The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Strategic thinking mindsets and practices among seaport CEOs during the 2008-09 global economic crisis

Research has shown that the ability of organizations to thrive in this economic crisis is strongly linked to the ability and performance of their leaders. To help develop industry leaders, it is essential to identify both critical behaviors as well as intellectual capabilities such as judgment and wisdom. While leadership is the subject of countless books and articles, few focus on the unique challenges of leaders in the seaport industry. Thus, a need exists to better understand leadership thought when faced with a crisis in the context of the dynamic seaport industry. With this information, industry officials can better train and develop future leaders.

This exploratory study was based on anonymous interviews with 15 port directors from the US (12), Canada (2), and the Caribbean (1).

Among the key findings:

Only two of 15 participants had had a previous experience as a port director with a crisis of this magnitude
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 representing the most negative impact, which indicated the economic crisis threatened the continued viability of a port), the average rating by participants of the negative magnitude of the global economic crisis on their ports was 5
The economic crisis was perceived as unique based on (1) the sudden nature of the decline, (2) uncertainty about the extent and duration of the situation, and (3) the global impact.
Participants recognized the emergence of the crisis by identifying trends within their organizations, in other seaports, and in other external sources.
Participants viewed the crisis as a threat, a challenge, and an opportunity.
Key leadership challenges triggered by the crisis included thinking strategically in an uncertain context, motivating employees, understanding their customers' businesses, managing public and political perceptions of their organization’s response, and dealing with the lack of customer diversification.
Participants responded to the crisis by embracing a positive mindset, assessing the situation and developing appropriate plans, communicating with stakeholders, and engaging their management teams.
Participants used five methods to find strategic opportunities including assessing customer needs, optimizing existing services, innovating new services, making organizational changes, and partnering with various stakeholders.
Based on a list of 10 crisis leadership skills identified by another researcher, participants listed the five most important skills for middle managers in their ports: (1) embracing the importance of the leadership role, (2) understanding the changing environment, (3) finding opportunities for greater future success, (4) managing oneself and ones’ demeanor, and (5) encouraging innovation.

Finally, five themes were identified regarding lessons learned thus far in the crisis, including (1) communicating during a crisis, (2) maintaining a positive leadership demeanor and outlook, (3) avoiding complacency, (4) remaining open and intellectually curious and (5) staying focused on the long-term growth.

The findings of this study suggest a number of conclusions that can be validated with additional research:

CEO emotional intelligence is linked to strategic thinking during a crisis
Crises offer an opportunity for CEOs to develop their own leadership skills as well as those of their followers
Proactive environment scanning by CEOs provides a critical time window to prepare for crises and identify strategic opportunities
CEOs play an important role in driving innovation by shattering denial and reinforcing compelling vision
Formal strategic plans and ad hoc strategic thinking by leaders are key for thriving crisis
CEOs use multiple mindsets to analyze situations and develop strategic responses.

Click here for a white paper summary that more fully explains this study and its findings.