Steve Osler is CEO of Wildix, a sales-oriented unified communications solution.
War doesn’t come with a manual. But when it hit my team overnight, I learned one truth: Leadership in crisis is built long before the storm arrives.
“Steve, what do I do? My son is asking if we’ll ever go home again.”
That was Anna, a single mother on my team, calling as she fled Odessa with her eight-year-old son. Her question wasn’t just about escaping; it was about trust, reassurance and leadership when the world was falling apart.
Now over three years ago, in February 2022, war erupted in Ukraine. Seventy percent of our workforce was suddenly displaced. Families packed what they could carry. Borders closed. Lives were uprooted in hours. Leadership in that moment wasn’t about quarterly projections; it was about people acting before it was too late.
Today, crises persist: Geopolitical conflicts, economic instability, public health emergencies and climate disasters have become part of the global reality. According to a recent survey, 95% of organizations have experienced disruption in the past two years, underscoring that disruption is no longer a matter of if but when.
Here’s what I’ve learned from leading through one of the hardest tests a leader can face.
Don’t wait for certainty, make the call.
Crisis leadership isn’t about waiting for clarity; it’s about making the best decision before the choice is made for you.
A week before the invasion, intelligence reports signaled that war was imminent. We didn’t wait. We ran drills, moved funds to avoid banking disruptions, secured visas for affected employees and stress-tested evacuation plans.
This means that when the war broke out, we didn’t scramble; we executed. Those early moves gave us the agility to make life-changing decisions when hours became minutes.
Act now: Identify the top three risks to your business. Run a drill for each this quarter. Prepared leaders act; unprepared ones react.
In crisis, you can’t save everything. You must decide what matters most.
Every crisis demands trade-offs. You can’t save everything. You must decide, in an instant, what’s truly non-negotiable.
For us, it was our people.
We mobilized resources, secured housing and ensured safe passage for our team. These weren’t just logistical moves, they were commitments to the people who make our company what it is.
Some businesses with Ukrainian roots relocated or downsized. None of these decisions were wrong; they reflected different priorities. For us, prioritizing people wasn’t just the humane thing to do, it was the only thing to do.
Ask yourself: If a crisis hit tomorrow, what would you protect at all costs? Does your team know?
Silence in crisis kills teams faster than uncertainty.
When everything is uncertain, people don’t expect leaders to have all the answers. They expect honesty and presence.
In the early days of the war, my team wasn’t asking about revenue targets. They had more immediate concerns: What happens if Kyiv falls? Will my bank account freeze? How will I get food?
We didn’t have all the answers. But instead of retreating into silence, we embraced radical transparency:
“We don’t know yet, but let’s figure it out together.”
Those words didn’t eliminate uncertainty, but they grounded people amid chaos, providing clarity where none existed.
Here is my tip: During uncertainty, communicate twice as often as you think necessary. Silence breeds fear; clarity builds trust.
Resilience isn’t built in crisis; it’s revealed.
Resilience doesn’t come from protocols; it comes from people stepping up in ways no job description could define.
One of our HR leaders, Julia, went from handling payroll to coordinating evacuations, navigating red tape and guiding employees across borders on foot. Others opened their homes. Some pooled salaries to help displaced colleagues.
And she wasn’t alone. Some opened their homes to displaced colleagues. Others pooled salaries to help. A bank offered housing. A customer in Italy sent medical supplies. No one was asked. No policy required it.
Take action: Resilience starts in the quiet moments. Celebrate small acts of teamwork now so they become muscle memory in tough times.
Financial stability is the anchor that keeps you afloat.
Crisis leadership isn’t just about operational resilience; it’s about financial resilience.
In times of uncertainty, preparedness—not good intentions—determines who can act. Leaders who build financial buffers, plan for disruptions and ensure continuity can make the right decisions when every second counts.
When the economic strain hit in 2022, many companies had to cut back just to survive. Those who had invested in stability beforehand, through reserves, contingency planning and internal support could move quickly, not just to protect business but to safeguard people.
Ask yourself: If revenue disappeared for three months, could you still pay your team? If not, it’s time to build that buffer.
Crisis reveals true leadership.
There were moments I questioned whether we had done enough, whether we would make it through. But true strength isn’t found in a playbook; it’s built in the choices leaders make long before crisis strikes.
The next crisis is inevitable. Your response isn’t. The time to build that resilience is today, before the next call arrives asking, “What do we do now?”
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