Crisis Management, Risk Leadership, and Stakeholder Relations

Section 1: Crisis Management

Brief Description:
This section explores how leaders prepare for, respond to, and recover from unexpected disruptions that threaten organizational stability. It focuses on leadership agility, communication strategies, and decision-making under pressure.

Key Topics:

• Types of organizational crises (e.g., reputational, operational, financial, cybersecurity)
• Crisis response frameworks (e.g., the 3-stage model: pre-crisis, crisis, post-crisis)
• The role of leadership communication during crises
• Maintaining team morale and public confidence
• Real-world case studies: Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol crisis, Airbnb during COVID-19

Section 2: Risk Leadership

Brief Description:
This section examines how effective leaders proactively identify, assess, and manage risks to protect organizational value and drive resilience. It connects strategic planning with enterprise risk management (ERM) principles.

Key Topics:

• Understanding risk leadership vs. risk management
• Types of risks: strategic, operational, compliance, reputational
• Risk frameworks: ISO 31000, COSO ERM
• Embedding a risk-aware culture within the organization
• Tools for strategic risk assessment (e.g., heat maps, risk registers)
• Example: How Shell integrates scenario planning for geopolitical risk

Section 3: Stakeholder Relations

Brief Description:
This section focuses on building and maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, emphasizing transparency, trust, and shared value creation. It links ethical leadership with sustainable stakeholder engagement.

Key Topics:

• Identifying key stakeholders: shareholders, employees, customers, regulators, communities
• Stakeholder mapping and salience models
• Communication and negotiation skills
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG expectations
• Real-life examples: Patagonia’s stakeholder-driven sustainability mission, Nestlé’s shared value approach