{"id":117703,"date":"2025-09-09T09:38:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T07:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fup-ag.com\/blog\/what-really-counts-in-the-crisis\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T09:40:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T07:40:57","slug":"what-really-counts-in-the-crisis","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.fup-ag.com\/en\/blog\/what-really-counts-in-the-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"What really counts in the crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why leadership is more than just a process or control routine<\/span>What really counts in the crisis<\/span><\/h1><\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
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In stable times, processes, role models and key figures work quite well. The organization runs smoothly, decisions follow defined paths – many things are regulated “systemically”. But when a crisis occurs, whether externally driven or home-made, it quickly becomes apparent:<\/p>

What a company can really build on is not the most beautiful flowchart or the cleanest Gantt chart – but leadership, clarity and trust<\/strong>.<\/p>

I well remember a project in special machine construction where this realization hit with full force.<\/p>

A complex system was to be delivered to an international OEM – with customer-specific software, sophisticated measurement and control technology and several interfaces to existing systems at the customer’s plant. The project was technically ambitious, but well organized: Dozens of process descriptions, documented transfer points, detailed test plans, clearly defined responsibilities.<\/p>

Until the moment when everything started to slip at the same time.<\/p>

The system was mechanically and electrically installed and the commissioning team took over – supposedly just a small step to the end of the project<\/strong>. Everything had been tested, planned and programmed. But then it happened, as it often does in such projects: the small adjustments that were “still to come” turned into major challenges. And the whole project came to a standstill.<\/p>

The schedule was out of control – and so was the customer’s. The resources required for troubleshooting and rectification seemed endless. The teams – both internal and external – reached their limits.<\/p>

And then a new project manager joined the client – young, committed, hungry, but with a completely new perspective on the specifications. She called many things into question that had previously been taken for granted.<\/p>

Until a few days ago, everything seemed to be on track – now it feels like we’re back to square one.<\/p>

Suddenly everything was unclear:<\/strong> delivery date, range of functions, technical details – and above all, trust.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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Processes provide stability – but only as long as people feel safe<\/span><\/h2>

The result was what happens in many projects when pressure arises:<\/p>

  • Uncertainty.<\/li>
  • Fingerpointing.<\/li>
  • Retreat into your own silo.<\/li><\/ul>

    And suddenly none of the defined processes<\/strong> worked any more<\/strong> – even though they were supposed to be designed precisely for such situations.<\/p>

    The truth is: BPMN diagrams don’t help at times like these. Nor do meeting series, milestone lists or double-backed release loops. In case of doubt, they are even counterproductive – because they place an additional burden on overworked project participants<\/strong> instead of relieving them.<\/p>

    They take up valuable time that would be better used to tackle the problem directly: pragmatic, experience-based, focused.<\/p>

    I’m a big fan of tools and structured processes – if they fit the situation. But in acute crises, you need to act quickly<\/strong>, not create the umpteenth top management presentation or tick off a document that nobody reads.<\/p>

    What the team would have needed in this case – and what I am calling for early on today – was not a trial.<\/p>

    It was a manager<\/strong>.<\/p>

    Someone who is present.
    Who listens.
    Who makes decisions – even under uncertainty.
    Who reads between the lines, recognizes cultural nuances (especially in international projects), and resolves conflicts, not exacerbates them.
    And above all: someone who builds trust<\/strong> instead of managing mistrust.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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    Leadership means seeing people<\/span><\/h2>

    Crises don’t just affect projects. They affect people.<\/p>

    I have seen how experienced technicians lose their confidence under pressure, how team leaders push away responsibility – for fear of making a mistake.<\/p>

    And I have seen how simple gestures – a conversation at eye level, a clear word, a sincere “We can work this out together” – can stabilize entire teams<\/strong>.<\/p>

    In the project in question, it wasn’t a top management meeting or a project task force meeting in a conference room, far away from the action, that turned things around. It was an afternoon spent on the construction site with the team, asking and answering questions, ordering pizza – and, above all, listening rather than judging<\/strong>.<\/p>

    The technicians, who had been quietly going about their work until then, began to speak again. Problems became visible – and solvable. The customer felt that they were being taken seriously. The project got back on track.<\/p>

    Sometimes it is not the formal decision template that determines success – but the ability to see the human element<\/strong>.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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    What I learned from it – and how I act today<\/span><\/h2>

    As an (interim) manager, I often find myself in situations where processes are in place but are not working. Or even block them. And in which leadership is either missing – or is frozen in pure control.<\/p>

    My approach is not to abolish processes – on the contrary:<\/p>

    • I simplify<\/strong>,<\/li>
    • I clarify<\/strong>,<\/li>
    • I restructured<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul>

      But I lead – with a view to the people in the system.<\/p>

      I ask questions like:<\/p>

      • What does the team need to get moving again?<\/li>
      • Where is there a lack of clarity – not in the process, but in the mind?<\/li>
      • Which formalities can be omitted to create breathing space?<\/li>
      • What decision does someone simply have to make now – without endlessly hedging their bets?<\/li><\/ul>

        Sometimes true leadership begins precisely when you have the courage not to go through with a perfectly defined process – but to break through<\/strong> in order to restore trust, bring back energy and enable movement.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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        Conclusion<\/span><\/h2>

        A crisis is not just a state of economic emergency – it is above all an emotional stress test for teams and organizations.
        Processes help – but only if people feel safe.
        And leadership begins precisely where control reaches its limits.<\/p>

        What remains is a simple realization that has stayed with me for years:<\/p>

        \ud83d\udc49 In a crisis, it’s not the best tools that count. But the best people. <\/strong><\/p>

        And that’s exactly where I see my role: creating clarity. Taking responsibility. And getting a project back on track – not with PowerPoint, but with attitude.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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        Why leadership is more than just a process or control routine<\/span>What really counts in the crisis<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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