Zelensky's Wartime Leadership Provides 7 Crisis Management Lessons

Forbes

6 hours ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a press conference at the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025' ... More in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 23, 2025 (Photo by Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images).
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's leadership skills have been constantly tested since Russia invaded his country in 2022. How he has led Ukraine during a challenging and stressful time in its history provides important crisis leadership lessons for corporate executives.
'Zelensky hasn't just held Ukraine together, but forged a leadership archetype built on resilience, clarity, and moral velocity. This is not just a a model suitable for wartime…It's a new standard for leading through chaos,' Irina Tsukerman, president of Scarab Rising which provides political risk assessment and geopolitical analysis, told me via email.
One of Zelensky's initial leadership lessons is the importance of having the right priorities when a crisis strikes. Soon after Russia attacked Ukraine, Zelensky turned down an offer from the United States to be evacuated from the capital city of Kyiv, CNN reported. 'The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,' Zelensky told the U.S.
Another of his early crisis management lessons is to set the record straight when others try to distort the facts of a crisis. A video that showed 'a rendering of the Ukrainian president appearing to tell his soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender the fight against Russia, [was]
Zelensky responded to the disinformation by posting his own video entitled 'do not believe the fakes,' in which he announced that 'I am here. We are not putting down arms. We will be defending our country, because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this.'
An important part of leading a country or a company during a crisis is to be seen and heard during the crisis. The Ukrainian president has generated international headlines by telling his side of the story about Russia's invasion, which included speaking to a joint session of Congress.
Zelensky's leadership 'is anchored in visibility. In times of [an] existential crisis, he made himself omnipresent. Far from limiting himself to control rooms or back channels, he was ubiquitous in the eyes of his people and the world. He was there in fatigues, on the street, in the ruins. That visibility became its own kind of power. For business leaders navigating disruption, the takeaway is clear: presence matters. Inertia erodes trust. Visibility builds it,' Tsukerman of Scarab Rising noted.
Adapt
Circumstances can change quickly in war and corporate crisis situations. That is why it is a leadership crisis management best practice for political and business leaders to adapt and react appropriately to developments before matters get worse.
Zelensky has not hesitated to alter his strategies, tactics, and tactics depending on what was happening on the battlefield or in the world of diplomacy. The surprise drone attack this month that destroyed several Russian aircraft deep within enemy territory is one example. 'The attack, a headline-grabbing show of strength carried out on the eve of the second round of peace talks between the warring countries in Istanbul, targeted at least four Russian military air bases, the furthest of which from Ukraine is the Belaya base in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, around 4,850 km (3,000 miles) from Kyiv,' Reuters reported.
'In business terms, [Zelensky] is a CEO who learned how to pivot not because the market shifted, but because the building was literally on fire. His responsiveness didn't dilute his mission but actively reinforced it,' according to Tsukerman.
Set Egos Aside
Since the war with Russia began Zelensky has consistently found 'new ways to engage with partners, allies, and even frenemies. He's willing to compromise his ego in the pursuit of better opportunities for his country's prospects, highlighted by his tense and sometimes adversarial relationship with President Trump,' Jeff Le, a Fellow at George Mason University's National Security Institute and managing principal at 100 Mile Strategies, a communication and policy consultancy, told me in an email message.
The Ukraine president 'continues to emphasize self-reliance and creative know-how on the battlefield and in negotiations, operating on the assumption that they may, at times, be on their own,' Le observed.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the ... More White House on February 28, 2025 (Photo by)
Prepare For All Scenarios
Business executives should not be surprised when others challenge or disagree when they attempt to tell their side of the story about a crisis. That's why preparation is critical to help ensure that messages about a crisis are communicated successfully. A case in point was the disastrous televised confrontation at the White House earlier this year between Zelensky, President Donald Trump, and other administration officials.
The session was a worst-case communication scenario that became a nightmare reality for Zelensky and his country's supporters. The purpose of Zelensky's visit to Washington was to sign an agreement with Trump that would give the U.S. rights to rare minerals in Ukraine. Zelensky attempted to tell his side of the story about Russia's invasion of Ukraine but was interrupted by a combative and argumentative Trump, who repeatedly accused the Ukrainian president that he was 'gambling with World War III.'
'Crisis communication is a crucial part of crisis leadership. Listen to your advisors. Get strong media training. I often think back to Zelensky'[at that meeting] with Trump [in the Oval Office]. Although he had advisors, he wasn't fully prepared for that high-stakes moment,' Barbara Bell, Captain USN (ret), an adjunct professor of leadership and ethics at the U.S. Naval Academy, told me an in email interview. 'With a well-developed risk communication strategy—and disciplined focus on key messages—the outcome might have been very different.'
Bell recalls the important lessons she learned about communicating messages effectively about crisis situations.'Years ago, during my own risk communication training, I learned a core principle: develop three key messages for any high-risk communication, each with three supporting points. The goal is to consistently bridge back to your core messages—and stay there,' she concluded.
Depending on the nature of a crisis, business leaders should be ready for the long haul. Now more than three yeas later, Ukraine's war with Russia continues to rage. It highlights another important leadership lesson: the longer a crisis lasts, executives may have to make increasingly difficult decisions, know the lengths to which they will defend their companies, and what lines they will or won't cross to address and end the crisis.
Since the war began 'Zelensky has faced that question many times. All leaders must. Crises don't always resolve quickly. You must be ready for the long haul. Zelensky has disrupted conventional warfare while enduring tremendous human loss—potentially an entire generation of young men. Leaders must define their red lines—and then, in some cases, decide whether they're willing to compromise,' Bell of the U.S. Naval Academy warned.
'Transitioning from a comedian to a wartime president, Zelensky has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to inspire and unite his country….Zelensky's leadership is a testament to the fact that true leaders are forged in the fires of adversity. History will treat him well.
That adversity shows no signs of letting up for Zelensky. In April, Trump criticized Zelensky 'for his comments that Ukraine wouldn't recognize Russian control of Crimea, calling the remarks 'very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,' CNN reported.'It's inflammatory statements like Zelensky's that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire—He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,' he posted on Truth Social.
The longer the war continues—and the longer Zelensky leads his country—the more likely it is that business executives could learn yet more leadership lessons from Ukrainian president.