TL;DR
The way leaders respond to a crisis can make and break their careers. This piece dives into the four rules that will never change in crisis communications and how leaders can get ahead of when that day arrives.
I found myself answering the “oh crap” question a lot last year: “What would you do?”
The catalyst was the infamous Astronomer CEO scandal that played out very publicly – and quickly – reminding everyone that crisis doesn’t knock, doesn’t schedule itself politely, and definitely doesn’t wait until Monday morning.
Even as the media cycle and people’s attention spans shorten, nothing about good crisis communications has fundamentally changed. What has changed, though, is how visible and costly the same old mistakes have become.
Good crisis communications isn’t about spin. It’s about accountability, action, and trust.
The Four Rules That Never Change
After decades in communications and crisis, the framework to address a crisis still holds.
1. Acknowledge the problem
If you don’t say what happened, you can’t fix or address anything. You don’t need to give all the answers, but you do need to clearly and quickly acknowledge that there is a problem. Silence, denial, or delay only tells people you’re avoiding responsibility and could make the situation even worse.
2. Take responsibility
Saying “not our fault” is never believable in a crisis. Real leadership owns the issue – whether it came from bad decisions, bad or negligible, or broken systems. Taking responsibility early contains the damage and shows integrity when it matters most.
3. Over-correct the issue
Fixing the surface problem isn’t enough to rebuild trust with the people who have been affected. Over-correction shows you understand the seriousness of what happened and are committed to preventing it from ever happening again. This often means making uncomfortable, expensive, or highly visible changes and sticking to it no matter the cost.
4. Over-communicate the response
Crisis communication is never a single statement. It’s an ongoing commitment that continues well beyond when the situation is “fixed.” Say what you know, what you’re doing next, and when people will hear from you again and most importantly: follow through. If you don’t communicate consistently, others will fill the gap with their own narrative.
What Works in a Crisis (Still)
When you look at some of the biggest crises within the last year and before, the organizations that stabilized the fastest all did the same things.
They told the truth early, even when it was incomplete. They spoke like humans, not legal documents. They put people – especially their employees – first, and they stayed consistent across every audience and channel.
Plain language matters. Empathy matters. Visibility matters in a crisis.
This is the make-it-or-break-it area for leadership teams and where they tend to struggle internally. Legal teams want precision and protection. Communications teams want clarity and speed. But here’s a reality that leaders keep relearning: legal cover that destroys trust and affinity creates long-term risks.
When you communicate clearly and honestly, problems resolve faster.
The Real Lessons for Leaders in 2026
Crisis communication is not an individual performance – it’s a team sport.
You need to plan before you need it. Identify your spokespeople with backups. Pre-draft holding statements. Clear internal communication pathways. And always have an unambiguous commitment to employees first.
If you say you’ll update in two hours, give an update in two hours – even if nothing has changed and the update is “we have no update.” Reliability builds trust when certainty is impossible.
The part that’s hardest for leaders is that you never rise in a crisis – you fall to your own level of preparation. And if you haven’t prepared, the fall is steep and bumpy.
Crisis Isn’t the Test – Preparation Is
Looking back, the crises of 2025 didn’t teach us new rules. It reminded us which ones still work.
Acknowledge the issue. Take responsibility. Over-correct. Over-communicate.
They’re not glamorous or fast, but they’re how trust survives when everything else is on fire.Listen to Lee’s podcast episode on the topic here!