Becoming a consultant - crisis management skills

As everybody will agree crisis management is a critical part of life, no matter who we are or what is our vocation.

As a consultant be aware that your services are required mostly when your possible customer is encountering a crisis in some way. As everybody knows a crisis, emergency or disaster can happen at anytime and anywhere.

Pure and simple, crisis management is about focus, it's about getting into a frame of mind where you entirely focus on those things which are vital to the business at this moment.

It is a proven fact that surviving a crisis mostly provides a chance for a total turn-around and a new direction for a business. But managing a crisis is not an easy task as it entails a variety of skills and a lot of things to be done on multiple fronts in a very short time period. On the contrary a crisis can be a powerful impetus to your company’s short and long term survival.

One thing you can be absolutely sure is, that during the course of day-to-day business problems will arise. So one of the greatest challenges in business is recognizing and then separating problems from the numerous daily issues, challenges and competitive pressures.

For solving the crises or problem it is absolutely necessary to identify it in clear and concise language.

There are a lot of reasons why a business gets into a crises like procrastinating on the part of receivables and payables which increases the interest burden. But the underlying cause is always a mismatch between the business plan and the actual day to day business like:

No business plan at all or a lack of planning and following the plan, or inadequate financial discipline and then of course unforeseen problems.

As soon as the crises is identified all what is needed next, is to focus all your attention on the most vital thing your customers will want from you and ditch anything unimportant. Communicate quickly, simply and personally to those involved in the process what has to be done. This is time for you to show up and help out. It does not mean that you do everything yourself, because you have to be able to get above the crisis and focus on the big picture. Be

with the people, recognise what they are doing, encourage them and praise them for what they have achieved so fare.

Finally don’t forget to reflect, start with what went well and then go to the items that need improvement. Always keep in mind that the business is going to suffer if the situation at hand is not properly handled.

So what skills are involved for solving a crises. Developing crisis management skills is not rocket science. If the direct training of resource and crisis management skills are pursued. As a consultant you should have skills like:

Must be able to work under pressure independently

Must have good communication

Strong critical thinking

Conflict resolution

Social competence and problem solving skills

As a consultant you should demonstrated leadership and the ability to work effectively in small and large groups as well as participating in confrontation, conflict resolution and ability the ability to be flexible and adapt..