This article presents the concept of crisis and describes key trends impacting the context of crisis management in contemporary liberal democratic societies around the world. It focuses on the following key questions:List• What is a crisis and how can a rigorous conceptualization of crisis help crisis managers (both official and citizen responders) to make sense of potential crises?• What are some of the key and recurring leadership tasks associated with crisis management (The politics of crisis management: public leadership under pressure, New York, NY, 2005) and how are they affected by the rise of social media and smart devices?The paper concludes with a number of prescriptive reflections for those engaged in the work of improving crisis management capacity for governments and communities.