Executive Director, Office of Strategy and Academic Innovation
High Stakes Leadership: Leading in Times of Crisis
What You'll Learn
- Develop strategies for exceptional leadership and team performance in our increasingly VUCA world.
- Explore the characteristics of individual and organizational resilience and develop strategies to improve both.
- Understand how to prepare yourself, your team, and your organization for its next major disruption or crisis.
4 Modules
36 Hours
9 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About High Stakes Leadership: Leading in Times of Crisis
This course has been designed to help leaders, like you, learn how to effectively navigate the challenges of significant organizational disruptions. As a participant in this course, you’ll discover why an understanding of various stakeholder perspectives can inform and dramatically improve a leader’s response to events that threaten an organization’s very survival. This course is also about understanding and developing individual and organizational resilience—the ability to anticipate potential threats; to cope effectively with adverse events when they occur; and to adapt to changing conditions, ensuring a viable path forward for yourself, your team, and your organization. These topics are particularly relevant in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many course examples will reference lessons leaders around the world have learned during this far-reaching healthcare crisis.
During the eight course modules, which are distributed over four weeks, participants will explore topics such as: Why the VUCA world is making crises more common; Characteristics of resilient organizations and ways to increase resilience; Stakeholder value propositions and how these are threatened during a crisis; Organizing frameworks for estimating the types of crises an organization might encounter; the Unique and challenging nature of the crisis environment; the Fundamentals of crisis leadership; and Building a plan to prepare yourself, your team, and your organization for your next major crisis—which, in today’s world, is not so much an “if”, as a “when”.
Professor Mike Barger, your faculty member for this course, has served as a TOPGUN instructor in the United States Navy and as a founder and executive at JetBlue Airways. His professional experience has helped him learn a great deal about crisis leadership and to gain a true sense of what it means to be resilient. Throughout the course, Professor Barger will draw upon many practical examples that will make the content of this course easy to appreciate, understand, and translate into practical lessons that you will be able to apply immediately at your organization.
Crisis leadership is a topic that’s exciting, daunting, and almost impossible to master. With some time and effort over the four weeks of the course, however, you can develop an exceptional set of crisis-leadership tools that will serve you well throughout your professional career.
Skills You'll Gain
- Adaptive Leadership
- Change Management
- Diversity Management
- HR Operations
- Leadership
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
High Stakes Leadership: Leading in Times of Crisis prepares leaders to navigate uncertainty, complexity, and disruption. Grounded in real-world research and crisis scenarios, the course focuses on stakeholder expectations, trust, resilience, and decision-making under pressure. Learners develop practical leadership skills for high-consequence environments.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Modules 1&2: Course Introduction and Our VUCA Environment Demands a Focus on Stakeholders
- Reading: Help Us Learn More About You!
- Reading: Welcome to High Stakes Leadership: Leading in Times of Crisis
- Video: Faculty Introduction
- Reading: The VUCA Environment
- Video: COVID-19 and Implications in this Course
- Discussion Prompt: COVID-19 Examples of Exceptional Leadership
- Video: Deepwater Horizon: Setting the Stage
- Reading: Crisis Definition and Expectation Management
- Discussion Prompt: Universal Truths About Stakeholder Expectations During Crises
- Video: Perspective Matters and Informs Our Priorities!
- Reading: Case Examples Where Perspective Matters
- Video: Crisis Happens! It’s Not “if” but “when”
- Reading: Course Organization, Objectives, Outcomes
- Video: Module 1 Summary
- App Item: Set Personal Goals for the Course
- Reading: Course Syllabus
- Video: Module 2 Introduction. Who Are Your Stakeholders?
- Reading: Organizational Stakeholders and Value Propositions
- Video: Crisis Threatens Stakeholder Value Propositions
- App Item: Identify Key Stakeholders
- Video: Introducing JetBlue Airways’ Valentine’s Day Operational Crisis
- App Item: Your Key Stakeholders and Value Proposition Threats
- Discussion Prompt: Personal Experience During a Major Disruption
- Video: JetBlue’s Attempt to Serve Stakeholder Interests Ahead of a Winter Storm
- Reading: JetBlue’s Attempt to Serve Stakeholder Interests During a Winter Storm: Introduction
- Reading: JetBlue and the Customer Perspective
- Reading: JetBlue and the Crewmember (a.k.a. Employee) Perspective
- Reading: JetBlue and the Regulator Perspective
- Reading: JetBlue and the Media Perspective
- Reading: JetBlue and the Investor Perspective
- Reading: JetBlue and the Competitor Perspective
- Video: Stakeholder Engagement During a Crisis
- Reading: Becoming THE Source of Facts During a Crisis – The Impact of Social Media
- Video: “No News IS News” During a Crisis
- Video: Stakeholder Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- App Item: Stakeholder Engagement Manifesto – “My Commitment to Stakeholders”
- Graded: End of Module 2 Knowledge Validation
Module 2: Modules 3&4: Developing Resilience and Understanding Stakeholder Reactions to Crises
- Video: Module 3 Introduction. What is Organizational Resilience?
- Reading: A Model for Understanding Organizational Resilience
- Video: Organizational Resilience Capabilities Are Good For Business
- Reading: Key Factors for Organizational Resilience – The Anticipation Stage
- Video: Organizational Resilience Goal #1: Anticipating Crisis Through Stakeholder Engagement
- Reading: Key Factors for Organizational Resilience – The Coping Stage
- Video: Organizational Resilience Goal #2: Coping With Crisis Through Stakeholder Involvement
- Reading: Key Factors for Organizational Resilience – The Adaptation Stage
- Video: Organizational Resilience Goal #3: Developing Stronger Relationships With Stakeholders After a Crisis
- Video: Applying the Model to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Discussion Prompt: One Stakeholder Lesson from Your COVID-19 Experience
- App Item: Your Organization’s Resilience Practices
- Video: Resilience Increases When We Demonstrate Commitment to Our Stakeholders Before, During, and After a Crisis
- App Item: Three Actions to Improve Our Capacity for Resilience
- Video: Module 4 Introduction. Stakeholder Value Propositions Inform Their Reactions to Crisis
- Reading: A Model for Predicting Stakeholder Reactions to Crisis
- Video: Trigger Events and the Precipitation of Crisis
- Reading: Crises Are Rarely Rooted in Single, Spontaneous Causes
- Video: Stakeholder Evaluation of Trigger Events
- Discussion Prompt: Personal Experience with the Assignment of Responsibility
- Video: Stakeholder Responses to Crises and the Outcomes They Produce
- Video: Applying the Model to a JetBlue Operational Crisis
- Reading: Case Study: Stakeholder Reactions to an Operational Disruption at JetBlue
- App Item: Evaluation of Current Practices
- Video: Predicting Stakeholder Reactions Can Help Us Craft Communication Plans
- Reading: The Proactive Development of Stakeholder Engagement Plans
- Video: Summarizing the Value of Predicting Stakeholder Reactions to Crises
- App Item: Three Key Opportunities to Better Understand Likely Stakeholder Reactions
- App Item: Course Midpoint Goal Review
- Reading: Introduction to the Interactive Experiences
- App Item: ⭐Interactive Experience: Engaging with Customers
- Reading: Alternative Experience: Engaging with Customers
- Video: Takeaways: Engaging with Customers
- App Item: ⭐Interactive Experience: Engaging with Employees
- Reading: Alternative Experience: Engaging with Employees
- Video: Takeaways: Engaging with Employees
- Reading: Professor Insights: Employees Who Seem Disconnected from Organizational Purpose
- Reading: Professor Insights: Employees Lacking Confidence in the Decision-Making of Their Leaders
- Reading: Professor Insights: Employees Feeling Undervalued
- Discussion Prompt: Reflecting on Your Interactions
- Reading: Post-Experience Survey Opportunity
- Graded: End of Module 3 Knowledge Validation
- Graded: End of Module 4 Knowledge Validation
Module 3: Modules 5&6: Crisis Varieties, Responses, and the Unique Nature of the Crisis Environment
- Video: Module 5 Introduction. Why Craft a Typology?
- Video: Categorical Lists of Crisis Types
- Reading: Nine Types of Business Crisis
- Reading: PwC’s Crisis Categories
- Reading: A PR Perspective on Crisis Categories
- Reading: Ten Categories of Political Risk
- Video: Summarizing the Benefits of a Categorical List
- Video: COVID-19 and Where it Might Appear on a Categorical List
- App Item: Crafting Your Own List
- Video: Incorporating Additional Dimensions into a Crisis Typology
- Reading: Examples of Multi-Dimensional Typologies
- App Item: Reactions to the Benefits of Dimensional Typologies
- Video: Combining a Categorical List with Other Dimensions
- Video: Crafting Your Own Typology
- Reading: Module 5 Summary
- Video: Module 6 Introduction. The Crisis Environment Presents Unique Challenges for Leaders
- Video: Observations and Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Reading: Crises are Typically the Result of Multiple Contributing Factors
- App Item: Current Level of Awareness About Potential Crisis Sources
- Video: Complex Systems Make Threat Identification Difficult
- Reading: The Complexity of Your Business
- App Item: The Complexity of Your Business
- Video: The Need for Urgent Decision-Making with Limited Information
- Reading: Urgency Versus the Tendency to Wait for the Facts
- App Item: Developmental Opportunities for Self and Team #1 - Urgent Decision-Making with Limited Information
- Video: The Demand for Effective Communication to Multiple Audiences
- Reading: Revisiting Stakeholder Perspectives and Value Propositions
- App Item: Developmental Opportunities for Self and Team #2 - The Demand for Effective Communication to Multiple Audiences
- Video: The Importance of Acknowledging Individual Vulnerability
- Reading: Leadership Forged In Crisis – Ultimately, We’re Humans Providing Leadership
- App Item: Developmental Opportunities for Self and Team #3 - Acknowledging Individual Vulnerability
- Discussion Prompt: Best Practices in Any of These Areas
- Video: Being a Crisis Leader Given the Unique Crisis Environment
- App Item: Three Key Opportunities to Better Prepare for Crisis Leadership
- Graded: End of Module 6 Knowledge Validation
Module 4: Modules 7&8: Crisis Leadership and Preparing for Future Crises
- Video: Module 7 Introduction. What We’ve Learned So Far About the Need for Crisis Leadership
- Reading: Eight Roles Crisis Leaders Should Be Able to Assume
- Video: Considerations for Acting on These Eight Roles
- Video: The Eight Roles and Their Validity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- App Item: Current and Desired Future Capability in These Areas
- Video: Crisis Leadership Through a Be, Know, Do Lens
- Reading: What Stakeholders Need a Crisis Leader to Be
- Video: Being a Crisis Leader
- App Item: Readiness for Crisis Leadership - What Stakeholders Want Their Leaders to BE During a Crisis
- Reading: What Stakeholders Need a Crisis Leader to Know
- Video: Crisis Leaders Must Know: Vision, Values, and Guiding Principles
- App Item: Readiness for Crisis Leadership - What Stakeholders Want Their Leaders to KNOW During a Crisis
- Video: What Crisis Leaders Must Do
- Video: Leadership During Challenging Times
- App Item: Readiness for Crisis Leadership #3
- Reading: Introduction to Three Examples
- Video: Summarizing Crisis Leadership
- App Item: My Personal Crisis Leadership Philosophy: “I Must Be, Know, Do…”
- Video: Module 8 Introduction. Preparing for the Next Crisis
- App Item: Revisit Your Crisis Typology
- Video: Airline Crisis Typologies in Action
- App Item: Exercising Your Crisis Typology with Your Organizational Stakeholders
- Video: Frameworks and Checklists: Organizing Your Crisis Response
- Reading: Sample Crisis Management Checklists
- App Item: Drafting Your Own Checklist
- Video: Defining Roles and Responsibilities
- Discussion Prompt: Crisis Management Roles and Responsibilities Best Practices
- Video: Developing Pro-Active Crisis Response Strategies
- App Item: Action Plan: Next Steps Toward a Crisis Response Strategy
- Video: Conducting a Tabletop Exercise as a Test of Readiness
- Reading: Tabletop Exercise to Explore Crisis Readiness
- App Item: Action Plan: Next Steps Toward an Assessment of Readiness
- Video: Module Summary: Preparing for the Next Crisis
- App Item: Three Key Opportunities to Better Prepare My Organization for the Next
- Video: Course Conclusion
- Reading: Course Feedback
- Graded: End of Module 8 Knowledge Validation
Grading Policy
Learners must pass all graded knowledge validation assessments to complete the course. Five graded assignments come at the end of modules 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8, and are worth 20% each. Combined these five assessments determine 100% of the final grade.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Intermediate Level
Some related experience required
Course Video
What Learners Are Saying
In a crisis, people – all of your stakeholders – will look to high stakes leaders, like you, for tangible evidence of leadership. When they look, they want and need leaders that they can believe in. They won’t expect you to be perfect or omniscient, but they will expec…
Mike Barger, EdD Professor of Business Administration and Executive Director of the Office of Strategy and Academic Innovation at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business
In this ever-changing world, courses like "High Stakes Leadership: Leading in Times of Crisis," and "Leading Diverse Teams & Organizations," enlightened me with holistic knowledge and tools through which I will strengthen the foundations of my personal growth and skill…
Christina I. Iliou Learner in Greece
