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Sticky wickets: what to do when all roads lead to disaster...

Sticky wickets: what to do when all roads lead to disaster...

Welcome to The Fixer, a weekly newsletter from The WayFinders Group. You could be making headlines for all the wrong reasons, but it won't happen to you because you're here learning from other leaders' spectacular missteps. Every Friday, we forensically examine the corporate crises that could have been avoided with foresight, fresh thinking, and a phone call to the right people (aka us!). We also provide the next installment of our agony aunt column, and the best escapism money can buy.

Leah Brown FRSA
August 29, 2025

Friday’s Fiasco

Imagine this: you're at Astronomer on a Tuesday morning and suddenly your CEO and Chief People Officer have both resigned. Not for strategic reasons, not for better opportunities - because they got caught on Kiss Cam having an affair that's now viral with 27 million views.

The sticky wicket: You've lost your two most critical crisis management leaders during your biggest crisis:

🚨 CEO gone → No ultimate decision-maker when every choice matters
🚨 CHRO gone → No one to handle internal comms when staff are panicking
🚨 Dual crisis → Managing both the PR disaster AND sudden succession planning
🚨 Timeline pressure → Media wants responses NOW, but you need time to regroup
🚨 Leadership vacuum → Remaining executives scrambling to fill roles they've never done

The real challenge: How do you steady the ship when the captain and first mate have both jumped overboard in a storm? Interim CEO Pete DeJoy had to:

✅ rebuild leadership credibility
✅ maintain business operations
✅ reassure employees and investors
✅ navigate unprecedented media attention
🔥 all whilst learning the CEO role on the fly

Our advice: This is exactly why every organisation needs an emergency leadership protocol, not just succession planning. When leaders exit in crisis, you can't afford a weeks-long search process or lengthy handovers. You need someone who can step up immediately, make difficult decisions under pressure, and rebuild stakeholder confidence whilst the spotlight is blazing. The companies that survive leadership scandals aren't the ones with perfect leaders - they're the ones with robust systems that function regardless of who's in charge.

Crisis management becomes infinitely harder when you're simultaneously managing a crisis of leadership. Pete deserves his flowers!

Fix me!

Dear Leah,

I’m Chief Transformation Officer, and I’ve discovered that two of our non-executive directors have been having private conversations with key shareholders about our CEO’s performance. Our CEO doesn’t know, but the whispers are getting louder - “lack of strategic vision,” “too operational,” “not the right leader for growth.” The irony is that our CEO is actually doing a decent job in a difficult market, but his communication style doesn’t inspire confidence in the boardroom. He’s brilliant in small groups but struggles in formal presentations. I genuinely believe he could succeed with the right support, but I also understand the Board’s concerns. One of the NEDs approached me last week asking for my “honest assessment” of the CEO’s capabilities. I suspect they’re building a case for his removal, but I also worry that changing leadership now would be catastrophic for morale and momentum. Do I warn the CEO? Do I try to coach him? Do I stay neutral and risk being complicit in what might be an unfair process?

— Privy to A Silent Coup

Hi there ‘Privy to A Silent Coup’,
You're in the eye of a governance storm where everyone's playing politics instead of solving problems. The real tragedy? A capable CEO might lose his job because nobody's bothered to help him develop the one skill he lacks.

Facing your own fiasco? Don't let your crisis become next week's newsletter feature. Call us.

Find clarity fast - Our same-day diagnostic gives you immediate understanding of what's broken and a clear roadmap to fix it. Perfect when you need urgent direction before making critical decisions.

Fix conflicts properly - Through board mediation, team mediation, and conflict resolution training, we facilitate genuine resolution that strengthens relationships rather than just managing disputes.

Future-proof after crisis - Our post-crisis restoration programme systematically repairs organisational culture over 90 days, ensuring lasting transformation rather than temporary fixes.

Find your way forward whether a merger gone wrong, a scandal brewing, or simply the sense that your organisation has lost its way - we help leaders chart a course to calmer waters.

If you're ready to avoid becoming our next case study or want to feature a case study of your own, contact us at [email protected].

Feel-good Fixes

Feed yourself well
Leah discovered a celeriac salad in a deli in Leigh-on-Sea in the height of spring and has been making it sans recipe for weeks now. It's basically Ottolenghi's raw root vegetable remoulade but with her own chaotic measurements. What remains constant is the sweet-and-sour magic that somehow makes celeriac and swede taste like they're actually trying to be delicious alongside capers that actually are. The key is massaging the vegetables whilst you mix - yes, you're basically giving your salad a spa treatment, but it works. But definitely omit the sour cherries - you'll be thankful when everywhere you look for them is out of stock.

Find your flow
When did you last write an actual letter? Not a Post-it note reminding yourself to buy milk, but a proper, sit-down-with-good-paper letter. There's something deliciously rebellious about choosing the slowest possible form of communication in our age of instant everything. But here's the thing: receiving a handwritten letter in 2025 is like finding a tenner in your coat pocket - unexpected, delightful, and makes you feel slightly special. Research shows three-quarters of people feel letter writing benefits their mental health, probably because it's the only time we're forced to think before we communicate rather than just projecting our thoughts onto a screen. Start with something easy like a short note to tell your mum the lasagne recipe that saved you from back to school meltdown is still unmatched.

Fuel your body
Zone 2 training has quietly become the darling of the fitness world, and for good reason - it's exercise that doesn't feel like punishment. This is that sweet spot where you're working hard enough to feel virtuous but can still hold a conversation. The revelation? Constantly going all-out on 5k runs and HIIT workouts doesn't makes them harder. Zone 2 training builds your aerobic base whilst actually allowing recovery between sessions. Think brisk walking or easy cycling at a pace where you could theoretically sing along to your playlist (but probably shouldn't). Your body becomes a fat-burning machine, teaching your mitochondria to work more efficiently. The beauty is you finish feeling energised rather than destroyed, breaking the brutal cycle of exhaustion that comes from always going full throttle. NGL, we're dubious.

Flex your brain
If you missed out on National Theatre tickets for Inter Alia starring Rosamund Pike, don't despair - there are Friday Rush performances at 1pm for just £10, running until 13 September. From the powerhouse team behind Prima Facie, this searing new play follows Jessica Parks, a Crown Court judge trying to balance changing the system with the impossible juggling act of working motherhood. Pike makes her National Theatre debut as a woman who's karaoke-obsessed by night and legally formidable by day, until an event threatens to upend everything. Writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin have crafted another examination of power, justice, and what happens when personal and professional worlds collide. If you're fascinated by how people navigate impossible choices whilst the stakes keep rising - or if you just want to see Pike command a stage like she commands a screen - this is your chance to catch a sold-out sensation for the price of a decent lunch.

About The WayFinders Group

You know those moments when board conflicts spiral out of control, your leadership team can't function, or you're dealing with the aftermath of an organisational crisis? That's exactly when you need The WayFinders Group.

Founded by lawyer and accredited mediator Leah Brown FRSA, we help leaders improve the bottom line by resolving conflict and restoring workplaces from chaos to clarity. We're the multi-disciplinary team you call when traditional HR solutions aren't enough and you need systematic transformation, not just damage control. Our proven approach works because we don't just address symptoms - we tackle root causes using The WayFinders Restoration Method delivering reductions in workplace conflicts and helping organisations avoid costly tribunals whilst rebuilding stakeholder trust.

Our track record includes transforming private companies, NHS trusts, police forces, sports teams, and educational institutions, plus handling the kind of boardroom breakdowns and CEO crises that end careers if mismanaged. We ensure sustainable transformation rather than quick fixes. Think of us as the team that prevents your next move resulting in failure, and instead sets the foundation for the legacy you want to leave. Because when you can handle the impossible personalities and navigate the political minefields, everything else becomes manageable.