Foreword - Crisis leadership: A guide for leaders by Khader, M., Tan, E., Toh, B., Diong, S.M., & Chua, S. (Eds.)

As I write this foreword in early 2022 a book on crisis leadership seems to be particularly timely. The Covid pandemic is still at large in many countries and while restrictions are slowly easing the effects of the pandemic continue to cause many and varied problems. Natural disasters are continuing to cause widespread disruption and devastation around the world (such as tropical storms and cyclones in parts of Africa and the Philippines; and widespread flooding in Australia, South America and South Africa). Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a humanitarian crisis and sparked a raft of sanctions against Russia from other countries. These events have had knock on effects for many businesses and organizations (from loss of resources, loss of customers, economic instability, disruptions to supply chains and inability to carry out business as usual) leading to further crises that compound the effects of the original crisis. As noted by Andraszewicz and Holscher in their chapter on decision making (Chapter 5) “decision making in such situations is challenging because of the complexity of the decision problem, changing conditions, conflicting information and the importance of each individual decision.” (p4). The contribution to crisis leadership provided by this book is particularly valuable because it focuses on the broad range of non-technical skills that ‘wrap around’ and support leadership in complex dynamic events. Non-technical skills support the execution of technical skills (e.g. producing action plans) and are crucial in effective task performance. The topics addressed in this book, namely: situation awareness, decision making, communication, teamwork, psychological safety, utilizing expertise and managing stakeholders are all important non-technical skills that underpin successful crisis leadership. From my research at NASA on the human factors of aviation and space missions, as a lead researcher in the Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC and from my practical experience of responding to fires and road crash events as a fire fighter a recurring theme is that effective use of non-technical skills leads to a better operational response. Conversely poor non-technical skills often leads to breakdowns in teamwork, errors and impaired management of the event. The book begins with an overview of crises in our modern disruptive world, followed by sections on managing self; managing thinking and actions; and managing others. The final section by Dr Majeed Khader explores the interplay between the crisis leader and the broader organisational and operating systems. Importantly, each chapter not only reviews academic theory, research and best practice but also includes case studies and much practical advice. As such, this book should provide a valuable resource for people in many different organizations who are required to manage crises. More broadly the book adds to the growing literature on non-technical skills in crisis and emergency management, showing that this is an important topic that needs to be more widely considered by both individuals and organizations. Chris Bearman Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology Central Queensland University