Leading in Recovery: A Companion Through the Chaos

Leading in Recovery – A Companion Through the Chaos is a boldly titled resource from NZ Red Cross with a bold purpose.

The authors of the guide, Elizabeth McNaughton & Jolie Wills (both ex- New Zealand Red Cross and now the Directors of Hummingly) and David Lallemant developed the resource following the Canterbury earthquakes. It’s series of guiding principles for what to do when you find yourself in a leadership role in a post disaster setting. They get it – you don’t have the time or brain space to read a lot of text right now, so they boiled it all down to the key points and made it look beautiful so it’s easy to stay engaged.

The content has come has come from 100 + interviews the authors did with people in recovery leadership roles around the world as part of their Churchill Fellowships. Whether you’re in a formal or informal leadership role, voluntary or paid, all of the stuff that comes after a disaster can be exhausting and overwhelming. Even the most robust and confident among recovery leaders can have those moment of ‘OMFG what have I got myself into here?’. This guide is a way of saying ‘don’t panic, you’re not alone, you’re going to be ok, here’s some stuff that will help guide you.’

The principles are applicable in any post disaster setting, but the thing I use it for most is the tool box at the back. In the tool box, there are a series of practical things that you can use with your team when you’re working in an environment of prolonged stress (including a tool to help you keep perspective when you’re feeling overwhelmed and over it, and a burn out check list).

Don’t panic. You’re not alone. You’re going to be ok. Here’s some stuff that will help guide you.

Check out the guide here.