Crisis Leadership: Three Is the Magic Number

Crises don’t send RSVPs, but you can decide, well in advance, whether your institution will wobble or hold steady when one arrives.

When a crisis developed at our institutions, the first call came the way these calls always do, short, urgent, and unmistakable: “We have a problem.”

We both lived the aftermath of that moment, in different seats. Anthony was chair of a board of trustees when a classroom incident became a national story overnight. Grant has been in an incident command room as events—protests, shootings, and more—unfolded in real time.

In those moments, it is tempting to believe the answer is one perfect message or one heroic spokesperson. Our experience has taught us the opposite: Three is the magic number.

The institutions that stay steady under pressure are not powered by a single voice trying to do everything. The ones that prosper rely on individuals in three distinct roles working in sync:

• The institution’s communications team explains what happened and what comes next.
• The president heals by setting the right tone, reinforcing values, and helping the community move forward.
• The board chair stabilizes governance by keeping trustees informed and aligned.

In a recent AGB webinar, we advised that when those three roles are clear and practiced before the storm, trust and reputation can be forged in the heat of a crisis.

Tell Your Story Yourself

In a crisis, you like your story best when you tell it yourself.

Silence creates a vacuum, and vacuums quickly fill with speculation, leaked screenshots, social media narratives, and well-meaning third parties who do not have the full picture. Getting out early with verified facts followed by a steady communications cadence will not end a crisis, but it helps reduce the likelihood of rumors defining a crisis.

Storytelling is not a luxury; it is leadership. If your campus does not communicate early and clearly, the institution’s values are replaced by someone else’s interpretation of the situation.

Preparation and Relationships are Paramount

Crisis leadership is not something you turn on like a light switch. It is a set of habits built well before the first urgent call.

We have seen institutions invest heavily in crisis plans and protocols … and still struggle in the moment because the necessary relationships were not there. The best crisis playbook in the world won’t save you if the chair can’t reach the president, the president’s messaging is not aligned with other communications coming from the institution, or trustees feel blindsided and begin freelancing with their comments.

That’s why we advocate for deliberate preparation—often through retreats or other structured discussions—so the board, the president, and the campus communications team have already talked through what happens when something goes wrong, how roles shift under pressure, and what “no surprises” truly means.

One key point about the importance of relationships: Leaders often mistakenly place the president in the role of chief explainer, but explanation is rarely what the community is lacking. People want to know that the president understands what the public is seeing, that the institution understands the stakes, and that it is leading with values. That’s for the president.

We recommend separating the duties of factual explanation and the broader institutional response. The professional communications staff explains what happened and what will change, and the president helps the community make sense of it and move forward.

Don’t Leave Board Updates to the Media

Trustees will hear from someone, and if they have inaccurate information, they can unintentionally complicate the situation.

The simplest fix is to prioritize board communications in a crisis by providing timely and regular updates: What’s happening, what steps are being taken, what’s still unknown, and when the next update will come. The president and cabinet should communicate with the chair and vice chair first, then determine who will update the rest of the board and how (email, calls, an emergency meeting, and so forth).

We learned one rule that never changes: Among the worst outcomes is for the board to learn something important through the news media. That’s an administrative failure.

And don’t neglect your other messengers, including deans, foundations/alumni groups, and other stakeholders. They can serve as “eyes and ears” and help keep donors aligned with accurate information. For example, deans are often “presidents within the institution” (and thus able to help set the tone), so empowering them with clear facts and talking points strengthens your response.

Messenger Discipline is Governance Discipline

The public wants to know who is in charge. It should always be clear: The president is the institution’s leader.

Governance requires its own clarity: The board chair speaks for the board. When individual trustees try to speak on behalf of the board or the institution, the chair must reinforce the boundary, and, when needed, clarify that a trustee may speak personally but does not represent the board or the institution.

From a communications standpoint, message discipline and messenger discipline are inseparable. Reporters will look for divergent quotes. Agree in advance on the spokesperson, the two or three key points, and the channels you’ll use.

When pressure spikes, let the communications professionals do the explaining: facts, timelines, policies, and next steps. Let the president do what only the president can do: Heal, unify, and inspire confidence rooted in values. And let the board chair do what only the chair can do: Keep the board informed, reinforce one board voice, and prevent well-intended freelance comments from turning a hard moment into a prolonged one.

Before the next call comes, make “three is the magic number” more than a metaphor: Build the president-board chair-communications partnership; clarify who explains, who heals, and who stabilizes; and practice the cadence that keeps trustees informed without confusion. Because when the storm hits, it won’t be the loudest institution that earns trust. It will be the steadiest one.

Anthony Barbar is an AGB senior consultant and is president and CEO of Barbar & Associates, a strategic advisory firm. He was a member of the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2022 and served as chair from 2013 to 2020 and from 2021 to 2022.

Grant J. Heston is vice president for enterprise marketing and communications for Virginia Commonwealth University and its health system, VCU Health. The American Marketing Association named him the higher ed “Marketer of the Year” in 2024.