The alarm sounds. Radios crackle with urgent voices, and in seconds, everything changes. This is when real leaders emerge, because leadership theories are tested not in classrooms but in crisis. When an emergency strikes, carefully crafted leadership plans often crumble. What remains is something far more essential: the character forged through experience and the instincts honed by countless smaller challenges. It’s in these pressure-cooker moments that organizations discover who their true leaders are.
Crisis leadership back to basics
When extreme pressure hits, leaders can’t rely on complex theories or lengthy decision-making processes. They must tap into their core leadership strengths by staying calm and composed. Staff look to leaders for guidance, and when leaders remain steady, it helps soothe fears and supports rational decision-making.
The key is assessing situations quickly to understand the core of the problem, enabling better and faster responses. Clear communication becomes essential, and time is of the essence. This is when leaders must set aside ego and empower others by delegating tasks to those with the right skills. Trusting the team leads to quicker and more effective resolutions.
Leadership in crisis is about knowing when to speak and when to listen, when to act and when to wait. A leader’s ability to rise above the turmoil and guide others with confidence is what truly defines leadership.
Empowering others to make decisions
Leaders who want good decisions from their officers, sergeants, and lieutenants must provide them with both the opportunity to make decisions and the ability to learn from and correct those decisions. They must create an environment where team members can make choices, receive guidance from supervisors, and still be allowed to execute those decisions.
This is where many leaders struggle, especially new ones. They look at decisions others make and think, “That’s not the decision I would make.” But no leader is perfect. Understanding that your way is not the only way is crucial. Ego and pride can fool leaders into thinking they are the only ones who know how to make tough calls, but there are many ways to handle most situations.
For example, is there only one way to remove an inmate from a cell? Absolutely not. De-escalation, timing, nonlethal options, or sending in a team—any of these could be appropriate within policy. Leaders should guide their teams and provide direction but avoid micromanaging just because subordinates choose different approaches.
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity,” wrote Sun Tzu wrote in “The Art of War.” Even during times of turmoil and disorder, there are always possibilities for growth.
Building culture through expectations
Effective leaders communicate their expectations clearly. Staff need to know how to make decisions within those expectations. This isn’t about policy—policy is not the same as expectations. Expectations create culture.
When leaders establish a great culture, they don’t have to constantly look for people doing wrong because most are trying to do right, and those who aren’t stand out clearly.
The most effective leaders are those whose staff feel they know personally. When staff understand their leader’s character, the culture they want to create, and their expectations, something powerful happens: influence. Staff members don’t want to disappoint leaders they respect. It’s similar to family dynamics—people want to do great work so their family is proud of them. Workplace culture functions the same way.
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The opportunity in chaos
Corrections is currently facing many simultaneous challenges. But for those willing to do the work, these times can make it easier to stand out and advance.
Professionals who want to reach the top — whether as wardens, sergeants, or in other leadership roles — find that doors open for those who set goals, identify priorities, become good followers and then grow into good leaders. This doesn’t mean the path is easy. Leaders will face bad days, stress and harsh realities. That’s why finding passion for your work becomes essential — it carries you through dark times.
It’s not about rank
Crisis doesn’t just reveal leaders — it creates them. When everything is falling apart, people have a choice: let the chaos consume them or rise above it and guide others through the storm.
The corrections field is tough, without question. But it’s also filled with opportunity for those willing to lead with integrity, support their teams, and build the kind of culture that inspires everyone to do their best work. The question isn’t whether someone has a leadership title — it’s whether they’re ready to step up when others need them most.
In the end, leadership isn’t about the badge on someone’s chest or the rank on their uniform. It’s about the character they’ve built, the trust they’ve earned, and their willingness to stand firm when everything else is shaking. That’s when leadership truly shines.
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Continue the discussion
- What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned during a crisis?
- Have you ever made a decision in the field that went against your initial instinct but proved to be the right call?
- How does your agency encourage officers to make and learn from their own decisions?
