Why is crisis training important for senior leaders?

On-the-job crisis training is not an option when lives and the economic consequences of a crisis are at stake. But there is little opportunity for management teams and leaders in the public and private sectors to learn about the way decisions get made during a crisis -- except to experience a real crisis.

Crisis training via scenarios allows senior leaders to test organizational plans and protocols, and to practice making decisions. It requires them to work with other agencies, organizations and businesses in their communities and to work effectively with departments in their own organizations. And it forces them to analyze the consequences (intended and unintended) of those decisions – and repeat the simulation - so that they are prepared for a real crisis.