There once was an insurance company - Commercial Union - who ran a thought-provoking and successful advertising campaign back in 1988.
Their slogan was "We won't make a Drama out of a Crisis".
It was striking at the time, but it's as still relevant today.
Their use of "make" reminds us that we are always creating our experience of the world around us. And it also points to a useful distinction between "what is" and "what isn't".
The crisis in itself just "is". Perhaps a home has been damaged by fire. Or a laptop stolen from the pub. These are the facts of the matter.
What "isn't" is the story we tell ourselves about it.
Ironically much of our suffering comes from those stories we tell ourselves about whatever happened, especially when it relates to loss, and/or the future.
But they are just stories. Nothing else.
So what does this have to do with leadership?
Things are always going to go wrong. It's inevitable, and part of the job.
The question is, are you going to make a drama out of a crisis? Or are you going to get and stay calm and, therefore, resourceful?
And if you're calm, can you help your team members and everyone else around you get and stay calm too?
If everyone is calm, you can unlock so much more creativity in how you handle whatever happened. If you panic, or get upset, you will always have far fewer options.
