The effectiveness of crisis management is closely linked to the psychological resilience of crisis managers, their cognitive abilities and their ability to cope with high psychological stress. The paper focuses on the education and training of crisis managers with the aim of strengthening their psychological resilience and thereby increasing the effectiveness of crisis management in practice.

The aim of the study is to identify key soft competencies that are necessary for the performance of crisis management and to create a methodology for their development. The case study is based on qualitative methods, including a literature review, interviews with experts in crisis management and analysis of relevant educational documentation for crisis managers. Psychodiagnostic methods are also used, including testing cognitive abilities and resilience to stress in selected crisis managers. The data obtained will allow us to describe the required personality, cognitive, emotional and interpersonal prerequisites for the performance of this profession.

The research results show that current educational and training programs do not sufficiently reflect the need for systematic development of soft competencies of crisis managers in the Czech Republic. There is a lack of a unified methodology for strengthening psychological resilience and cognitive abilities for the given professional field, which may have a negative impact on the real performance of crisis management aimed primarily at protecting the population. The conclusions of the study underline the need to introduce a comprehensive educational and training standard that would include methods for developing psychological resilience, regular testing of cognitive abilities and systematic verification of key competencies.

Keywords: Psychological resilience, crisis manager, soft skills, cognitive abilities, stress resilience, crisis management, training and education, safety, population protection.