What Employees Need From Leaders During Emergencies

By the time the employees reached the parking lot, the questions had already begun.

Some stood in small groups discussing what they had heard, while others checked their phones or attempted to contact coworkers who had not yet appeared outside. A few employees speculated that someone had reported smoke inside the building. Others believed the alarm had malfunctioned. Several people simply waited quietly, watching the entrance and hoping someone would emerge with an explanation.

The manager stepped outside several minutes later.

She did not know what had caused the alarm, whether emergency responders had been dispatched, or when employees would be allowed to return to the building. The only thing she understood with certainty was that everyone standing in front of her wanted answers she did not yet possess.

Yet as she approached the group, conversations began to slow. Employees turned toward her. Questions that had been circulating among coworkers suddenly became directed at a single person.

What happened?

Is everyone okay?

Are we going back inside?

What are we supposed to do now?

It is a scene that repeats itself in workplaces every day. Fires, severe weather, medical emergencies, suspicious activity, utility failures, and unexpected evacuations often create the same dynamic. Employees who have spent years working independently suddenly begin looking toward someone else for direction, information, and reassurance.

What surprises many managers is not that employees have questions. It is the realization that employees often expect answers before the manager herself fully understands the situation.

Many leaders enter these moments believing that employees expect expertise. They assume that people are looking for technical knowledge, certainty, or immediate solutions. In reality, employees often want something much simpler. They want to know that someone is paying attention, that someone is attempting to understand the situation, and that someone is willing to stand in front of the uncertainty with them.

This distinction matters because it changes the definition of leadership during an emergency.

The employee standing in the parking lot rarely expects the manager to become a firefighter, a police officer, or an emergency manager. What employees frequently need is far more human than that. They want information when information exists. They want honesty when information does not. They want to know that decisions are being made, that communication is occurring, and that the situation has not been abandoned to confusion.

People remember these moments with surprising clarity.

Long after an incident has ended, employees often struggle to recall the exact sequence of events. They may not remember when the fire department arrived, how long the evacuation lasted, or what information was shared over the radio. What they frequently remember is the behavior of the people leading them.

They remember whether the manager appeared.

They remember whether someone spoke.

They remember whether information was shared, whether questions were acknowledged, and whether leadership felt visible when uncertainty arrived.

In many cases, employees are not evaluating the quality of the emergency response itself. They are evaluating whether leadership remained present while the situation unfolded.

This helps explain why silence can become so damaging during workplace incidents. Managers often delay communication because they believe they need more information before speaking. They want to avoid sharing incorrect details or creating unnecessary concern. While these instincts are understandable, employees frequently interpret silence differently. In the absence of communication, people begin answering their own questions.

Rumors emerge.

Assumptions spread.

Anxiety grows.

Information gaps become filled by speculation.

A manager who says, "We are still gathering information, but this is what we know right now," often provides more reassurance than a manager who waits for complete certainty before speaking.

Employees generally understand that leaders do not possess every answer. Most people recognize that emergencies are confusing and that information develops over time. What creates frustration is not uncertainty itself. It is the feeling that nobody is acknowledging it.

Perhaps this is why people remember leadership long after they forget the incident.

The details fade.

The leadership experience often does not.

For leaders who want to better understand how managers lead through uncertainty, communication, and workplace incidents, the Incident Leader's Field Manual explores the human and leadership challenges that emerge when normal operations suddenly stop.