Most crisis exercises are too clean. The scenario is clear, the timeline is neat, and everyone knows they are in an exercise. Real crises never unfold that way.

2. Practice the Messy Middle, Not the Perfect Scenario

Most crisis exercises are too clean. The scenario is clear, the timeline is neat, and everyone knows they are in an exercise. Real crises never unfold that way. Information comes in fragments, facts change, stakeholders disagree, and teams have to make decisions before everything is confirmed. Training should prepare people for that part. Build exercises around incomplete information, unavailable decision-makers, competing priorities, bad assumptions, and communication gaps.

When I was a regional crisis manager managing 14 CMTs, the value of training was not checking the annual box. If someone didn’t show up to the tabletop, someone else had to fill that role, even if it was not their specialty. That is real life. Not everyone will be available when the incident happens. The exercise showed where the response slowed down, where ownership was unclear, and where people waited for permission instead of acting. A good exercise should make the real incident less surprising.

3. The Best Crisis Managers Have a Comms Bestie

Communication is one of the most critical parts of crisis management, and the relationship with your communications partner cannot start once the incident is already moving. As a crisis manager, your communications lead should be one of the closest relationships you maintain. Build trust before you need to move fast together.

In a crisis, communications becomes a pressure release valve for the organization. They help turn incomplete facts into clear, calm, usable information for leaders, employees, and stakeholders. The mistake is bringing them in only when a message needs approval. They need to be involved early, helping shape what is said, when it is said, who needs to hear it, and what tone the organization should take. Strong communication buys time, reduces confusion, and keeps trust intact while the response continues.

When the crisis ends, the work is not done. The teams that actually improve after a crisis are the ones that treat the post-incident review as non-negotiable.

4. Make Communication Two Way

Sending updates isn't enough. You need to know who's safe, who's impacted, and who needs help. Build a mechanism for people to respond, such as a poll, a reply function, a simple check-in prompt. The information coming back from employees, travelers, site leaders, or field teams can quickly become one of the most valuable parts of the response. It helps you separate assumptions from reality, prioritize resources, and identify problems that may not show up in a dashboard. In a fast-moving crisis, the signal coming back from your people is as valuable as anything you're pushing out.

5. Do Not Let the Lessons Learned Die in a Folder

When the crisis ends, the work is not done. The teams that actually improve after a crisis are the ones that treat the post-incident review as non-negotiable.

Survey the stakeholders who were involved. Ask what worked, what slowed the response, what was unclear, and what decisions were harder than they should have been. Present the findings. Assign owners. Track the action items. With daily work and new crises constantly adding to the workload, post-incident reviews can easily slip into the abyss. That is exactly why they matter. This is where the real wins are made.

CMTs should use this process to surface the things that get missed in the middle of response: outdated contact lists, unclear role ownership, communication breakdowns, approval delays, and assumptions that did not hold up. The point is not to blame people. The point is to make the next response tighter. And in crisis management, there is always a next time.