TNT’s newest drama, The Last Ship, has drawn me in over the past few weeks, and as the story unfolds, it has become a weekly lesson in crisis management and communications. Based on the novel by William Brinkley, The Last Ship is a compelling chronicle of the USS Nathan James, a U.S. navy warship sent on a top-secret, radio-silent mission in the arctic with a team of epidemiologists. When the mission ends, and the ship is ready to head home, the captain and crew learn that in their absence, a global pandemic has killed 80% of the world’s population.

It is then the crew learns the researchers’ true mission: they have been frantically trying to find a cure for the deadly virus. The ship cannot return home, and they sail south, encountering numerous adversaries and obstacles to obtaining food, fuel and the supplies needed for the doctors to develop a vaccine.

It’s an extreme example of a crisis, and one that, hopefully, we will never have to address. Importantly, communications decisions made by the ship’s captain and his senior officers (i.e., leadership and management) follow a path that holds crisis management lessons for leaders and communicators everywhere.

Watching this week’s episode, “Lock Down,” I am reminded of the importance of transparency in a crisis. Among the lessons:

Get all the information out, early and often. The captain (leadership) has shared some information with the crew, but he has kept the worst details close to the vest. In a crisis, the truth will eventually come out, and stakeholders will respond more positively if it comes from you directly. People can handle bad news, but they will never forgive you for not being forthcoming.

If you don’t talk, others will. Inevitably, members of the crew hear and see things that cause them to become confused and angry, causing them to lose trust in the captain, and threatening the mission to “Find a Cure, Stop the Virus, Save the World.” Proactive leaders who share information early and often are maintaining a positive balance in their “goodwill bank,” building the trust among stakeholders that is vital to recovering from the crisis.

Your response needs to be about the victims. Captain Chandler finally drives this message home when, having assembled the rattled crew on deck, he plays radio messages from refugees across the globe, reminding the crew that the crisis is not about them. Strong leaders help the crisis team focus on what’s important, and that ultimately, crises are about people.

Facts are not enough. You need to tell a story. On deck, the captain opens the doors to the makeshift lab. The crew sees firsthand what is being done to try to resolve the crisis, renewing their faith in leadership. Stakeholders need to know that those managing the crisis are human. By illustrating the situation through images and stories, leaders create a bridge between the organization and those impacted by the situation, building credibility and trust.

I am looking forward to tuning in next week to learn the next lesson in crisis management!