Vigilant Thinking and
Crisis Management
for Today's Athletic Director

It was August and the athletic director of a major Division I college scheduled a "think session" on crisis management. I knew he didn't really consider they were a potential target. If he did, he wouldn't have scheduled two hours to explore the topic. A nd as his coaches and administrators shifted in their seats, coughed and shuffled papers, I was perfectly aware of their lack of interest. After all, other than one coach's death (in his office), the usual police blotter issues and academic eligibility p roblems, a major drug scandal, a fire with environmental hazards, an expose in the national media, and other assorted problems over the previous five years, what did they need crisis management education for? Weren't they impervious? Hadn't they artfully dodged the bullet? The unspoken thought was that despite numerous battle scars and armed with a bucket full of bravado, they were still winning the war. In addition, (I hear this every day), any time they had been faced with something remotely crisis-lik e in the past, somebody handled it. Right? The answer to that question was "yes" but with what degree of professionalism and at what cost to the program and the people involved?

Today's typical athletic director is the equivalent of a corporate CEO overseeing multi-million dollar budgets. Your organization's future is in your hands and your hands aren't supposed to shake. How do you avoid it? One way is through a comprehensive p rocess that's common in the business world but rare in amateur athletics. It's called Crisis Management Planning and when done properly, is codified into an easy to understand and use document. The document acts as a valuable tool to guide any employee through a wide variety of threats in an effective, previously approved manner.

Beginning the Crisis Management Planning Process

There are four initial questions for athletic directors to ask themselves and key people within their department.
What types of crises are your department susceptible to? (be specific)
What is the potential impact of each?

So you won't be viewed as an alarmist, you also have to ask two more questions.

3) What is the probability of a specific crisis occurring based on the history of your program, current personnel and other resources, organizational structure, environment, etc.?
4) What is your level of preparedness?

For instance, do you need a stadium evacuation plan? "Vigilant thinking" prompts the following questions:

a. Do you have an up-to-date and tested evacuation plan ?
b. What kind seats do you have in the stadium?
c. Are they grounded?
d. Do you ever compete when there's potential for lightning?
e. Who decides if the competition should be canceled due to weather?
f. If the game has begun and the referee has that responsibility, do you know his/her guidelines?

Let's assume you have no tested plan. The seats are metal. You play ball in early fall when lightning storms are fairly common. You can call the game for weather though haven't thought much about lightning and you have no idea what the refs have been ta ught about canceling for that reason.

The Crisis Management Planning process usually leads to a seemingly endless stream of questions that can produce extreme distress and probably at least a few sleepless nights. So why do it? The issue really is one of control. Do you want to control your future and that of your department? Or would you prefer to let circumstances batter you like a tidal wave?

Power may begin with information, but its impact depends on what you do with that information. When an athletic director is perceived to be out of the loop or to have lost control, university presidents generally rush in and often take over. Depending o n the magnitude of the crisis, that may be most appropriate leadership response. However, it's generally better for your professional future to, if not lead the response, at least be one of the front line generals. The less proactive an athletic directo r is in crisis management today, the more his power and credibility as a leader erodes. And when that happens, his or her value to the institution comes into question.

Preparing for the unexpected takes teamwork

Helen Keller once said, "worse than being blind, is to be able to see and have no vision." In almost every scenario, there are warning signs, some obvious, some not. So what do you look for and how can you prepare when crises never happen on schedule?

A crisis is an event or issue that has the potential to cause serious harm to your organization. I said potential because not everything begins as a full blown crisis or even mushrooms into one. Don't ignore nagging problems; have someone assess them fro m every angle then monitor them until something changes the degree of seriousness one way or another.

There are three degrees of crisis: Incident, Emergency, Crisis. A nagging problem usually falls into the Incident category. Incidences are obviously least critical, but don't be lulled into ignoring them. Consider this Incidence: a bomb threat. It beco mes an Emergency when the threat proves real. A Crisis occurs when the bomb explodes. Or the Crisis may be triggered when the rumor of a bomb starts a stampede of students and fans causing multiple injuries and death. Remember, every situation is differ ent. What is an annoyance for one program may be a true emergency for another.

Think of crises like triage in a hospital emergency room. To be most effective, you have to spend your time, energy and expertise where it will do the most good. Not everything deserves the same degree of your attention. However, remember, minor problem s can blow up in your face if not properly assessed and monitored.

When it hits the fan: Three major challenges

In addition, you can't handle everything yourself. You need a team of professionals to delegate responsibilities. When it hits the fan, you'll face three major challenges: assessing and managing the actual crisis; identifying and communicating necessary information in a timely manner to all appropriate groups and, planning to resume business as usual. Different people need to lead the different functions.

Though I haven't mentioned the media up until now, they obviously can play a major role. Despite common thinking, the media is not the crisis. The media can however, and often does, magnify your problem. Once it's in ink or crosses the airwaves, the ma tter jumps into another realm altogether. You can deal most appropriately and even heroically with the actual crisis and still loose in the court of public opinion. Timely and appropriate communication of your message with internal and external constituen cies is critical. Without it, you're doomed.

Think of it this way, people can't approve of your decisions if they don't know about them. Being proactive with the media as with the NCAA, often blunts negative reaction and shortens the torture you'll experience.

Obviously, professional Crisis Management mandates preparation. You wouldn't send student-athletes out to compete without the proper equipment and training and you shouldn't do it to yourself or staff in the event of a crisis. The stakes are too high. P repare for crisis and the subsequent media exposure like a professional. When you do, you significantly improve your institution's chances of responding in like manner.

Kathleen Hessert
President

Sports Media Challenge