The key dimension in successfully meeting crisis is leadership. Leadership is usually defined as mobilizing and motivating individual human talent in pursuit of collective ends. However, during crisis, leadership must surpass the usual definition and become something deeper. The stories of organiza-tional survival during crisis are almost always stories of individuals overcoming challenges through heroic action. Unforeseen capabilities and strengths come to the fore, inspiring new organizational possibility.

Leadership that transcends the ordinary, that becomes generative, is rooted in the human qualities of imagination, courage and creativity:

55Imagination: Applying images— myths, stories, archetypes—to gain insight into fundamental questions

55Courage: Developing the capacity to do what one knows is right—noble purpose

55Creativity: Seeking energy and direction outside the normal boundaries of consciously rational human experience to restructure meanings and re-organize the operating frameworks within which existence is defined—initiation, self-transformation

Most leadership theories concentrate on external manifestations of leadership, but generative leadership is best understood by considering a leader’s internal orientation. The qualities of imagination, courage and creativity can best be measured by a leader’s development along three dimensions of spirituality—consciousness (mind), moral character (heart) and faith (soul).*

This is the essence of generative leadership—transformative change to new ways of being. Organizations—much like human beings—usually do not seek out this kind of change; it takes a crisis to motivate this kind of transcendent action. When you are facing a time of crisis and want to know what steps are needed to move forward, Equilibria is here to help.

For more information regarding Equilibria’s approach to Generative Leadership, please see the section on Imagination.

*The three dimensions of spirituality referenced are taken from Sanders, J.E. (3rd), Hopkins, W.E. & Geroy, G.D. (2003). From transactional to transcendental: toward an integrated theory of leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 9(4), pp. 21-31.

Many organizations have experienced a time of crisis. It may have been brought on by the loss of a significant relationship—a primary customer or supplier; a change in the competitive landscape, a new player with a technological edge, a radical new business model, as seen with the advent of the Internet; or internal problems—overwhelmed systems or inadequate processes. Such crises are especially devastating to organiza-tions that are accustomed to being effective. They discover that normal ways of doing business, achieving results and solving problems no longer work.

What happens when an organization is faced with a crisis? Most organizations are so busy doing, acting, achieving, that they rarely take the time to reflect on what they are doing and why. When they find themselves coming up against a wall, they do not have available the appropriate responses to solve problems and move forward. Doubt and ambiguity begin to take their toll.

Although crises pose huge challenges, they also open up opportunities to be more effective. They force an organization to get out of its accustomed routines, to make new connections, to redefine itself and move in a new direction. The organization is forced to think about itself in new ways. It begins to ask questions that go beyond “What are we going to do next?”