“Hi Anthony, I have a called meeting tomorrow that conflicts with tomorrow’s webinar. No need to change anything – I would like to propose one of my key lieutenants present in my absence. Are you OK with that? Sorry for the short notice, and appreciate your understanding, some things you just cannot control.”
First off, when “are you ok with that” is followed by “appreciate your understanding,” the latter cancels the former and there is no longer any question to which you need reply. As quickly as possible, you must shift from “how could you do this to me?” to “how am I going to deal with what’s been done.”
The first question I had to address was: would the substitute speaker suffice, knowing that anything other than CIO or associate CIO would be suboptimal — we are healthsystemCIO.com, after all. But when I saw a VP in the title, I knew it would suffice. And besides, with over 150 folks registered for the upcoming Webinar (which was coming up in less than 48 hours), we didn’t have any other good options.
We decided to take our original speaker up on his offer.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the only wrinkle with the particular Webinar in question, as our sponsor had yet to tell us who their five-minute speaker would be. Usually, this information is attained two weeks before the event so a template can be sent and rehearsal arranged, if necessary. Our backup plan to having a sponsor speaker was to create a slide based on their Web site and read some boilerplate, thanking them for their support. This, I had all prepared.
Of course, when I sat down to my desk on the morning of the event, I saw an email from Nancy relating that the sponsor-speaker identity had been revealed — perhaps they were going for the late-entrance effect? So on top of having to onboard a new main speaker, I was also scrambling to get the sponsor speaker up to speed.
And to finish off the cake, I was having Webex/PowerPoint trouble. Apparently these two kids occasionally fight in the sandbox, at least when PowerPoint 2013 is involved (curse the day I upgraded from Office 2010). Whenever I tried to upload the deck to Webex, it wouldn’t work. I found out this was because PowerPoint had disabled a Webex plug-in, but whenever I reactivated the plugin, it crashed PowerPoint. Fun stuff.
Oh, and as for the icing on that finished cake, I had a family member in the hospital — having been admitted the day before. So, in addition to managing the above fun, I was texting with that loved one (alone at that time) so they didn’t feel isolated.
“Here is the storm,” I thought, mentally hunkering down. “Let’s get through it.”
Now, this is not the story of what an intrepid fellow I am, but rather how, in general, to handle storms. Speaking of storms, I just started watching an American Experience five-part series on JFK the other night and one of the first things that was noted about him was his ability to not only stay calm during such storms (and we know he faced one of the most serious ones in history) but to attain an even higher level of composure, focus and objectivity during them.
In short, crisis can take you in either of two directions. For those who can lead, who thrive in that role, it has the effect Kennedy displayed, the same effect famous athletes like Eli Manning and Tom Brady exhibit on the football field during playoff games — it makes them better.
For those unsuited to leadership, crisis brings about that most detrimental of reactions — panic; for once it begins, rational thought ends, and with it, the ability to make sound decisions. Watching a few episodes of one of my favorite shows, “I Shouldn’t Be Alive,” will tell you all you need to know about the importance of avoiding panic.
So as the storm broke over me (minor though it was by just about any comparison), rather than emotionally rising up, I intentionally tried to concentrate down into something more solid, formidable and calm. I worked, as a good general, to defeat each individual challenge in detail, rather than being overwhelmed by the prospect of facing their combined forces.
And, perhaps most importantly, I tried to quickly dispose of any frustration or anger at what was happening, for we must remember that it is not shocking when things go wrong, but that they go right so often. As such, think of crises and important opportunities to practice your leadership skills for, as Dave Miller has written, it is during those times when they are most needed.
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