Disaster Leadership: Looking Towards Tomorrow

Disasters abound around us. In the past weeks we have seen two devastating hurricanes hit Texas and Florida, the destruction of Caribbean Islands, and earthquakes in Mexico to name a few. When disasters strike, leadership should be the key element which keeps an organization, county, state, or country together.

We also honored the memory and the events of September 11th this week. In the strong emotions, painful memory, and the galvanizing aftermath of this tragic event, there were many who posted videos of President Bush and his firm hand on calming the nation, providing strength to the hurting, and a resolve to move forward. Politics aside, it was a powerful and defining leadership moment.

I should say thankfully, on day to day operations, we don’t normally deal with hurricanes, earthquakes, or terrorist flying planes into our buildings. The one thing I have learned through these events and other “disasters” in my career, there is always a tomorrow. A goal then of leadership is to help define the tomorrow.

At the time of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, I was fortunate to be stationed in northern Japan. I’ve battled other hurricanes, tornados, floods, and blizzards. I’ve come to realize in a simple way that there are many things leaders can do to help their organization and people through these natural disasters and help set the course for “tomorrow.”

I’ve also been through labor disputes, government shut downs, staff shortages, medical quality reviews, active shooter incidents, power loss, computer failures, and over demanding headquarters requests. These disasters come with eerily the same type aftermath and leadership challenges, though lower usually in personal impact, as their natural disasters brethren. Again, leaders need to help the organization and the people set the course for tomorrow.

Each organization and industry should have standards to help with deciding how the organization should operate in any of these disasters, natural or man-made. That can be the easy part. How do leaders prepare? Outside of the set policy of your organization, I have simplified the 4 keys to success for leading in a disaster and looking towards your tomorrow.

Planning: More specifically preplanning. I’ve made this the first step because in the time of your disaster (put in here any you daily encounter), if you don’t have a plan for how to deal with the disaster, the rest is pure reaction. And we have known that pure reaction does not usually lead to good outcomes. Know your organization’s policies for the disasters you’ll face. Natural disasters afford you usually the luxury of time to have a plan. What are the evacuation options, where do people shelter, what is the communication plan. A standardized approach allows all in the organization to be prepared.

Man-made disasters usually present themselves and require a specified amount of initial reaction. Power outages, computers going down, or bomb threats don’t often give you the luxury of time. But the leader’s pre-planning and understanding the process the organization has established to deal with these and other disasters give you the advantage in making it through successfully. Where leaders in organizations fail is that they think these things will never happen to them. Sadly, this sets up their followers for failure, frustration, and a negative impact to the mission. You should review and be prepared to keep your mission moving forward when these disasters happen and that can only happen if you are prepared.

Flexibility: In every disaster experience, nothing follows a flow chart. The saying goes the plan was perfect until it met reality. Chaos and confusion are two sisters that arrive when a disaster visits. Flexibility in response is required for leaders as the dynamics of the situation unfold. The agility with which leaders adapt create and opportunity followers and the organization to regain some balance. To support decision making with flexibility, the leader needs to understand the mission of the organization, the goal of the disaster plan, and the coordination required to ensure the entire organization succeeds.

Flexibility in the absence of coordination with other leaders will create a potentially devastating effect for recovery. A leader’s full understanding of the disaster plan, collaboration with other interested and affected leaders, and situational awareness in the development of the disaster gives them more flexibility to adjust and overcome the disaster.

Execute: We have all seen leaders paralyzed when it comes to disasters. This is not an indictment, but a reality. Some are more prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually to lead in an immediate disaster. When action is required in a disaster, deliberate action is needed. A leader must have already have thought through these disasters and should be prepared to do what is necessary to take care of the people and the mission.

After my oldest daughter began college, there was an active shooter incident in a community college on the west coast. As a parent, it gave me chills. When I called my daughter that day just to give her a long distance hug, we talked about what happened. We also talked about what she should do in an active shooter incident. My final words to her were, you need to be prepared to act. I had her repeat back to me her plan and then I peppered her with all the “what ifs” options I could think. I finally share that at some point, it may mean leaving your friends behind. When you know you need to move, you move. Take with you those going, but execute what you need to do to be safe, her mission from me. Leaders need the same advice. Think through your disaster and be prepared to execute your mission.

After Actions: Many organizations do an after Action Report, Lessons Learned, or a Hot Wash to discuss the disaster. This entails usually a summary of events and more importantly the things that went well and those that did not. As a leader, look for those in your organization on the disasters or events you could face. Read what has been successful and what has not been useful. These past experiences can provide you an education to better prepare you to face the next disasters. You don’t want history to repeat itself.

Likewise, let me give you some encouragement. If you have been through a disaster, and you did your best to take care of the mission and your people, to help them look towards tomorrow, then stand proud. These After Action reports can be seen as an accusation of what you did wrong and how you failed. Stop. Only you can decide not to take this as a personal attack.

Trust me there are leaders who LOVE to ensure you feel like a failure. Ignore them. However, look at what happened, look at what information you had, the circumstances at the time of your decision, and see if there was a fallacy in your logic which led you towards your decision. When you identify where or if you made a wrong decision based on what you knew at the time, then learn that point, share it and don’t make it again. If not, then move forward. Monday morning quarterbacks playing the blame game do it for their own entertainment not your growth.

Your leadership can mean the difference between success and failure in any type of disaster. Are you prepared to lead and ensure you organization and followers are able to look towards tomorrow?

Leading with you,

Dean

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