The primary aim of this study is to discover how leadership competencies affect the perceived effectiveness of crisis management. Leadership skills exhibited by public managers in crisis times may help eliminate panic and help victims recover from the difficult situation as soon as possible. The existence of effective leadership in a crisis is one of the most important inputs in order to diminish the harmful effects of crises and disasters. The absence of effective leadership in times of crisis may be one of the most significant problems in the public administration because it may result in loss of human life and property. By answering the following research questions this study provides useable knowledge for public managers and leaders during crises: Are there any different leadership features or characteristics for effective leadership at time of crises than the leadership in normal time? What is the role of effective leadership in managing crises and disasters (natural or man-made)? How do a public administrator's leadership traits and skills impact the effectiveness of crisis leadership? How do a public administrator's leadership behaviors (task-, people-, and organization-oriented behaviors) influence the effectiveness of a crisis leadership? With the aim of revealing these relations, a self-reported survey was sent to 2,095 current and former Turkish public security network managers. The study found that the core leadership competencies (decisiveness, flexibility, communication, problem solving, managing innovation and creativity, team building, managing and organizing personnel, motivating, networking and partnering, decision making, scanning the environment, and strategic planning) have a positive relationship with the effectiveness of crisis leadership. Among three categories of leadership behaviors, task-oriented leadership behaviors were found with the highest level of impact on the effectiveness of crisis leadership. The study indicated the importance of the core leadership competencies in the effectiveness of crisis leadership. According to the results, the hypothesis testing with the covariance structure model supported the positive impact of the core leadership competencies on the effectiveness of crisis leadership. This study contributes to the literature on leadership during crisis situations, and also provides proposals for public managers and practitioners in order to increase their effectiveness in leading their organizations during a crisis situation.