High Performance Series: Building Resilient Leadership for Crisis Situations | Claudia Van Den Heuvel

The Resilience Podcast

This episode is brought to you by the Resilience Assessment and hosted by Brad Hook.

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The guest:

Claudia Van Den Heuvel is the Director at PwC in the Crisis and Resilience team, where she helps organizations prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises. With a background in psychology, including two master’s degrees and a PhD, Claudia specializes in crisis leadership and building resilient leadership teams. She also runs the Crisis Leadership Center, where she designs developmental training programs for leaders to elevate their resilience baseline and navigate high-pressure situations effectively.

• Connect with Claudia on LinkedIn
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In this episode, Claudia Van Den Heuvel discusses how to build high-performing crisis leadership teams. She highlights the importance of resilience at both the individual and collective levels, and how it directly impacts decision-making, communication, and leadership during high-pressure situations. Claudia also shares her insights on crisis preparedness, the role of psychology in leadership, and how teams can maintain performance over the long haul during a crisis.

Key Takeaways:

1. Resilience as the Foundation for Performance: Resilience is crucial for high performance during a crisis, impacting decision-making, communication, and the ability to maintain energy levels under pressure.
2. Crisis Leadership Behaviors: High-performing crisis teams are able to think strategically, make timely decisions, and communicate effectively even under extreme pressure.
3. Collective Effervescence: Teams that share a strong identity and purpose are more resilient and perform better during crises. Collective resilience is as important as individual resilience in navigating complex challenges.
4. The Two Sides of Resilience: Resilience requires both grit and recovery. Leaders need to focus not only on perseverance but also on rest and support to sustain performance and avoid burnout.

Quotes:

1. "Resilience is the foundation of performance in crisis situations."
2. "Crises bring people together and can accelerate change if we have the courage to see them as opportunities."
3. "You need to spend equal time on both sides of the resilience coin—grit and recovery."
4. "A shared identity and purpose increase team performance and resilience under pressure."

Tune in to the full conversation for an in-depth exploration of these themes and stay connected for more transformative content in upcoming episodes.