Clarity Is the First Casualty of Chaos: 6 Ways to Find Your Way Back

I once heard a former Marine sniper share on a podcast that “Clarity is the first casualty of war.” Similarly, when heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson was preparing for a fight with Tyrell Biggs in 1987, Biggs said he had a plan to beat Tyson, and Tyson responded with, “Everybody has plans until they get hit for the first time.” What the Marine and Tyson were saying was that the battle zone is very different than the safe, predictable, and structured time when plans are built.

We have seen this dozens of times over the years in our consulting practice – when there is a convergence of challenging events and the policy manual and strategic plan are inadequate to find the way out of the dark cave of chaos. When the chaos of a crisis sets in, clarity dissolves and confusion dominates. Here are a few real-life examples where leaders found clarity hard to hold onto:

• A senior-level leader alienated his team with fear and intimidation and ended up with a staff in mutiny.

• An employee filed a lawsuit against her organization resulting in division and uncertainty.

• An owner died unexpectedly resulting in chaos, fear, and confusion among the family and the employees.

• A major security breach by hackers resulted in stolen files, a demand for ransom, and major expenses to fix it.

• A high-profile team member committed a major moral indiscretion that hit social media.

• A nonprofit board of directors was in conflict over differing opinions regarding what to do about their CEO.

Just reading these examples can make any leader’s heart race. While it isn’t easy, there are definitive steps that leaders and organizations can take to regain clarity in the midst of chaos. Here are six of the most important.

1. Clarity requires competency.

I recently watched someone perform a cardiac ultrasound. It was amazing – the fine details, the movements, and even the different colors – although I had little clue what I was seeing. But the experienced eye of the tech and cardiologist allows them to see problems and defects that less experienced people cannot see. When a leader encounters a crisis, they need to have the right team – those who have the experience and competency – to bring clarity back from the chaos.

2. Listening produces learning.

Two crises that organizational researchers study are airplane crashes and critical incidents involving police. Both of these professions often have audio or video recordings that can be studied after the event. And one of the common themes of these recordings is how confusing the communication becomes as the intensity of the incident grows. To bring clarity during chaos, leaders have to work extraordinarily hard to ensure they are communicating clearly and hearing accurately.

3. Counsel conquers chaos.

I know of a few organizations that recently had a conflict with their most senior-level leader. In all of these cases, the outcome wasn’t pretty. While I am not critiquing who was more at fault, the way issues were handled left a lot of room for improvement. This is most common when leaders overestimate their experience rather than seeking advice. Very smart leaders can still make dumb decisions. There is a reason the Bible frequently emphasizes that a wise person seeks and listens to advice: counsel conquers chaos.

4. Pride is the enemy of prudence.

As I noted in the previous point, wise counsel is essential in times of chaos. And it takes humility to seek advice and acknowledge that you do not know what you do not know. Soon after graduating from high school, I was a landscape foreman (a big title for a guy with one year of experience). I was given the blueprints for a 5-foot retaining wall built with railroad ties. Let’s just say I was punching above my weight class! I eventually figured it out, but it would have been far easier to ask for help from someone with more experience. Pride is the enemy of prudence and can hinder leaders from asking for advice from others.

5. Panic is the enemy of precision.

In almost any situation, panic will impact precision. Take, for example, Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Sully), the pilot who landed a plane in the Hudson River in 2009. In commenting about this crisis after the fact, he said, "No one warned us. No one said, 'You're going to lose both engines at a lower altitude than any jet in history. But, be cool, just make a left turn for LaGuardia like you are going back to pick up the milk.' The key words are “Be cool”. He knew from his years of experience that panic would not only impact his judgment, but it would affect the whole crew as well as the passengers. Panic is contagious, and it kills precision.

6. Delay can lead to decay.

This quote, attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, is worthy of consideration from every leader: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” If you delay addressing a serious performance issue, a rapidly changing economic environment, or a dysfunctional behavior of a team member, the problem will seldom correct itself. Even if the decision risks short-term profitability, delaying will often lead to worse pain and even long-term organizational decay.

When chaos hits, you don’t have to face it alone. Contact us to learn how our experienced consultants can help you lead your organization back to stability.

Jay Desko is the President & CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.

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