Crisis on campus: 'Both terrible and incredibly fun'
Chaos in the Lipsius building! Master's students zigzag through the classroom, write on whiteboards and discuss tensely. In a simulation of the Leiden Leadership Programme, they experience what it is like to deal with a crisis as an office holder.
Smiling, course instructor Paul Nieuwenburg watches the dismay unfolding before his eyes. ‘In the heat of the moment, it is easy to forget what you have heard during the lectures.’
It is the first lesson today for the master’s students of the Leiden Leadership Programme (15 EC). Since November, they have been learning all about leadership at this honours programme at Leiden University. The elective Public Leadership revolves around the challenges and dilemmas civil servants have to face. The course ends with a simulation to make things tangible. And that leads to an unprecedented experience.
‘I'm not nervous, but very curious for sure’
'Chaos is normal'
Leading up to the simulation, there is a tense atmosphere. Everyone knows they are about to simulate a crisis situation, but no one actually knows what to expect. ‘I'm not nervous, but very curious for sure,’ Simon (23, Biopharmaceutical Sciences) whispers. The room is quiet as a mouse: if you didn't know any better, you would think an exam is being held here.
This all changes when Nieuwenburg hands out the first instructions and takes the floor. The silence strikes him. ‘You are not supposed to feel your adrenaline rush just yet. That should come later!’ The teacher starts assigning roles to everyone. Slowly, the room gets filled with ministers, directors and journalists. Simon nervously twirls a pen until he is told he will be government spokesperson.
They do not get a grade for this simulation, Nieuwenburg cheerfully stresses. It's about getting to know yourself and reflecting on what a crisis situation does to you. ‘Chaos is normal. Do not think you are incompetent. It happens to professionals too.’
Phase 1: a secret message
For the simulation, students are divided into four classrooms based on their new roles: press, local government, national government and a presidential team. They are not allowed to leave the classrooms. Yet the groups will have to work together closely by calling each other. At the same time, they will have to consult among themselves as more and more information comes in.
Things start calmly. Fire director Vincent (21, International Relations) receives an initial sheet of information. With his groupmates, the local government, he discusses a worrying development. What this precisely entails is kept secret in this article: those who want to find out will have to play through the simulation themselves. In any case, Vincent's group mates make worried faces, after which everyone starts brainstorming about measures the municipality can take.
Phase 2: information tsunami
Meanwhile, the other groups stay in the dark. The local authorities are discussing intesely with each other, making it difficult for the national government to make contact. At the same time, the ministers do get bombed with questions from journalists and the presidential team. They will have to make do with rumours.
It doesn't take long or the chairman can't keep up anymore
New information keeps pouring in. The briefings that students initially approached with curiosity, are now accepted with sighs of reluctance. Everything is already busy and confusing as it is. As the council of ministers is having three discussions at once, and the defence minister is taking a call in the corner, two team members want to share even more information.
It doesn't take long or the chairman can't keep up anymore. So, for the sake of overview, the group decides to write all the new information on a whiteboard. Within half an hour, the board is full. In the margins, a secretary scribbles the latest news in tiny letters on the board.
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Team 1: cabinet -
Team 2: president -
Team 3: local authorities -
Team 4: press
Phase 3: a concrete plan?
The students are completely absorbed in their roles. To the journalists' frustration, government officials answer their questions with the same vague generalities as those of real politicians. Moreover, as the simulation progresses, the journalists' phone numbers are blocked everywhere. In a bitter press release, they report that the government refuses to respond.
Frowning, terrorism expert Joep (27, Asia Studies) pushes the notification away. He couldn't care less about the press. Because of these journalistic phone calls, he has missed big chunks of discussion and needs to be updated constantly. Meanwhile, in his classroom, everyone is busy working on a concrete plan of action – until the door suddenly opens. ‘The simulation is over,’ Nieuwenburg reports.
‘When you make a choice, you don't really know the consequences’
How difficult a crisis is
Chock-full of adrenaline, the students reflect on their experiences. ‘I thought it was both terrible and incredibly fun,’ laughs Joep. He would love to do this again. ‘You always want more information,’ Vincent concludes, ‘but you also have to act quickly.’ Ex-prime minister Lara (25, Educational Sciences) sees a difficulty in this: ‘When you make a choice, you don't really know what the consequences will be. That makes acting in a crisis so much more difficult.’
Lara's conclusion does not come out of the blue: few real decisions were actually made during the simulation. Everyone was mostly gathering the facts and deliberating on what to do. More information does not always lead to better decisions, echoes like a mantra through the classroom. Everyone also now understands how difficult it is to handle a crisis in practice. It is a lesson the participants of the Leiden Leadership Programme will not soon forget.
What is the Leiden Leadership Programme?
What does leadership mean to me? In the Leiden Leadership Programme (15 EC), master's students seek an answer to that question, using insights from science and practice. Participants attend lectures and trainings and do a practical assignment for which they tackle an issue from a real-world organisation.
The programme is organised by the Honours Academy of Leiden University.