Back to Blog

Leadership Lab session offers 3 tips for effective crisis management in federal and state government

This is a recap of a webinar from our Public Service Leadership Lab series, created to convene powerful minds and exemplary public servants around timely and practical leadership lessons.

Recently, the Partnership for Public Service hosted a Public Service Leadership Lab titled “Crisis Management Across Federal and State Government” featuring Patricia Cogswell, former deputy administrator for the Transportation Security Administration, and Heather Velasquez, deputy director of administration at the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration.

These two distinguished public service leaders shared their insights from working on various crisis scenarios, ranging from airport drone threats to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the discussion, three key themes emerged:

1. Preparation is everything

“It all happens before the crisis, to set yourself up,” said Cogswell, describing how successful crisis management originates in prevention and preparation efforts that happen long before an emergency.

For example, Velasquez explained how responding to smaller disease outbreaks prepared her team to scale up existing testing and tracking protocols when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

“The tactics to manage the evacuation of a single building from a toaster smoking are similar in a lot of ways to evacuating a facility where you’re caring for a thousand people and perhaps there was a chemical spill,” she added, emphasizing the value of using existing precedents to build plans for bigger scenarios.

2. Engage all relevant stakeholders

In any emergency there are bound to stakeholders who have a role in mitigating or recovering from a crisis.

Particularly in public service, leaders need to be thoughtful about engaging relevant bodies across federal, state and local government to coordinate an efficient response.

“I don’t have to have all the answers now, but I need to get the right group of constituents talking to each other,” said Cogswell, reflecting on how sometimes the best way to lead during a crisis is to invite support from others.

Velasquez built on this sentiment, adding that different stakeholders bring unique perspectives to an issue, reminding the audience that no matter the situation, “someone has seen something, some piece of this before.”

3. Know your north star

In a fast-paced emergency scenario, it is imperative that everyone understands the core guiding objective—be it mitigating harm, securing resources or preventing loss of life.

As Velasquez aptly noted, “Every crisis is in its own way unique and unprecedented.” She also observed that internal alignment to the ultimate mission—the agency’s “North Star”—empowers the team to act with confidence.

Cogswell noted that this is naturally a core component of public service and a pivotal perspective to guide effective crisis response.

“When you hit uncharted space, you go back to your North Star,” she said.

---

Want to hear more from these two distinguished public service leaders? Check out the full webinar recording for free.

---

---