Those of you who are interested in leading in extreme contexts may find my recent piece published in Accountancy Ireland of relevance. The article distils four lessons from environments of conflict to help organisational actors lead and manage through the COVID-19 crisis and into an uncertain future.
I have reproduced some of the content below but you can read the full article in this months magazine. Huge thanks to the team and in particular Michael Diviney for their patient editorial process and wonderful graphics (above).
“The COVID-19 pandemic is frequently referred to as a ‘war’. We hear about thebattle for ventilators and the need for collective action against an invisible enemy. But what does the reality of wartime tell us about managing through, and beyond, a system shock like COVID-19? While there is no rulebook to guide our responses, we do know a great deal about the positive behaviour of leaders in other extreme situations, navigating rapid system-wide change, and facing risk and imminent danger.
My research on leaders and managers operating in extremis provides some insight into the leadership behaviours and practices that work best in stressful and complicated environments.
The individuals I have spoken to have managed to maintain organisational life and direction in contexts of emergency, violence and disruption. These include police and other ‘blue light’ services, those running businesses and public services in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, entrepreneurs in the Basque country during the ETA campaigns and, most extreme of all, those driving organisational activity in Bosnia during the dreadful siege of Sarajevo…”
Joanne Murphy 
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