Book chapter
Leading Through Stress in an Organization
Perspectives on Leadership in Health Professions Education, pp 187-199
2026
Featured in Collection : Drexel's Newest Publications
Abstract
The chapter explores how great leaders can respond, shape, and even thrive in challenging times of crisis and stress. A recurring theme is uncertainty, often summarized under the VUCA framework: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Effective leaders manage these challenges with flexibility, collaboration, foresight, and communication. Key strategies for crisis management include low-data decision-making, prioritizing practical questioning over analysis paralysis, and utilizing “emotion resets” to navigate difficult moments. Handling outrage-driven crises involves creating a safe space for discussion, analyzing causes, and strategically mobilizing responses. Building and leveraging networks—comprising operational, personal, and strategic connections—is essential for support, guidance, and resilience. Leadership in a crisis necessitates fostering trust through empathy, clear values, and reliability. Effective crisis plans should address change management and focus on communication, as transparency builds trust while reducing uncertainty. Leaders are encouraged to adopt Kotter’s change management model, emphasizing urgency, coalition-building, and sustained action. Self-care for leaders is another focal point, with practices like resilience-building and improvisation emphasized to maintain stability. Mistakes in crisis management are inevitable; leaders should communicate openly, take responsibility, and pivot effectively. Viewing crises as opportunities for innovation and growth underscores the potential to use challenging moments as catalysts for positive change.
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Details
- Title
- Leading Through Stress in an Organization
- Creators
- Nancy D. Spector - Drexel UniversityBarbara Overholser - Drexel University
- Contributors
- Kelly M. Quesnelle (Editor)Kathryn N. Huggett (Editor)
- Publication Details
- Perspectives on Leadership in Health Professions Education, pp 187-199
- Series
- IAMSE Manuals
- Publisher
- Springer Nature ; Cham
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Pediatrics; College of Medicine
- Other Identifier
- 991022150007204721