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Leading Through Uncertainty, Crisis and Disruption

A practical programme for senior leaders who must make sound decisions, communicate clearly and keep their organisations performing during uncertainty and crisis — often with incomplete information, competing demands and limited resources.

At a glance3 parts · 24 live sessions · 48 CPD hours · online, in-person or hybrid|Enquire & book →
The organisational need

Disruption is no longer exceptional. Economic shocks, political change, technology failures, extreme weather, supply problems and reputational crises arrive with little warning — and often together. Leaders are expected to act quickly, protect essential services and reassure their people while the situation is still unclear.

Few managers have had the chance to build these skills before they are needed. This programme helps senior leaders make sound decisions under pressure, communicate with clarity, support their teams and strengthen the resilience their organisations rely on — before, during and after disruption.

Structure
3 progressive parts
Sessions
24 live · 48 CPD hours
Delivery
Online · in-person · hybrid
Fit & outcomes

Who it’s for — and what you’ll be able to do

Who it’s for

  • Senior managers and executives
  • Public-sector and government leaders
  • Directors and heads of service
  • University, NGO and humanitarian leaders
  • Operations and programme leaders
  • Risk, resilience and business-continuity professionals
  • Managers responsible for essential services or critical teams

What you’ll be able to do

  • Recognise emerging risks and read early warning signs before they escalate
  • Make timely decisions with incomplete information and competing demands
  • Communicate clearly and maintain trust during uncertainty
  • Support anxious, overstretched teams while holding standards and accountability
  • Protect essential operations and manage disruption to priority services
  • Produce an organisational resilience roadmap with owners, measures and actions
The three-part programme

What happens in each part

Eight live two-hour sessions per part — sixteen learning hours per part. Take one part on its own, or progress through the full pathway — each part ends with a practical output your organisation keeps.

Part One

Understanding Uncertainty & Organisational Risk

Understanding forms of uncertainty and assessing how disruption may affect the organisation.

Output · Organisational Risk & Readiness Review

01
Understanding Uncertainty and Disruption

Economic, political, technological, environmental, social and organisational sources.

02
Recognising Emerging Risks
03
Systems Thinking During Disruption
04
Making Decisions with Incomplete Information

Balancing speed, evidence, judgement and consultation.

05
Scenario Planning for Senior Leaders
06
Prioritising Under Pressure
07
Understanding Organisational Vulnerability
08
Completing an Organisational Risk & Readiness Review

Bringing the main risks, weaknesses and priorities together.

Part Two

Leading During Crisis & Disruption

The practical leadership skills needed when pressure is high and circumstances change quickly.

Output · Crisis Leadership & Communication Plan

01
The Role of the Leader During a Crisis

Providing direction, maintaining perspective and avoiding unhelpful reactions.

02
Crisis Decision-Making
03
Communicating Clearly During Uncertainty
04
Leading Anxious and Overstretched Teams
05
Managing Conflicting Stakeholder Demands
06
Maintaining Essential Operations
07
Handling Reputation and Public Trust
08
Running a Crisis Leadership Simulation

Applying decisions, communication and coordination under realistic time pressure.

Part Three

Building Organisational Resilience

Preparing organisations to respond, recover and learn from disruption.

Output · Organisational Resilience Roadmap

01
What Organisational Resilience Means in Practice

Moving beyond emergency plans to broader organisational capability.

02
Building Flexible Teams and Leadership Capacity
03
Strengthening Operational Resilience
04
Financial and Resource Resilience
05
Learning After a Crisis
06
Leading Recovery and Renewal
07
Building Resilience into Strategy and Governance
08
Developing the Organisational Resilience Roadmap

Setting priorities, owners, measures and implementation actions.

How it’s delivered

Practical throughout

Every session combines short expert input with facilitated discussion and applied practice: real public- and private-sector cases, decision-making exercises, role plays and simulations, peer coaching and workplace application. Cases reflect the constraints leaders actually face — limited resources, organisational politics, public accountability, competing stakeholder interests and incomplete information.

Between sessions, peer-coaching groups, facilitator-led clinics and sponsor check-ins keep the learning attached to genuine organisational challenges rather than theory in isolation.

Assessment is practical throughout — no formal examinations. Evidence includes case analysis, completed templates, workplace application tasks, peer feedback and the final plans and roadmaps. A CPD certificate is available for each part where applicable.

What participants take away

Outcomes

Fees

Ways to take part

Open cohort · per person
£1,450 per part · £3,950 full pathway
In-house · your organisation
From £8,500 per part · from £22,500 full programme
Cohort size
Up to 16 participants in-house

In-house delivery is tailored to your sector and priorities, and becomes the better value from around five participants. Bespoke versions, single parts and multi-cohort rollouts are all available — tell us the context and we’ll shape it to fit.

Frameworks & references · ISO 22301 (business continuity) · ISO 31000 (risk management) · UNDRR Sendai Framework · scenario-planning practice after Wack / Royal Dutch Shell · Weick & Sutcliffe on high-reliability organisations · Boin et al. on crisis leadership

Go deeper

Bring this programme to your organisation.

To discuss dates, in-house delivery or enrolling a team, get in touch. We’ll help you choose the right starting point — a single part or the full pathway — and tailor it to your context.

Enquire & book   info@impactthinking.co.uk