The Second Coming-of-Age of Humanitarian Leadership
From Appeals to Architecture — Why Resilience Is the New Credibility
Writing
Essays on crisis leadership
Lessons from search and rescue, disaster response, and institutional crises on leading when the ground gives way.
Leadership in an Age of Systemic Disruption
For much of modern history, leaders could focus on managing change within relatively stable systems. Markets shifted gradually.
The Crisis Leader - New and Revised Edition
In a world increasingly shaped by disruption, uncertainty, and “permacrisis,” the ability to lead through chaos is no longer a niche skill; it is a core leadership imperative.
Why Crisis Leaders Must Be Vulnerable
The Marble Statue Myth
How to Build Rapport Fast in a Crisis Situation
When the room is hot with fear, your most powerful tool is not a perfect plan or a heroic speech. It’s rapport, the felt sense that “you see me, you hear me, and I can trust you enough to move with you.” In The Crisis Leader, I argue that rapid rapport is...
The Leader Who Had No Title: Influence from the Ground Up
Crises have a way of reordering the world’s assumptions. Systems that look strong on paper bend under pressure; ten-step plans collapse under the weight of reality; job titles lose their magic.
Storytelling in Crisis: How to Inspire Through Vision
Sirens don’t move people. Stories do.
Talk Straight, Listen First: The Role of Honest Communication
In a crisis, information is oxygen. When people can’t breathe, they can’t think; when they can’t think, they can’t act.
Building Trust in the First 24 Hours of a Crisis
Trust is the speed at which people will follow you into the unknown.
The Power of Influence in Times of Chaos
When the sky falls in, people don't instinctively run to the org chart. They run to the person who calms them, the one who acts, the one they trust.