And it’s over to you….
Risk management and decision making in the post-pandemic era
On 24th February 2022, I sat listening to Prime Minister Boris Johnson talk about ending all legal restrictions around Covid. I felt a creeping awareness of the extensive challenges this would inevitably bring for business leaders. Since March 2020, it feels like everything has changed yet, at the same time, nothing has changed.
Before the pandemic, we all knew where we were when it came to how and where our teams work, what to do when they are ill, how to assess flexible working requests, the list goes on.
Fast forward to early 2022, the narrative is about ‘living with Covid’ and getting back to normal. And so, they’re removing all the rules we’ve followed for two years - ostensibly meaning the ‘old rules’ apply once more. It’s back on you to set the framework for your business and lead the way.
In many ways, making decisions without rules and making judgement calls is what we do daily as business owners and people. Yet, with the impact of Covid for context, it starts to feel a bit unnerving.
Certainty breeds confidence
Where clarity of expectations exists, most people feel a sense of comfort. We're happy when we know what’s expected of us. Nobody enjoys making it up on the hoof. We just work better, confident with a bit of certainty, and feel we're complying.
Ambiguity makes us nervous
Conversely, we also know that people feel a bit more unsettled by any sense of vagueness or where we are required to interpret unclear guidance. Especially if you're a leader because, as the famous saying goes, that way - there be dragons.
The wonder of 20/20 hindsight
I recently presented at the Joint Helicopter Command’s air safety study day. Perhaps you’re wondering, “what on earth can ex-naval commander Johanna, who is now a leadership coach, help the Joint Helicopter Command with when it comes to their air study day”? It’s a fair question!
As it happens, I've got a fabulous story about a sinking ship which I tend to use to bring to life a lot of different aspects, one of which is leadership, and another, which is risk management. And it's the risk management ‘stuff’ in particular that I want to focus on for a bit.
(Oh, you haven’t heard the sinking ship story?? Well, here's a link to my recent TED talk on it.)
Unsurprisingly, given the nature of the sinking ship incident, a whole bunch of unplanned things came up that I, and the rest of the officers, had to navigate on the hoof.
As you’d expect, they teach you how to deal with fires and floods onboard a ship in the Navy. But none that were the size and significance and near catastrophe, that the flooding of HMS Endurance was back in 2008. (As a side note, it’s funny to think I’m now most likely part of a new naval training exercise cos that’s how we keep training relevant).
And as a result of the 20/20 hindsight, that incident has given me, there are a couple of useful reflections on risk management that any leader can benefit from. Let me share them now.
The peril of decision paralysis
I think this has relevance to today, not just because we are moving to living with Covid. It also applies to any situation where we are frightened into decision paralysis for fear of scrutiny or discomfort or just getting it wrong. I want to encourage you to make those tough decisions anyway.
By not making tough decisions, you/me/we otherwise end up in a state of learned helplessness.
Learned helplessness
It's a well-known phrase and refers to what happens when we don’t know what to do, or rely on others to tell us what to do, so we become a bit helpless and do nothing because that feels like the safest course of action. But actually, I'm not sure it is all that safe - particularly for positions of leadership.
But I digress, back to the Joint Helicopter Command.
One of the things that I spoke to the Joint Helicopter Command about was what I called “going off-piste”. This is to say, not being frightened to go with your judgement, creativity, or gut instinct when you’re ‘in the moment’ and do stuff that’s not in the rule books - or may be actually against the rule book.
Let’s add some context. We did some things on board HMS Endurance that were technically off record or against the rules. However, in the moment, those decisions were based on a whole bunch of criteria that only we could see because of where we were - both geographically and situationally! And indeed, some of that was information you couldn't have necessarily pulled out in isolation. We decided that it was better to go off-piste or against the rules based on that information.
For example, and you can see this in the Board of Inquiry Report, we were told not to separate ourselves from the anchorage point until both of the tugs that had come to rescue us were in situ. One of the tugs had made it a couple of hours ahead of the other. We had received a clear and strict instruction from the UK that said, do not cut the anchors until you've got both tugs in situ.
However, what we knew at the time, but couldn’t be judged from afar, was that the weather was getting worse. The sea state and weather were deteriorating and we could see that all of the ingredients of what was happening for us at that moment in time were getting worse. And therefore we weren't sure that we had the time to wait for the second tug.
With the benefit of hindsight, not waiting for the second tug proved to be the right decision. The weather indeed did worsen, and the other tug was only an hour or so behind.
Accepting you might get it wrong
It’s really important to remember, and accept, that we're not going to please all of the people all the time.
After the HMS Endurance incident, there was a lot of post-event scrutiny; ship’s investigations, technical investigations and board of inquiry; every aspect of the incident and our behaviour during the incident was scrutinised. Collectively we were a bit nervous about what that could mean, what it was going to show up and whether there was going to be either explicit or implied criticism of who we are and how we did things.
But I'm here to tell you that you're never going to please all of the people all the time. And you can’t let that noise get in the way of making good, ‘in the moment’ decisions.
The value of record-keeping
The reality is that, often, when we're in a rush or in a crisis, we're very good at making the decisions but perhaps not so good at recording those decisions. Yet recording your decisions is an incredibly powerful learning process that will help you in the future.
When you’re making decisions based on the information available to you at any given point, they can sometimes look a bit odd when you reflect back on them. Because after the event, you’ve got more information to draw from.
By recording the how and why of your decision-making, either during or very shortly after a significant event, you can ring-fence the facts and criteria you were working with. This makes it easier to justify (if necessary) or to formalise for the future, plus learn from.
Leadership means making tough decisions that may not always be the right ones. But what’s the alternative?
A leaderless task
There’s a leadership training exercise called “the leaderless task” in the military, which is exactly as you’d expect from the title. Often what the task highlights to all involved is just how chaotic situations become when everybody's trying to take control and make a decision, or nobody is. It’s often utter chaos!
The comfort of clarity
Circling back to my original point, clarity gives comfort, and I think that’s a massive lesson for leaders.
Make the decisions you need to make, and don't worry quite so much. Record why you made the decision and the factors you considered in doing so. Be ready to flex in the moment if the situation tells you the decision you made wasn’t the right one. And then be ready to explain to others why you took the route you did.
Ultimately the worst decision will always be the one you didn’t make!
Test drive your decisions on me
Feeling like it’s all down to you to make the right decisions for your people and your business can be a heavy load to bear. Why not test drive some of those decisions you’re mulling over in a safe space?
Your first hour is always ‘on me’ with no obligation to go any further.
If you’d like to find out more about working with me, why not book a free consultation via the button below.
