If you’re a successful broadcast TV news anchor, reporter, or meteorologist, then you probably have a TV news talent agent looking out for you.
After all, having someone with connections in the industry is crucial for getting your foot in the door. And with a good agent, you’ll find out about available jobs before it’s public information.
But one of the more overlooked benefits of an agent is having someone who can easily and effectively put out fires. Does your agent have the skills for effective crisis management?
Required Skills for Effective Crisis Management
Long-time TV news talent agent Mort Meisner is an expert in crisis management. With over three decades of experience under his belt, he’s learned and then honed many qualities that have helped make him successful in crisis management. And this is a necessary skill set when working in broadcast news.
In dealing with a crisis, he strives to be the following:
Fair-Minded
For Mort, being fair-minded means considering every viewpoint, concept, or idea carefully. Yet also understanding that each position and viewpoint does not have the same merits. In considering every side of the argument, he can see that there are multiple potential courses of action in responding to a crisis. From there, he tests out the most viable options to determine their merits, as well as possible shortcomings.
Courageous
Being fair-minded shouldn’t be confused with just rolling over, though. Mort also sees the value in challenging conflicting ideas. Particularly those that are strongly supported or rejected. From his many years of experience, he’s learned that every idea must be challenged to ensure it stands up to scrutiny. After all, this is the only way to ensure that he can keep growing and evolving in his crisis management techniques. For Mort, no concept is ever beyond questioning.
Empathetic
Mort’s ability to understand another person’s thoughts, perspective, or situation is partially learned, but partially built in. He’s a naturally empathetic soul who always seeks to understand another’s viewpoint before challenging it. He recognizes the power of acknowledging times in the past when he held one belief, but then changed his mind when presented with a more compelling point of view. He understands all too well how people can stay mired in beliefs that don’t serve them because they are comfortable or familiar.
Persevering
Crisis management demands time and patience to develop a foundational understanding of the situation. But it also requires dogged persistence and perseverance to grasp the situation, then hone the necessary cognitive skills to address the problem.
Autonomous
First, managing a crisis requires the ability to be presented with new evidence and points of view, then freely ask questions, adjust perceptions, and challenge beliefs based on these. And that means a crisis manager must have autonomy. During a crisis, Mort strongly encourages an environment where non-judgmental and open discussions can bloom. In this constructive and respectful environment, he culls the information and independently synthesizes the knowledge without confrontation and with a degree of wisdom. This contributes to more productive outcomes.
Humble
Finally, humility is a core trait necessary for successful crisis management. And Mort has this in droves. He’s well-grounded in an understanding of his capabilities, while simultaneously grasping the limitations of his knowledge and skills. Mort does not purport to know or understand everything and strives for better solutions and answers than what he may have to offer. After all, he recognizes that perfection doesn’t exist and that some of the best lessons and solutions have come from recognizing his own mistakes.
How Well Does Your Agent Handle a Crisis?
Are you confident that your current agent possesses the skills for effective crisis management?
You can be certain Mort Meisner does. As a nationally-renowned veteran TV news talent agent, there’s not a crisis that he can’t successfully manage.
So contact Mort Meisner today. You can be confident that he’ll always have your back.
