{
  "id": 9081366,
  "title": "The boardroom has a crisis communications blind spot",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/the-boardroom-has-a-crisis-communications-blind-spot",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-22T04:38:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/the-boardroom-has-a-crisis-communications-blind-spot/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In an era of global instability and complex interdependency, boards face an escalating risk of crises that can rapidly escalate and impact their organizations. The concept of a 'perma-crisis' has emerged, where potential crises are ubiquitous and can escalate within hours. Boards are now faced with the question of how quickly a crisis will unfold and whether they are prepared to respond effectively. Effective risk management and crisis leadership are critical responsibilities of the board, as they are expected to identify problems that may arise within their organization, anticipate external events that could cause harm, and act decisively upon that knowledge.\n\nDespite awareness of potential threats, many organizations remain underprepared to manage the impact of crises. Industry studies from Deloitte, the World Economic Forum, Aon, and others have shown that even with awareness, many organizations struggle to effectively manage the consequences of a crisis. This underpreparedness underscores the need for stronger governance, robust crisis leadership, and deeper scenario planning across sectors.\n\nPreparation is essential in crisis management. Boards must acknowledge their role in managing risk and acting proactively to avoid crises, as well as reacting effectively when a crisis occurs. In today's 24/7 news cycle and social media environment, boards need to understand their role in advance, knowing how, why, and when their organizations may enter crisis mode. Early decisions can have a disproportionate impact on the ongoing response and the company's reputation. A mismanaged crisis can profoundly affect an organization's reputation, ability to operate, and financial stability. Conversely, adopting the right approach and mindset can reduce the likelihood and impact of a crisis, establishing systems, processes, and behaviors that foster resilience.\n\nWhile communication is essential to effective crisis management, many boards still fail to recognize its importance or involve communications professionals in crisis planning. Communications professionals play a vital role in protecting reputation and strengthening resilience before, during, and after a crisis. They also provide an external perspective, helping boards identify vulnerabilities, understand how decisions may be perceived by various stakeholders, and challenge internal assumptions that could exacerbate the situation. To address these gaps, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, in collaboration with the Institute of Directors, has published \"Crisis Communication for Boards: A Handbook for Good Governance.\" This handbook provides a practical framework for addressing crisis management as a whole-system challenge, helping boards identify vulnerabilities, strengthen governance arrangements, and embed communication as a core component of organizational resilience. The handbook emphasizes that crisis management is rarely defined by decisions made during the crisis itself, but rather by the effective prediction, protection, and preparation undertaken before a crisis emerges. In a world of constant visibility and accelerating risk, preparedness is a fundamental requirement of good governance, and increasingly, a benchmark for board evaluation. Leaders across sectors must address the modern corporate governance landscape and acknowledge that communications is a core part of crisis planning, and that planning is no longer optional.",
  "summary": "Communication is the bedrock of effective crisis management. It is the golden thread which should run throughout: shaping how events and decisions are understood, and fundamental to whether trust is maintained or lost, says Katherine Sykes We live in a world of global instability and complex interdependency, facing interconnected threats. Poly- and perma-crisis now define a [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "Boards face escalating crisis risk in perma-crisis era",
    "Many organizations underprepared despite awareness of threats",
    "Crisis communication handbook emphasizes pre-crisis preparation"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Boards' failure to prioritize crisis communications and involve communications professionals in planning leaves them vulnerable to mismanaged crises that can damage reputation, operations, and financial stability.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}