If you are in crisis mode, avoid these three Corporate Anti-Patterns

After years and years of a thriving economy, it is kind of hard to suddenly settle back into the famous crisis mode. Or like we liked to call it: Keep the Lights on Mode. When a crisis hits, organizations often slip into behaviors that feel natural but can sabotage long-term success. These anti-patterns can derail even the most robust teams - and if you look into your current setup, please ask yourself: Where are you right now, and how to handle it. Just walking in frustrated and ready to resign, no one will win a battle. The ups and downs of economy are a given, so better be able to handle it, corporate or not.

In our book, All Hands on Tech, we dive deep into these pitfalls and provide actionable solutions. Here are three common anti-patterns to watch out for—and better ways to handle them.

Anti-Pattern 1: The "Top-Down Chain of Commands”

In a crisis, decision-making often shifts entirely to senior leaders, sidelining teams and stifling innovation. While the intent is to create control and focus, the result is bottlenecks and disengagement. Somehow, people only see white or black, without the guts to think halfway straight by themselves.

The Solution: Empower your teams. Establish a clear framework for decision-making but allow teams the autonomy to act within those boundaries. Crisis moments call for distributed leadership—when everyone knows their role and feels trusted to execute it.

Anti-Pattern 2: "More Meetings, Less Action"

When urgency strikes, organizations often fall into the trap of scheduling endless meetings to ensure alignment. Unfortunately, this leads to paralysis and burnout rather than progress.

The Solution: Reduce meetings to the essentials. Use asynchronous updates or short stand-ups to keep communication efficient. Focus meetings on removing roadblocks rather than simply discussing them. Remember: clarity & simplicity are key when s* hits the fan

Anti-Pattern 3: "Blame Game Behavior"

Under pressure, it’s easy for teams to fall into a culture of finger-pointing. Blame might feel like a solution to let off steam, but it will hit trust and hinders progress.

The Solution: Foster a blameless culture - guess how - by being a role model yourself. Diplomacy and Integrated Work Mode encourage people to think as one. Encourage teams to focus on solving the problem rather than complaining all day long.

Lastly: In the last weeks and months I have been witness to massive frustration and complaints from colleagues and clients. Coming from a full on crisis mode where everything we seem to have learned in the last 10 years has been somehow forgotten. One thing is clear: When working in a company everyone is in the same boat - and if you dont want the boat sinking, you need to accept the fact that sometimes it is not only a walk in the park. Take crisis as an opportunity - look at it maybe even as a challenge. If everyone has a constructive attitude, it surely will be the right way to go leading to long-term success.

From Anti-Patterns to Resilience

Crises reveal the true strengths and weaknesses of an organization. By recognizing and avoiding these anti-patterns, you can build a more resilient, adaptive culture. In All Hands on Tech, we explore how to turn crisis into opportunity and help your organization thrive.

Ready to dive deeper? Discover actionable strategies and real-world examples in All Hands on Tech.