you unsure how you respond, or what you could be doing differently or better? Ken says the key is to surround yourself with people you trust to provide you with honest and constructive feedback. Then, use that feedback for progress.

This is something I do with many of my coaching clients. In order to help them hone the areas and skills they need to address most, I often conduct 360 interviews with their teammates, direct reports and clients in order to get a sense of where they’re at compared to where they want to go. Once we can identify the gaps in their skillset, we know where we need to work together to develop those areas more fully.

2. The Best Leaders Ask Questions

Once a leader has themselves under control, it’s still not quite time to begin mobilizing. Instead,  it’s crucial, Ken says, to begin reaching out to those affected by the crisis and ask questions. He says,

“Take some time to ask those you’re working with ‘1.How are you doing? 2. What can I do to help? And 3. most importantly, What do you need?’ The key here is to not assume that you know what others need or that you know what they want you to do. Your perspective and theirs may be very different.”

Even in a situation like Ken’s where he was literally sent to aid a community, his first step was to ask others what their needs were. As he explained, it’s particularly important to do this because it empowers the people you’re supposed to be helping. It provides them a sense of agency in a time where they otherwise feel like they have no control. Once you become aware of what the prevailing needs are around you, it helps you formulate a plan of action as to how to achieve those identified needs. That’s when you can mobilize.

3. The Best Leaders Double Down On Trust

Once the plan of action has been determined, Ken says how a leader is able to respond and mobilize their team is a direct result of how much equity they’ve put in the bank with their team. That it is, ideally there needs to be some kind of foundation of trust from which to work from. Without it, there is a tremendous disadvantage to being able to accomplish the goals at hand.

However, a foundation of trust before action isn’t always possible. Ken described the situation in which he found himself in 2011, where that was not the case. He had been placed in charge of overseeing the US Army forces in Pakistan shortly after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. Tensions between the US and Pakistan were high and there was a serious escalation of distrust on both sides. As bad as relations were, Ken knew they could always become worse. Regrettably, they did when there was accidental US gunfire that killed several Pakistani soldiers along the border.  It was then that Ken had to lean on his ability to create trust with his Pakistani counterpart.

“I realized I could have a personal trust with the Pakistani leader even when he didn’t necessarily trust the US because he found me and my actions credible. I knew whatever I told him I would do, I had to follow through and do it. As long as I did that, he considered me credible and would work with me.”

Ken’s credibility was an indispensable currency in that situation.

Continually working to protect that credibility is key. As Ken explains,

“How you establish, maintain and think about things that may erode credibility is going to have a long-term effect. Frankly, it can be nearly impossible to build back credibility once it’s been damaged.”

That’s where Ken and I both agree that the iteration of the Trust formula I’ve talked about is so important:

Trust= (Authenticity + Vulnerability) x Credibility

As Ken described, he had to be willing to show some cards to the Pakistani leader; he had to be real. That was how he practiced Authenticity and Vulnerability. Then, Ken had to personally make some promises and work to fulfill them in order to build his Credibility. Because of his ability to do that he was able to build Trust—and get done what he needed to do as part of his mission.

(In case you haven’t seen or heard this formula, I write about it in my book “The Hot Sauce Principle” which happens to be on sale this week, so check it out!)

It’s unlikely that many of us will find ourselves negotiating with a foreign military leader in a time of political upheaval, but we will no doubt have our own crisis we will need to lead our people through, whether it’s our team at the office or even within our own families. I hope my conversation with Ken gives you much to reflect on and a great playbook from which to operate. Remember to lead yourself first, ask others questions, and operate with credibility to build trust. Crisis is never easy or fun. But with the right tools, we can handle it well.