How to Spot a Manufacturing Leader Who Can Handle Multiple Crises
The Crisis Leadership Challenge
Manufacturing leadership has never faced more challenges. Flexibility and resiliency are core traits required to handle the onslaught of challenges, from the ongoing labor crunch and supply chain hiccups to margin damaging inflation rates and changes in consumer trends.
That’s why smart companies aren’t just looking for leaders who can handle a crisis. They want the ones who see it coming, adapt quickly, and keep their teams focused when everything’s falling apart. For executive recruiters, the real challenge isn’t finding manufacturing leaders who work well under pressure. It’s identifying the specific traits that separate those who thrive in chaos from those who just survive it.
How to Identify Crises Ready Leaders
The question is no longer if a disruption will occur but instead when and how severe, and it is crucial to ensure your leadership hire is able to set the tone for the whole organization. That is why the leadership hire you make now can be a deciding factor in how your company recovers from a crisis tomorrow.
Recent research reveals that 83.6% of CEOs and senior executives believe they need to transform their leadership culture to tackle today’s challenges, yet only 49.5% feel confident in their ability to do so. This means 8 out of 10 leaders know they need to change, but only half feel equipped to do so. This confidence gap creates cascading business risks, especially as supply chain and workforce disruptions intensify.
When supply chains seize up, equipment fails, or regulatory changes threaten production, your organization needs someone who can simultaneously manage immediate crises while also preparing the business for what comes next. McKinsey & Company emphasizes that resilient leaders keep “one eye in the microscope and the other in the telescope.” This duality can be the difference between your business weathering a storm and spending months trying to recover.
So how do you identify these telescope-and-microscope leaders during your hiring process? Here’s a practical framework to spot truly resilient manufacturing leaders:
During Interviews, Look For:
- Specific examples of anticipating problems before they escalate
- Clear communication strategies during past crises
- Evidence of learning from failures and implementing preventive measures
- Ability to maintain team morale while managing multiple urgent issues
- Concrete systems they’ve built to monitor risks and early warning signs
Reference Check Questions:
- “How did they handle the most chaotic period you witnessed?”
- “Did they communicate transparently during crises or create more confusion?”
- “What systems did they put in place to prevent recurring problems?”
Crisis Response Red Flags:
- Only provides theoretical responses without specific examples
- Blames external factors without acknowledging their role in solutions
- Describes communication breakdowns during past crises
- Shows rigid thinking when presented with scenario-based questions
- Cannot articulate how they’ve learned from past failures
Leadership Style Red Flags:
- Micromanages during stressful situations rather than empowering teams
- Creates panic or confusion when explaining crisis management approaches
- Focuses solely on short-term fixes without long-term prevention planning
- Demonstrates poor emotional regulation when discussing past challenges
Building Resilient Leadership Culture
The reality is that resilient leadership trickles down through every level of your organization, creating a culture where problems are not hidden, but solved. With employee turnover rates continuing to impact manufacturing operations, having leaders who can maintain stability and build trust becomes even more critical during crisis periods.
Alpha specializes in identifying manufacturing leaders who have a proven track record of turning crisis into competitive advantage. Connect with us and we can build your leadership team that can meet the moment and create a resilient future!