Program Overview
Crises no longer arrive one at a time. Leaders today face overlapping disruptions: geopolitical shocks, supply chain breakdowns, technological upheaval and sudden reputational threats. The organizations that survive and grow through turbulence share one trait—leaders who prepare before the crisis hits.
This program equips senior professionals with the strategic frameworks, decision-making tools and leadership capabilities to anticipate risk, act decisively under pressure and build organizations that recover faster. Grounded in two decades of field research in some of the world’s most challenging business environments and delivered through experiential facilitation and live crisis simulations, this intensive program combines rigorous evidence with immediately applicable practice.
What You Will Learn
- Anticipate and assess geopolitical, economic and operational risks before they become crises
- Make high-quality decisions under pressure, uncertainty and incomplete information
- Lead teams through disruption while maintaining trust, morale and performance
- Build organizational resilience to support recovery and renewal
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders, media and employees during a crisis
Skills You Will Develop
Risk Anticipation
Geopolitical and operational risk scanning and scenario planning
Crisis Decision-Making
Rapid, structured decisions under pressure and ambiguity
Resilient Team Leadership
Sustaining trust, morale and performance through disruption
Crisis Communication
Effective stakeholder, employee and media communication under pressure
Who Should Attend?
This Program is Designed for:
- Senior executives and general managers responsible for operations in volatile markets
- Risk, security, strategy and business continuity leaders
- Government and public sector officials with crisis response mandates
- Entrepreneurs and family business leaders operating across the MENA region and beyond
What you should bring:
- Significant professional experience
- A current or aspiring senior leadership role
- Responsibility for teams, operations or strategy exposed to disruption
- Willingness to participate actively in simulations and peer exchange
Curriculum Structure
Eight modules covering the full crisis cycle: anticipation, response, leadership and recovery.
4-Day Program Flow
Anticipate
- The New Risk Landscape: Geopolitics, Disruption and Business Impact
- Risk Assessment and Scenario Planning
Decide
Simulation- Decision-Making Under Pressure
- Crisis Simulation I: The First 48 Hours
Lead
- Leading Teams Through Disruption
- Crisis Communication and Stakeholder Trust
Recover and Renew
Simulation- Organizational Resilience and Recovery
- Crisis Simulation II: Capstone and Action Planning
8 Core Modules
THE NEW RISK LANDSCAPE
- Geopolitical risk and its business impact
- Polycrisis: overlapping and cascading disruptions
- Lessons from companies operating in conflict-affected and fragile markets
RISK ASSESSMENT AND SCENARIO PLANNING
- Risk identification and prioritization frameworks
- Scenario planning and early warning indicators
- Building a risk radar for your organization
- Application to the MENA region
DECISION-MAKING UNDER PRESSURE
- Cognitive biases in crisis conditions
- Structured rapid decision protocols
- Decision-making with incomplete information
CRISIS SIMULATION I: THE FIRST 48 HOURS
- Live simulated crisis scenario
- Team-based response and role allocation
- Decision-making, communication and leadership under pressure
- Structured debrief and feedback
LEADING TEAMS THROUGH DISRUPTION
- Trust, psychological safety and performance under stress
- Leading dispersed and cross-cultural teams during a crisis
- Personal resilience and leading by example
CRISIS COMMUNICATION AND STAKEHOLDER TRUST
- Internal communication: employees first
- External communication with media, government and customers
- Reputation protection and recovery
ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY
- Rebuilding operations, morale and reputation
- Business continuity and adaptive capacity
- Building resilience through recovery and renewal
CRISIS SIMULATION II
CAPSTONE- Multi-stage crisis simulation integrating learning from across the program
- Application of risk, decision-making, leadership and communication approaches
- Personal and organizational action planning
- Structured peer feedback and program reflection
Academic Faculty and Professional Trainers
Dates, Fees & Enrollment
Duration
4 intensive days
Format
In person
Group Size
15-25 Participants
Delivery
On campus at AUS
Enrollment Options
YOUR PROGRAM FEE INCLUDES
- Four days of in-person executive education at American University of Sharjah
- Daily refreshments, lunch and networking opportunities throughout the program
- Comprehensive learning materials and case studies
- Interactive crisis simulations and experiential learning activities
- A certificate issued by the American University of Sharjah Executive Education and Professional Development Office upon completion of the program
- Exclusive post-program resources, including selected presentation materials, practical frameworks and implementation tools to support continued application in the workplace
- Opportunities to connect with fellow senior executives and faculty through an executive learning network
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes this program different from traditional crisis management or business continuity training?
The program goes beyond crisis procedures and response plans to focus on the leadership capabilities required across the full crisis cycle. Participants explore how to anticipate emerging risks, make decisions with incomplete information, lead teams under pressure, communicate with stakeholders and strengthen organizational resilience through recovery. Two live simulations provide opportunities to apply these capabilities in realistic crisis conditions.
How will the program help me prepare for crises I cannot predict?
Rather than preparing participants for a single type of crisis, the program develops approaches for navigating uncertainty itself. Participants learn to assess emerging risks, use scenario planning and early warning indicators, make structured decisions under pressure and adapt their response as circumstances evolve.
What will I take back to my organization?
Participants leave with practical frameworks and tools they can adapt to their own organizations, including approaches to risk assessment, scenario planning, decision-making, crisis communication, team leadership and organizational recovery. Selected post-program resources and implementation tools support continued application in the workplace.
Direct Program Contact
Manal Rayes
Manager of Executive Education and Professional Development
LEAD THROUGH UNCERTAINTY. BUILD RESILIENCE.
Join executives and senior leaders preparing their organizations to anticipate disruption, make sound decisions under pressure, strengthen resilience and lead effectively through crisis and recovery.
