Blog Leading Through Crisis Part 2—Who Steps Up, Who Shuts Down Share This post is the second in a three-part series on how leaders can effectively guide their teams through crisis, disruption, and uncertainty. Read part 1 here. Reassess your team. Recognize the patterns. Build the right bench. In part one of this series, we explored the phases of a crisis and how effective leaders can recognize where they are, set context for their teams, and drive the momentum needed to move forward. But recognizing the stages of a crisis is only the beginning. The real challenge is understanding how your people respond. Some will rise to the occasion. Others will struggle. Some will completely surprise you. As a leader, your job is to reassess your team quickly and objectively, identify who’s ready to lead through disruption and offer the right support to those who aren’t there yet. Here’s where it gets even more complicated: Peacetime performance doesn’t always predict wartime leadership. The people you counted on in steady-state may not be the ones you’ll count on now. Here’s what to watch for and how to lead through it. Recognizing the Patterns: How People Tend to React Under Pressure Not all reactions to crisis are created equal. Some behaviors to watch include: The Frozen Executive: This team member becomes paralyzed by uncertainty. They hesitate, delay decisions, or get overwhelmed by imperfect information. You’ll see them avoid action or endlessly escalate small decisions to others. How to help: Give them smaller, time-bound decisions to make. Provide guardrails but push for forward motion. The Reckless Decision-Maker: Fast-moving and seemingly decisive, these team members are often more reactive rather than thoughtful. They may rush into decisions without fully considering consequences, trying to “fix” problems quickly to reduce their own discomfort. How to help: Slow them down. Pair them with a steadying partner or require a simple checkpoint before moving forward. The Consensus Builder: Overwhelmed by the risk of being wrong, they look to build consensus on every move, diluting urgency and delaying progress. Their instincts come from a good place, but they can slow down necessary action. How to help: Set expectations for independent ownership. Normalize that imperfect decisions are inevitable in a crisis. The Steady Hand: These are your go-to people. They maintain perspective, take in new information, weigh risks, and move forward deliberately without being paralyzed or reckless. They absorb stress rather than amplify it. How to support: Give them room to lead. Pull them into critical conversations early. Recognize and reinforce the behaviors you want more of. What to Watch for When Assessing Your Team In the early stages of a crisis, it’s critical to go to manual—to stop assuming you know how each person will perform and start assessing in real-time. Look closely at decision quality: Are they able to make imperfect but thoughtful decisions, or are they freezing or rushing? Pay attention to communication clarity: Are they providing context and building confidence or sowing confusion? And watch their energy and engagement levels—whether they are leaning in or checking out—as well as their ability to absorb stress without passing it onto others. These early signals will tell you who’s finding their footing and who may need more active support. How to Lead Through These Differences Meet people where they are: Different team members will need different kinds of leadership. Some will need hands-on support. Others will need more autonomy to lead in their own right. Create opportunities for emerging leaders: Crises often reveal unexpected talent. Give new voices room to contribute, and don’t just reward tenure. Protect your steady hands from burnout: Top performers often take on more by default. Stay close, check in regularly, and make sure your best players aren’t stretched too thin. Crisis Reshapes Teams. That’s a Good Thing. Crisis conditions reveal new strengths, expose hidden gaps, and reshape the way teams work together. Some people will emerge stronger. Some will need time and help to recalibrate. And some will show you, maybe for the first time, what they’re truly capable of. The best leaders reassess without judgment, support without coddling, and recognize that how someone shows up today will shape how the team moves forward tomorrow. In part three of this series, we’ll focus on how to rebuild alignment, reestablish clarity, and create momentum, even when the path ahead remains uncertain.