Consider this scenario from an executive perspective:
It’s 2:17 a.m. Your phone lights up.
The CISO texts: “We’ve got a situation. Systems are down globally. Clients are starting to ask questions.”
Within 30 minutes, your crisis leadership team is on a call. Half the group is asking what’s confirmed. Someone suggests shutting down operations. Legal wants to wait. Communications is drafting a holding statement with no approved facts.
And then it happens, the silence.
Not because there’s nothing to say.
But because no one is quite sure how to work together under pressure.
I’ve seen this moment play out more times than I can count. And almost every time, the issue isn’t the plan. It’s the lack of a real training program behind it.
The Problem: Most Organizations Are “Trained”… But Not Ready
Let’s be direct; most organizations believe they’re prepared because they’ve run a tabletop exercise once a year.
But awareness is not a capability.
According to the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Horizon Scan Report 2024, the majority of organizations—typically over 70%—experience at least one disruption each year, highlighting how common operational crises have become.
Similarly, PwC’s Global Crisis and Resilience Survey (2023) highlights a persistent gap between planning and execution, with only a small proportion of organizations demonstrating high confidence in their ability to respond effectively.
That gap—between knowing and doing—is where most crisis programs fail.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
If your training doesn’t simulate pressure, complexity, and real decision-making constraints, you’re not training for reality.
What Leaders Are Really Asking (But Don’t Always Say)
When I sit down with crisis and resilience leaders, the same three questions come up every time.
1. “How much training is enough?”
In practice, organizations need ongoing development—more frequent than annual, yet still structured and focused.
Progression—not sheer volume—drives organizational maturity.
You need a structured program that progresses step by step: starting with awareness, moving to coordinated practice, and ultimately reaching real-world performance under pressure.
2. “How do we get executives to take this seriously?”
Executives engage when training replicates real-world stakes and implications.
If it looks like a discussion exercise, you’ll get passive participation.
If it feels like a live decision environment—with consequences—they lean in.
3. “How do we prove this is working?”
Assess your crisis response on leadership performance, not mere attendance.
- Did decisions improve?
- Was coordination faster?
- Did leaders align under pressure?
If you’re not tracking those outcomes, you’re guessing.
1. Start With the End in Mind: Define What “Good” Looks Like
Before initiating, executives should ask: What does a successful real-world crisis response look like for us?
Not in theory. Not in policy. In reality.
For most organizations, it comes down to three things:
- Clear decision-making at the leadership level
- Effective coordination across functions
- Timely, aligned communication internally and externally.
Training must build and validate decision-making, coordination, and communication capabilities essential to senior leadership.
Think of it like training for a marathon.
You don’t start with 26 miles. You build toward it with structure and intent.
2. Move Beyond Tabletops: Build a Layered Training Model
Tabletop exercises still have value—but they’re just the starting point.
A strong training program develops layers, with each stage building skills: Awareness sessions introduce basic roles and plans; discussion-based exercises (TTX) let teams explore scenarios; simulation exercises require real-time decision-making; functional exercises test specific capabilities; and full-scale exercises combine everything under real pressure.
- Discussion-Based Exercises (TTX) – Explore scenarios and identify gaps.
- Simulation Exercises – Force real-time decision-making with evolving information
- Functional Exercises – Test specific capabilities (e.g., communications, ops coordination)
- Full-Scale or Integrated Exercises – Bring everything together under pressure
The mistake most organizations make? They stop at the second layer.
Without exposing senior teams to pressure, uncertainty, and conflicting priorities, the program only creates a false sense of security.
Related: Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Tabletop Exercises for Executive Leadership Teams
3. Design for Pressure, Not Perfection
Let me give you two quick scenarios.
When Training Is Ignored
A global manufacturer runs one tabletop per year.
The scenario is well-written, but the session is calm, structured, and predictable.
Six months later, a real supply chain disruption hits.
- Decisions take hours instead of minutes.
- Teams operate in silos.
- Leadership hesitates due to a lack of clarity.
The result? Operational delays, reputational damage, and avoidable financial loss.
Why? Because the team had never practiced making decisions under stress.
What Good Looks Like
Now contrast that with an organization running a structured program:
- Quarterly simulations with time constraints
- Injects that change the situation mid-exercise
- Real tools used (not hypothetical discussions)
- Performance metrics are tracked after each session.
When a real crisis hits:
- Leaders make decisions quickly—even with incomplete data.
- Teams know how to coordinate without over-communicating
- Communications are aligned within minutes.
It’s not perfect—but it’s controlled.
And that’s the difference.
4. Make It Real: Use Scenarios That Reflect Your Actual Risk Landscape
One of the biggest missed opportunities I see is the use of generic scenarios.
If your organization is in healthcare, energy, finance, or manufacturing, your risks differ.
Your training should reflect:
- Your industry-specific threats
- Your geographic footprint
- Your regulatory environment
- Your operational dependencies
For example:
- A ransomware attack for a hospital isn’t just IT—it’s patient safety.
- A supply chain disruption for manufacturing affects production and revenue immediately.
- A reputational crisis in financial services can trigger regulatory scrutiny within hours.
When scenarios are realistic, engagement and learning both increase.
5. Measure What Matters: Turn Training Into Capability
If you’re not measuring outcomes, your training program won’t improve.
And this is where most programs fall short.
Instead of asking, “Did the exercise go well?”
Ask:
- How long did it take to make key decisions?
- Were roles and responsibilities clear in practice?
- Did communication align across teams?
- Where did friction slow us down?
Over time, this creates a baseline of performance.
And that’s powerful—because now you can show leadership:
- Where the organization is strong
- Where gaps still exist
- How is the capability improving over time?
That’s how training moves from optional to strategic investment.
Quick Takeaway: Build Your Program Starting Today
If you’re looking to strengthen your crisis training program, start here:
- Define success clearly – What does effective crisis response actually look like?
- Layer your training – Move beyond tabletop into simulations and functional testing.
- Design for pressure – Build exercises that force real decision-making
- Use relevant scenarios – Reflect your actual risks, not generic ones.
- Measure performance – Track improvement over time, not just participation
You don’t need to build everything at once.
But you do need to start building intentionally.
Here’s a concise add-on you can drop into the blog:
Extending Readiness Beyond Leadership
While leadership teams are often well-trained, true crisis readiness depends on the entire organization. An effective awareness program ensures every employee understands how to recognize an issue, escalate it quickly, and take basic protective action. This doesn’t require deep training—it requires clarity and consistency.
The most effective programs use a layered approach: short, scenario-based videos to build baseline understanding, simple visuals (posters or intranet guides) to reinforce escalation pathways, and periodic micro-scenarios or manager-led discussions to keep awareness fresh. The goal isn’t to turn employees into crisis managers—it’s to ensure they act quickly and correctly in the first critical moments, when it matters most.
Final Thought: This Is About Performance, Not Planning
Here’s the reality—no one rises to the occasion in a crisis.
They fall back on how they’ve trained.
And if that training hasn’t prepared them to operate under pressure, make decisions with limited information, and coordinate across functions…
You’ll see it immediately.
The good news? This is fixable.
With the right structure, the right scenarios, and the right focus on performance, you can build a program that doesn’t just check a box—but actually works when it matters.
If you’re thinking about how to evolve your current approach—or wondering where your program stands today—it might be worth a conversation.
At ICMC, we spend a lot of time helping organizations move from awareness to real capability. No pressure, no pitch—just a practical discussion on what’s working, what’s not, and where you can go next.
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