Crisis Management*

Laryngitis isn’t something I have experienced often, but there have been two memorable occasions. One when I flew from Lubbock to Boston to participate in the NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education interview program. (For those who are NASPA members, this was long before it became TPE.) I whispered and croaked my way through eight or nine interviews that day. I’m sure I was a memorable candidate if not a good one. The second version occurred during the opening week of my second year at McMurry. By Wednesday it was clear this was not going away soon and there was no way to stop talking while I was on campus, so my boss sent me home. I got home ready to rest my voice and instantly wanted to call everyone I knew. Something about the requirement to be quiet unleashed my inner chatterbox. In his blog post today, Seth Godin mentions a friend who was dreading the idea of quarantine. He was surprised because she works from home. She replied, yes, but it’s my choice.

Like Seth Godin’s friend and my inner chatterbox, most of us prefer choice over being told what to do. This story occurred to me as I was listening to the TEDTalk I’ve posted below. I was looking for resources around crisis management given all the conversations on our campuses about COVID-19 right now. The first one I listened to focused on the need for a more instinctive response with regard to communications in times of crisis. And while I can’t deny that social media has added both new tools as well as challenges in communication, I didn’t think it was a new perspective. I don’t know that the Talk I’ve posted is a completely new perspective, but I do think it’s an important reminder. Shalini Unnikrishan recommends that we “turn our response to crisis inside out.” She says in the case of Ebola, and probably COVID-19, our response has been virus-centered rather than people-centered.

Inside out or backward?

In some of the situations I have faced on campuses over the years, I would argue that we have been inside out, and maybe backward in our approach. It may be as simple as changing the primary question from ‘what do we need to tell them’ to ‘what do they want to know’ – and acknowledging that different audiences need different information? Are we trying to disrupt classes as little as possible or might we try to engage faculty in thinking creatively about the needs of their individual classes and students if we have to cancel classes? If we cancel classes, are we sending students home – and what about students for whom this is home? As always our questions define our answers, so are there questions we should be turning on their heads or inside out?

What questions is your organization asking? What questions are not being asked and how can you help your campus respond more effectively to an outbreak of COVID-19 or any of the many other crises that we experience on campus in any given year?

Best of luck to each of you and remember always to take care of yourself as you are taking care of others!

*Written for “Gage’s Notes’ on 3/10/2020