Book review: Team creativity and innovation

unlikely that anyone in the organisation has ever imagined these problems, let alone created even basic plans to deal with them. Although the planning ideas that Tibbo suggested all appeared logical and appropriate, I would have appreciated some advice on overcoming the oft encountered objections from the ‘that will never happen here’ brigade. How do you convince a board, or CEO, that they need to spend quality time and expense engaging their wider team to create and maintain a comprehensive business continuity plan – particularly when that organisation has no corporate memory of disaster? I would argue that not all business leaders share former Easyjet’s CEO, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s approach to risk, when he said, ‘If you think safety is expensive, try having an accident’! The prose is accessible, well-structured and succinct and betrays a working life dedicated to communicating complex ideas with urgency and brevity, which reads well. The overall structure of the book felt a little wind-blown at times and would have benefitted from more comprehensive landscaping. The chapters covering the four stages of crisis response – ‘Anticipating the Storm, In the Eye of the Storm, After the Wind Dies Down, and When the Quiet Finally Comes’ – are arranged in a clear and logical fashion and would work as a quick reference guide for anyone unlucky enough to need them. I felt that the ‘Leadership Profiles’ in chapter 5 seem shoehorned in, do not really add to the narrative and probably would have worked better as an appendix. However, this does not ruin the reader’s enjoyment and as you wander down an occasionally disjointed trail, fascinating ideas appear in the clearings. I was particularly interested in the passages exploring the cognitive neuroscience behind why the threat of uncertainty takes up so much mental processing power and a few pages later how different people cope under stress; measured in ‘thought units per minute’. I would have relished more time poking about in the undergrowth of these ideas. Tibbo’s writing consistently demonstrates empathy and an authentic human understanding of what elements of leadership work. I was convinced by his explanation of how the storm of a crisis acts to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of existing leadership and the ways in which a catastrophe tests the resilience of organisational foundations, brutally exposing any flaws and revealing that leadership ability does not always equate to a position in a hierarchy. As someone involved in leadership development, I could see utility in the practical application of the areas identified and the ‘Lessons for the Daily Storm’ chapter contains useful references for the skills and qualities that reinforce the servant leadership style approach. This book has also made me think about the priority leadership development professionals give to the support of leaders who may be engaged in the planning or management of crises. Think of the human impact of recent events in Britain – the systems failure at British Airways, the cyber attack on the NHS, the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. Leaders responsible for thousands of people, in a wide variety of organisations, will be dealing with the range of emotional and human consequences of these catastrophes for years. Have they been adequately trained and supported by those tasked with providing the skills to deal with these demands? For anyone engaged in educating leaders, seeking answers to questions about crisis management, ‘Leadership in the Eye of the Storm’ is a book worth reading.