How can you be a standout collaborator in Emergency Management?
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Emergency management is a field that requires teamwork, coordination, and communication among various stakeholders, such as first responders, government agencies, community groups, and private sector partners. To be a standout collaborator in emergency management, you need to develop some key skills and practices that can help you build trust, share information, and achieve common goals. Here are some tips to enhance your collaboration skills in emergency management.
Before you start working with other collaborators, you need to understand the context of the emergency situation, the roles and responsibilities of each partner, and the expectations and objectives of the collaboration. This will help you avoid confusion, duplication, or conflict of interests, and ensure that everyone is on the same page. You can use tools such as situation reports, incident action plans, or common operating pictures to gain a clear overview of the context and the collaboration framework.
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Mike Matranga
Founder / Thought Leader / X-Secret Service-CAT-PPD / X - DOI Agent-JTTF / K12 Security Professional / Host of the SecurED Podcast / Media Contributor
I believe the first step to effective Emergency Management is to master the concept of being calm in a crisis. Doing so allows you to make conscious and informed decisions based upon fast paced, emerging intelligence which may mean the difference in increased or decreased damage to the situation at hand. Speaking direct, clear and firmly so that there is no question as to what your directive is, is key.
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Scott Milne ESM, FRSA FAcEM FAIES F.ISRM FSBP FStratPS
Principal Consultant
The first thing is to understand the difference between managing an emergency, and Emergency Management. The second is to not confuse response capability with an agency focus. The third is to start from a position of the community, not an agency. The fourth is to understand the concept (or related concepts) of a comprehensive, all hazards approach, where Prevention, Prepardness, Response, Infrastructure and Community Recovery are not phases, but a system that needs to function seamlessly, using lessons learnt feedback. The fifth is that lessons identified are not lessons learnt. The sixth is that incidents, crisis, emergencies, disasters and catastrophies are not the same. If you don't understand those six things, start again.
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Communication is essential for collaboration, especially in emergency management, where timely and accurate information can make a difference between life and death. You need to communicate effectively with your collaborators, using appropriate channels, formats, and languages, and respecting cultural and professional differences. You also need to listen actively, ask questions, provide feedback, and acknowledge the contributions of others. You can use tools such as radios, emails, phone calls, or meetings to communicate with your collaborators, depending on the urgency, complexity, and sensitivity of the information.
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Rashid Khan
PHD Candidate | Member UNDRR | TEDX Speaker | Best Selling Author | Global Disaster Risk and Emergency Management Expert | Founder and CEO Evacovation | Security Advisor, ISO 27001 Master
In my opinion, creating a positive and supportive environment by being respectful, encouraging, and supportive of your collaborators is very effective. We should create clear expectations, remove industry jargon and providing regular feedback. Effective communication creates clear, concise, reliable and accountable collaborations.
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Mark Hevers BM
Retired Police Sergeant
I agree that the dissemination and sharing of effective, clear, concise and respectful communication between combat agencies is critical in emergency management. Without this there can be no coordination of a response to eliminate the emergency. It is critical that all agencies share information to eliminate risk to their employees and members of the public.
Collaboration in emergency management is not only about sharing information, but also about sharing resources and expertise. You need to be willing and able to offer your skills, knowledge, equipment, or facilities to your collaborators, and also to request and accept their help when you need it. You can use tools such as resource inventories, mutual aid agreements, or training programs to share resources and expertise with your collaborators, depending on the availability, suitability, and accessibility of the resources.
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Rashid Khan
PHD Candidate | Member UNDRR | TEDX Speaker | Best Selling Author | Global Disaster Risk and Emergency Management Expert | Founder and CEO Evacovation | Security Advisor, ISO 27001 Master
Willingness to share your knowledge and expertise freely is one of the most important qualities of a good collaborator. It shows that you are generous with your time and resources, and that you are committed to helping others succeed. When you share your knowledge, you are also helping to build a community of learners and experts who can support each other.
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Mark Hevers BM
Retired Police Sergeant
In my experience the sharing of expertise and some resources in an emergency is meet with mutual respect, and not with held due to ego by any particular combat agency. However not all resources can be shared due to the operation of equipment requires specialist training, having said that operators and equipment is not withheld unless not operationally practicable. Each agency has the common goal of eliminating the emergency.
Collaboration in emergency management is also about solving problems creatively, especially when faced with uncertainty, complexity, or change. You need to be flexible and adaptable, and able to think outside the box, to find innovative solutions that can benefit all collaborators. You also need to be open-minded and respectful, and able to consider different perspectives, opinions, and ideas from your collaborators. You can use tools such as brainstorming, scenario planning, or prototyping to solve problems creatively with your collaborators, depending on the nature, scope, and impact of the problems.
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Curt Dooley, MPSLA
Security, Emergency Management Professional
By reaching out to others for help and advice, and being accepting of others reaching out to you for the same. Every disaster is local but a collaboration can cross oceans.
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Rashid Khan
PHD Candidate | Member UNDRR | TEDX Speaker | Best Selling Author | Global Disaster Risk and Emergency Management Expert | Founder and CEO Evacovation | Security Advisor, ISO 27001 Master
By sharing your knowledge and put it to broader audience also creates a space where other input to your idea and also help you sanitize it. It helps getting a broader understanding of problem and gets more eyes on solutions. Here are some of the ways to share your knowledge for problem solving. Write blog posts or articles on topics related to the problem. Give presentations and workshops. Contribute to open-source projects. Participate in online forums and discussion groups. Share your resources and tools.
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Collaboration in emergency management is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires evaluation and improvement. You need to monitor and measure the progress and outcomes of your collaboration, and identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. You also need to seek and provide feedback, and recognize and celebrate the achievements and learnings of your collaboration. You can use tools such as surveys, interviews, or debriefings to evaluate and improve your collaboration with your collaborators, depending on the frequency, duration, and intensity of the collaboration.
By following these tips, you can be a standout collaborator in emergency management, and enhance your professional reputation, relationships, and results.
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Mark Hevers BM
Retired Police Sergeant
I agree with this statement. Debriefing is crucial to emergency management and should be done with all agencies involved in any emergency response. It assists agencies to identify what worked, what didn’t, what could be improved to ensure mistakes are not repeated.
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Marcus Butcher
Safety, Health and Environment Adviser at The Royal British Legion
Evaluate and evolve: Monitor collaboration through surveys, interviews, and debriefings. Measure progress, identify SWOT factors. Seek and provide feedback. Recognise achievements and learnings. Continuous improvement ensures adaptability and resilience in Emergency Management collaboration.
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Rashid Khan
PHD Candidate | Member UNDRR | TEDX Speaker | Best Selling Author | Global Disaster Risk and Emergency Management Expert | Founder and CEO Evacovation | Security Advisor, ISO 27001 Master
Just sharing an example of the work and how impactful it can be. I have been contributing to UNDRR in prevention hubs and knowledge hubs for several years. Through my work with UNDRR, I have had the opportunity to connect with other experts from all over the world. These relationships have been invaluable to me, and they have helped me to learn new things and to develop new ideas. I recently collaborated with a group of experts from UNDRR to develop a new training program on disaster preparedness. The program has been well-received by the disaster risk reduction community, and it is now being used by organizations in over 50 countries.
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Michelle Neisen CBCP, CCRP, MCP, MEP
LinkedIn Top Voice | Business Continuity | Disaster Recovery | Cyber Resilience | Crisis Management | Emergency Management
Work with your partners year round, when there's not an emergency, to develop strong relationships and trust. This fosters increased communication and coordination during a response. Some ways to do this: 1) Exercise incident scenarios together to learn areas of strength and others that may need support from your partners or enhanced. 2) Do notification drills to increase communication and include use of collaborative tools. This increases familiarity with the process and the technology being used. 3) Spend social time together to share stories and learn about each other. This gives you opportunities to have a relationship outside of high-stress situations. Remember that we are stronger as a team. Be kind and have a little grace.
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