Why Leadership Departures Don’t Always Fix a Crisis
When an organisation is under pressure, removing a senior figure can look like the quickest way to draw a line under the issue. Sometimes it’s necessary. Often, it isn’t.
When exits genuinely help
There are two moments when a departure really moves things on:
- Clear, personal accountability. The facts are established and trust can’t be repaired.
- A quiet, early transition. Experienced crisis counsel sees trouble coming and removes heat before the issue surfaces.
Why departures become the default
More commonly, exits happen because leaders feel cornered. Without crisis experience, boards can struggle to hold their nerve. Under pressure from media, stakeholders or internal voices, removing someone starts to feel like the only visible action available.
But dramatic exits bring their own problems: disruption, unanswered questions and a leadership gap at precisely the wrong time. And this plays out everywhere, not just in government or listed companies via the national media, but in charities, schools, SMEs and family businesses via WhatsApp and local stakeholder groups.
The tools many overlook
Before reaching for the most extreme option, organisations may have better choices:
- Independent reviews to shift focus from individuals to processes.
- Message discipline to avoid fuelling speculation.
- Reframing to add context and stop critics defining the narrative.
- Legal boundaries to slow inaccurate reporting without sounding combative.
The real question
A resignation may look decisive, but it won’t fix deeper structural or reputational weaknesses.
The real question is:
Will this departure actually solve the problem. or is it standing in for crisis capability the organisation doesn’t yet have?
The teams that stop to reflect make smarter, more considered decisions.
