Navigating a crisis
During 2018-2019, the Canada School of Public Service organized three learning events on "Marquee Moments in Public Service History," a series on historical milestones in the Public Service of Canada. Senior leaders reflected on the successes, lessons learned, and stumbling blocks they encountered. You cannot predict when a crisis will arise, so you want to be ready. Learning from the actions of senior leaders who experienced unprecedented challenges can help you adapt and be better prepared.
10 lessons to help you navigate a crisis based on the experience of senior officials shared during the Marquee Moments Events Series
1. Be ready
While you can't accurately predict the next crisis, you can be sure one is on the horizon. You will only be as ready for it as the talent you have assembled in advance. Take steps today to develop your most important asset and source of resilience: your team. Prior to a crisis, know your bench strength, including who your problem spotters and problem solvers are. Build your team's confidence and identify areas for improvement through simulations and exercises, and plan for contingencies. Invest in relationships both inside and outside of government: in a crisis, established credibility with stakeholders goes a long way.
Highlight quotes
"Well, I guess, something I knew before 9/11 but that was really reinforced: in the end, the biggest resource we have is people. I would say this particularly to all of you who are managers. You need to think, always, and act in accordance with that - the biggest resource you have is people. How do you make sure they can do the best possible? Yes, that involves delegating, but you have to monitor, because not everybody lives up to what they've been asked. Training. Giving them confidence by doing things, and smoothing the way in crisis. Because if there's one thing I'm sure of: we will not know what the biggest crisis is next."
— Margaret Bloodworth
9/11 Crisis
"You never know when a crisis will occur. If you want to be ready, you can only be as ready as the talent you have assembled."
— Richard Dicerni
2008 Financial Crisis
"Governance. It's important how you're organized within your own sector, but also across government."
— Anita Biguzs
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
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2. Think differently
The public service is built on principles of stability and continuity. Crises rupture existing systems and demand that public servants adapt and find new solutions. Cultivate your judgement and learn how to act when there's no ruleset or other guardrails to guide you. Be flexible and bold: believe that the public service doesn't need to be exactly what you found. But remember: don't lose sight of accountability and oversight, even if they may take a different form than 'peace-time' measures.
Highlight quotes
"Believe. Believe that it does not need to be exactly what you found. And just visualize what it can be. Because it's all within reach."
— Jacques Cloutier
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
"In terms of the planning for us (and this is hindsight), you don't realize how programmed you are in terms of how you're going to do things, when in fact the situation really calls for a whole different paradigm."
— Mario Calla
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
"A truism: if you're prepared to do things differently, you can do virtually the impossible."
— Malcolm Brown
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
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3. Trust your team (and yourself)
Your team needs you to clear the way for them to do their best work. Remove roadblocks and manage critical relationships so your team can focus on the tasks at hand. Don't micromanage: you've built your team for a reason. Your time and focus are precious resources, so delegate where you can. Those you delegate to will one day be leading their own team through another crisis.
Highlight quotes
"I would say, though, that in any crisis of any magnitude, the worst thing you can do is try and micromanage the people on the ground trying to do their job."
— Margaret Bloodworth
9/11 Crisis
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4. Move together
Crises push the public service to work together towards a single objective. Be proactive: coordinate with departments, central agencies, other levels of government, and third parties to identify barriers that can be removed. Consider additional coordinating structures, such as an Ops Centre, a special advisor, or a regularly scheduled call with stakeholders. Communicate your needs clearly, ask what you can do to help, and avoid adding layers of approvals. Facilitate and support leaders and colleagues without supplanting them: there's no room for ego in a crisis.
Highlight quotes
"Teamwork. None of those would have been possible if we had operated the way we did a generation ago when I started in the public service."
— Malcolm Brown
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
"One of the takeaways from this financial crisis is that everything is connected. In order to fix a problem all parties across the financial industry needed to work together using the tools available. Working together on all levels, both domestically and internationally."
— Natalie Drouin
2008 Financial Crisis
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5. Establish real-time reporting and response mechanisms
You can't solve what you can't see. Develop tracking systems and dashboards that can be rolled up to brief ministers, and that help you spot and put out fires before they get out of hand. To protect the project, split your team's workflow: one sub-team deals with reporting, communications, and machinery issues, while the other sub‑team pushes the project forward. If you've waited until the crisis strikes to invest in data and organizational intelligence, it's already too late.
Highlight quotes
"Tracking systems, information is absolutely vital in terms of being able to move on something like this."
— Anita Biguzs
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
"On reporting, I can't emphasize this enough. So it's one thing you're creating the programs, you've got to get through Treasury Board, get it launched, negotiate with provinces [...] we started in the beginning, we knew we were going to get asked 84 questions a day, where's this, where's that... the design of the form and whole program was built around being around a system that would allow us to do real time reporting. If you don't have data and facts to answer that then the myths win. No shovels, no jobs. You have to have the data to substantiate it."
— John Forster
2008 Financial Crisis
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6. Anticipate the audit
Maintaining public trust is non-negotiable, especially during a crisis. Assume everything you do will be audited: bring in the internal audit team early and often, clarify program objectives up front, and document decisions and processes. And remember: if you act with integrity, transparency will always be your friend.
Highlight quotes
"Accountability. Don't forget accountability, because the Auditor General is going to audit you. Set it up up-front."
— Anita Biguzs
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
"We knew we were going to be audited. Everyone should run all programs knowing you're going to be audited."
— Yaprak Baltacioğlu
2008 Financial Crisis
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7. Stand behind your advice
Offer clear, concise, and thoughtful advice. Be honest and candid about the risks you face. In a crisis, things move quickly and lines of authority can blur: understand your role, as well as the role of those you report to. Don't water down your recommendations - decision-makers aren't obligated to take it. At the same time, remember that providing your best advice takes strength and tact. How you communicate is just as important as what you have to say.
Highlight quotes
"There were difficult moments that required speaking truth to power and committing to paper the reality that, "Minister, if you want to do this and that, the program will not work. I would not be doing my job as a deputy minister if I did not formally advise you not to proceed down the path that some of your advisors wish to proceed." You don't want to play that card too often, but in this case, I remember specifically making that case to the minister. He felt, in hindsight, that was the better call to make."
— Richard Dicerni
2008 Financial Crisis
"I think one lesson learned that I would take away from that, after all my years in government, but particularly when you're in a transition period, is to think carefully about how you build trust and relationships as a government. At the same time, you have to speak truth to power, and how you do that is very important, and the how is as important as the what in terms of how you present something."
— Anita Biguzs
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
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8. Remember your purpose
Leading through an emergency is draining. You will miss sleep and your family. Without a clear end in sight, maintaining morale and stamina is challenging. Keep the values that brought you into the public service close and remind others of the why behind the task at hand. A clear sense of shared purpose will help carry you and your team when the caffeine stops working.
Highlight quotes
"On reflection, I realized that all of this worked because all three orders of government, public institutions, and civil society had a clear sense of purpose, and were all aligned on the same objective."
— Mario Calla
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
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9. The crisis isn't over (even when it's over)
Life continues when headlines move on. A refugee's journey isn't over when the plane touches down. Consequences of policy decisions are often hidden or only become evident further down the road. Understand what downstream impacts you are introducing into your long-term environment when you focus exclusively on delivering short-term results, and don't leave partners holding the bag. As public servants, the long-term is our business.
Highlight quotes
"What then? Does it all stop the next day? Or are we done with this? What's the next piece? How does it become, then, part of your normal programmatic and sustained effort and response?."
— Jacques Cloutier
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
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10. Learn and adjust
Don't let a crisis go to waste. Consider what practices, processes, and tools that you deployed could be reproduced in your daily 'peace-time' work. Build lessons learned exercises into your regular workflow, and revisit these on a regular basis with your team to avoid having to relearn them. And remember to rest – you and your team will need to regain your strength before the next crisis hits.
Highlight quotes
"But there are elements, however, that perhaps we can reproduce and reflect on. If some of these practices and behaviours were a good idea in a time of crisis, why can't we reproduce good parts of them if they rethink our attitude to the risk of money being wasted, or how to use technology, or any number of issues?."
— Michael Wernick
Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initative
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