In moments of crisis, we tend to look for heroes. The bold CEO. The decisive prime minister. The leader who claims to have all the answers. It’s a story business culture loves, especially when fear runs high. But as crises become constant rather than rare, this script is starting to crack. New research suggests that the very traits we prize in “strong” leaders may be part of the problem. And the leaders who actually help organizations move forward look very different from the superheroes we imagine.

Breakdown:  

For decades, crisis leadership has been framed as an act of individual brilliance. The leader steps in, takes control, and saves the day. Scholars call this belief “leaderism,” the idea that great leaders are the cure for every problem. It thrives in anxious times, when people crave clarity and certainty.  

But real-world crises are messy. Leaders often face limited information, emotional strain, and forces they cannot control. The pressure to look confident can push them into silence, denial, or rushed decisions. Many admit feeling frozen or forced into big bets simply to appear decisive.  

Researchers Janaki Gooty, Corinne Post, and Jamie Ladge followed 58 leaders during the early months of COVID-19 to see what actually worked. What they found was not heroics, but humanity. Effective leaders engaged in two core practices: sensemaking and sensegiving.  

Sensemaking means understanding chaos through emotion as well as facts. Leaders labeled feelings, sat with uncertainty, and balanced business needs with human ones. Sensegiving focused on how leaders shared meaning. They connected emotionally, admitted limits, avoided “perfect” promises, and made room for shared solutions.  

Examples ranged from Jacinda Ardern openly admitting exhaustion, to Mary Barra holding safety and compassion as equal priorities, to Airbnb’s Brian Chesky reminding teams that disruption is temporary. None claimed invincibility. That was the point.

Why this matters:  

The myth of heroic leadership shapes who gets hired, promoted, and praised. It rewards confidence over honesty and decisiveness over reflection. In a world of constant disruption, that mismatch is costly. Humanized leadership builds trust when answers are unclear. It also supports resilience rather than burnout. For organizations, this challenges how leadership potential is defined. For leaders, it offers relief from an impossible standard.

The Big Picture:  

From pandemics and wars to AI disruption and climate shocks, crises are no longer exceptions. They are the operating environment. As work becomes more digital and more emotional, leadership shifts from control to connection. This mirrors broader moves toward transparency, vulnerability, and shared accountability across business and society.

The Crunch:  

The next generation of leaders will not be remembered for pretending to be flawless. They will be remembered for helping people move forward without certainty. In an age of nonstop disruption, humanity is not a weakness. It is the strategy.