Leading Through Disasters
Leading Through Disasters
Understanding (and applying) Four Approaches to Delegating Work in Your Team
I had a boss once who asked me, "what is more important, leadership or management?" Before I could respond, he continued with, "Neither, people follow competence."
His point was clear: to be effective, I needed (and wanted) to not only be competent in my team's technical function, but also needed to be competent in the leadership AND the management them.
It isn't one over the others, but actually all-in-one since a gap in ANY of the three can impact the ability of the team to accomplish its goals.
Leadership alone won't suffice if the team can't produce results when needed at the required performance and quality levels.
Management alone won't serve the organization well if the team members don't want to work with the manager again on a future project.
Leadership and management are meaningless if the leader doesn't understand the work the team is doing or the problem they are solving.
This lesson has stuck with me and is crucial for organizations preparing for uncertain futures.
Many organizations use a small group of emergency management professionals to plan for disasters, then surge staff, mutual aid partners, contracted support, and volunteers when a disaster occurs. Competence as a leader, manager, and public safety operator requires understanding how to get the most out of each team member. This starts with knowing how to assign responsibilities to team members.
For our military veteran readers: While this staffing dynamic can be challenging for emergency managers, it is similar to two principles of war that you may be familiar with:
Disaster Preparedness is an "economy of force" function. Disaster preparedness is secondary to an organization's primary mission. Dedicating minimal resources and people to preparedness allows the organization to focus and allocate its resources to critical operations.
Disaster Response is defined by "massing" your resources at the critical time and place. In disaster response, organizations concentrate resources at critical times to address the problem for a short period of time before returning to normal operations. This allows organizations to limit their exposure to disasters, without feeling over-committed to an event that may or may not happen.
The Four Approaches to Tasking
Leaders can use four approaches to assign tasks to their team members, adapting their management style to meet each person's needs.1 Here’s a breakdown of each approach:
Directing: The leader tells the team member what to do, when to complete it, where to do it, and how to do it. This is, generally, one-way communication where the leader controls the action entirely.
Explaining: Similar to directing, but the leader also explains why the task is done, why it is being done a certain way, and providing context and guidance. This often reflects an educational approach to task assignment.
Supporting: The leader allows the team member to work independently but remains available to help if problems arise. This approach is useful for team members who need to gain experience and "learn by doing."
Delegating: The leader assigns the task and output, and then allows the team member to determine the best way to complete it. This requires trust in the team member's ability and judgment to complete the task in a way that is acceptable to the organization.
Meeting People Where They Are
Choosing the right approach involves considering and objectively answering two questions:
Does the person have the ability to do the job? This includes their readiness and need for supervision.
Does the person want to do the job? Motivation is equally essential when deciding the best approach.
Consider the consequences of misjudging these factors:
Overestimating ability: Delegating to someone who lacks the necessary skills can lead to poor performance, missed expectations, and frustration for both the team member and the leader.
Overestimating motivation: Delegating tasks to an unwilling team member can result in incomplete work. As an example, think of any administrative task that is a part of your job: completing timesheets, writing reports or meeting summaries, submitting expense reports, etc. Most highly capable professionals could do these easily, but there are some who just won't do them until they are directed to.
Underestimating ability or motivation: Over-explaining tasks to capable team members can lead to boredom and frustration.
In disaster response, I certainly understand and appreciate the desire to be able to delegate every task that you have. It would be easier, it would be faster, and result in a higher quality of service to the community. But when working with volunteers, people who have day jobs outside of emergency management, or people who are unfamiliar with your jurisdiction, that isn't possible. Yet, this is why we plan, train, and conduct exercises to ensure readiness. With each well-executed preparedness event, team leaders develop confidence and knowledge in their team's ability to do the work needed when disasters strike.
From Concept to Preparedness
A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work in disaster response and team management. Leaders must adapt their strategies to meet each team member's needs, assessing their ability and motivation, and then choosing an approach that ensures the individual's and the team's success.
Here are a few of tips to make this a natural part of your leadership style.
Practice each of these approaches. Gaining confidence in the accuracy of your ability/motivation assessments and your ability to naturally adjust your management approach is crucial for effective project management and disaster response.
Encourage a culture where team members can take on more responsibilities, seek help when needed, and feel supported. Mistakes are inevitable during disasters, but identifying and addressing issues quickly and working towards solutions is vital.
Talk about "what success looks like" with your team. This can help them identify the skills and abilities that will help them succeed during a disaster response, and then take the initiative to address any gaps.
Understanding and applying these four approaches provides a common language for expectations and communication between members and leaders in teams. Taking this intentional and thoughtful approach to leading team performance helps people understand your approaches and help them adjust to the shifts in your leadership throughout an incident. Whether leading or managing, the goal is to help team members perform at their best and create a motivated, capable team.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
1. The Tactical Analysis Online Course: Join over 4,000 students who have learned how to read behavior, establish baselines, and recognize threats using the approach written about in Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life.
2. Subscribe to the Paths to Preparedness Academy: Access the tools and resources needed by professional emergency managers and homeland security professionals to prepare their organizations for future disasters, disruptions, and crises.
3. Share the Paths to Preparedness newsletter with friends and colleagues to help your organization and the industry prepare for an uncertain future.
The four approaches were first described to me in the book The Situational Leader by Dr. Paul Hersey.