“[Crises]… are critical junctures in the lives of systems—times at which their ability to function can no longer be taken for granted…. In our definition of crisis, a social system — a community, an organization, a policy sector, a country, or an entire region — experiences an urgent threat to its basic structure or fundamental values, which harbors many ‘unknowns’ and appears to require a far-reaching response.” ~ Boin, ’t Hart, Stern, and Sundelius’ (2016)
The raging wildfires and unthinkable devastation in Los Angeles is uppermost in many of our minds. So many people affected and so much loss. Our hearts go out to everyone who have lost so much and will continue the struggle to move forward from this crisis and its aftermath.

Southern California leaders in the trenches and particularly school leaders are faced with an unprecedented responsibility during these difficult times. They themselves are most likely experiencing loss and trauma and yet they must also take care of their employees, their students, their families and the community.
Dianna Kitamura was a California Superintendent during the 2017-2018 California wildfires that rapidly swept through Butte, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties burning 614,565 acres, destroying 28,187 structures, and killing 131 people. After leading through those devastating times, Kitamura completed her doctoral dissertation on Crisis Leadership by Superintendents.
In her interviews with superintendents whose districts were significantly affected by the wildfires - a few quotes for the work of leaders in L. A. today stand out:
“No one’s thinking about school, they’re thinking of surviving”.
“For the schools….[do we have or how can we have] safe facilities, safe travel on the roads to our facilities, to our schools. The ability to have electricity, water and gas for heat, and then the students, not knowing how many student and faculty were safe [where they are] and if their homes were destroyed.”
Dianna spoke herself of the complexity and intensity of her role;
“...competing interests included locating students and staff, safety, psychological trauma, facilities, district and city infrastructure, communication systems, insurance adjusters, environmental engineers, soil and water scientists, professional cleaners, media coverage, donations, legislators, town hall meetings, state and federal agencies (FEMA, Cal OES, CDE, Air Resources Board, Public Health, Army Corp, State Architects) were a test of my leadership capacity as I worked to reopen 24 schools. These competing interests represent only a partial list for which I was never trained. I am not referring to training in the content of these competing interests but how to balance them all and maintain my values of connection before content and leading from the heart during a crisis.”
Our fellow school leaders in L.A. are on a very long journey to heal themselves, their employees, their students and their community all while navigating so many interlocking and interrelated systems and entities that it is overwhelming. While I doubt they have the time or the inclination - there is much to be gained by the lived experiences that Dr. Kitamura documented (including her own) in her research. The Boin, A., 't Hart, P., Stern, E., & Sundelius, B.(2017) framework she uses defines crisis leadership through the five critical task areas of sense making, decision making and coordination, meaning making, accounting and learning.
One thing that appears true is that in todays volatile world we are facing exponentially more of these crises (disasters such as; wildfires, floods, pandemics - or major crises with political dimensions) and as Dr. Kitamura suggested in her recommendations from her study, we must do more to prepare leaders to lead in these difficult and challenging times of crisis.
While you may not currently be a Los Angeles area leader, managing the current crisis at hand, how might you be expanding your knowledge, competency and skill on how to lead in a crisis?
“The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis." ~ Brian Tracy
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