How to Manage Your Team During a Crisis

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of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) It is reported that in 2024, the United States will experience 19 billion-dollar weather disasters causing deaths and destruction. Storms, wildfires, and extreme heat and cold waves will cause nearly $50 billion in damages.

While many of us are running full speed away from danger, Brian Evans is running towards them. In addition to working for AT&T to restore phone networks during natural disasters, Evans is also the head chef for the company’s Mobile Disaster Base Camp. Both jobs require quick thinking and decisiveness, and he recently shared some tips for managing crises big and small.

Describe your roles as a chef and a tech recovery specialist – how do those skill sets overlap?
I work as a Technical Recovery Specialist for AT&T, restoring networks during natural disasters, and I’ve been the head chef for natural disaster recovery teams, bringing in a mobile kitchen to support base camp crews. Last year, I was in the field in 42 states.

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Leading large-scale food preparation and natural disaster recovery efforts requires you to be able to plan many stages at once. Once you arrive in a disaster area, the city’s basic infrastructure is often not functioning, and the job can take anywhere from a week to a month. You need to respond quickly, so you have to balance preparing the initial meals with coordinating supplies with outside vendors, which is extremely difficult after a storm.

Photo credit: AT&T

What advice can you give to entrepreneurs who are juggling multiple roles?
You need to operate smoothly in both worlds, so make sure you have a backup on hand to manage things in case your day-to-day aide is unavailable. I have a network of volunteer responders trained to assist with natural disaster recovery efforts from 46 AT&T divisions. I also maintain a fleet of kitchen trailer volunteers with different skills in different regions. Distribute your bench. We have 12 training locations across the U.S., so no matter where you are, there’s a backup nearby.

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While you ensure execution, you also need to know how to communicate the value of both programs to your boss at any given time. This high-level perspective is easy to forget when you’re swamped with work, but it’s important. When we needed to scale our mobile operations to keep up with scale, being able to clearly show my boss why it was so important to their paramedics and how cost-effective it was allowed him to increase resources and truly scale the programs nationally.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs to stay fast and move smart?
The preparation phase will make everything else go faster. You don’t want to “fly the storm in the storm.” In stressful situations, it’s easy to rush to meet your team’s needs, but having a plan makes a big difference. For example, we were on the ground during Hurricane Ian, and with 150 mph winds, it would have been easy to panic. Instead, my team took headcounts in advance, assessed the severity of the situation, and then got to work planning meals, ordering supplies, and cooking so employees had a hot meal at the end of a long day. As entrepreneurs, when we face stressful situations, we need to get through them as a team. A big part of that is maintaining morale, finding comfort, and eating together. This was a big part of my upbringing in rural Louisiana.

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Having witnessed natural disasters, what is one thing you wish everyone had in their home and car?
Everyone on my team always carries a “bug bag” – a survival or emergency kit. This bag contains everyday essentials that wouldn’t normally be available during a disaster, like a change of clothes, water, blankets, and snacks. I always encourage others to keep all these items in one place and easily accessible. Of course, we hope we never need them, but at least it gives us peace of mind knowing we’re prepared.

What do you think every entrepreneur should know about leading a team during a crisis?
When I first started working in disaster management, I still lacked confidence, but my team needs a confident leader. So in the process of organizing things, I tried to imagine the most confident person I could think of and embody that person. During difficult tasks, my team relies on me, and if I crumble, they will surely follow suit. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to relax for a few minutes whenever possible. An emergency is already a stressful situation, and how you respond as a leader will affect the success of your team, for better or worse.