Organizations can face a crisis at any time. It can be specific to them, such as a food recall, a data breach or workplace violence, or it can be a crisis from the effects of a situation beyond its control, such as a hurricane or other natural disaster. In the immediacy of a crisis, an organization can effectively manage the situation with (1) advance planning and having a team in place with assigned roles; (2) focused attention and sufficient resources to minimize the impact on those for whom the organization is responsible; and (3) frequent communication by organizational leaders with clear information about what has occurred, the present status, and how those impacted can connect with resources to help them recover.

An organization’s leaders’ work is not finished once the immediate crisis subsides. There is still work to do to help the organization and those affected by the situation recover and transcend the crisis and refocus on the organizational mission. This article discusses how an organization can move beyond the “acute phase” of a crisis and navigate through the “recovery phase” to successfully put the entire matter behind it.