Christine Lagarde: crises reveal how people behave under pressure

Crises are increasingly occurring one after another, leaving less time for recovery and reassessment. In such circumstances, resilience depends not only on preparedness for emergencies, but also on the ability to adapt quickly, remain composed under pressure and find solutions that once seemed impossible.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde highlighted this challenge when reflecting on her experience dealing with international economic and political upheavals.

In an interview with China Media Group on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, Christine Lagarde outlined several lessons she believes can be drawn from crises. The first concerns the human factor. She said difficult circumstances reveal how people behave under pressure: some who initially appear steady and confident may panic, while others manage to remain calm. For this reason, she said, people should not be judged by their first impression.

This observation extends beyond personal relationships. During periods of instability, decisions are often made with incomplete information, and responsibility frequently falls on people whose abilities and readiness to act cannot be fully assessed under ordinary circumstances. A crisis becomes a test of leadership and management — both at the individual and institutional levels.

The second lesson highlighted by Christine Lagarde is that crises, despite the suffering they cause, can also accelerate major changes. She pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the decision by European countries to borrow jointly to support those hit hardest. In her assessment, such a move would have seemed almost unthinkable two years before the pandemic, but the emergency created the conditions for it to happen.

The example illustrates how external pressure can reshape the boundaries of political and economic decision-making. Measures that face significant disagreement under normal circumstances may gain new support during a crisis. However, a crisis does not guarantee positive change. It creates a need to reconsider established approaches, while the outcome depends on whether institutions can turn that need into concrete decisions.

Christine Lagarde's third observation concerns the accelerating pace of crises. She said that, increasingly, one emergency follows another before there is enough time to fully address the previous one. This requires constant vigilance and preparedness, as the time available to return to normal operations is becoming increasingly limited.

For the global economy, this succession of shocks makes it more difficult to consider risks in isolation. Geopolitical tensions, energy challenges, disruptions to trade and other external factors can compound one another. As a result, the ability to respond to an individual event is becoming part of a broader task: maintaining resilience amid persistent uncertainty.

The common thread in Christine Lagarde's observations is that a crisis is not only a test of existing systems, but also a moment when their limitations and potential for change become particularly visible. The experience of the pandemic showed that even difficult political decisions can become possible under pressure. Yet in a world where new disruptions emerge ever more rapidly, responding to events after they occur is not enough; constant preparedness for the next challenge is also essential.

According to CCTV+, Christine Lagarde shared these views in an interview with China Media Group on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, held in Bangkok from October 12 to 18.