How can Emergency Management professionals make better decisions?

Perhaps another way to phrase the title might be to say “seek to understand the context” before making the decision because there may be times when we are not able to clearly see or understand context. Why? Stakeholders, partners, even bosses may not be forthcoming with information for a multitude of reasons. However, if you make the effort to try and understand the context by asking questions, you may see the bigger picture, or at least get a glimpse of it before making the decision.

To improve decision-making, Emergency Management professionals should stay informed, analyse data, conduct regular training, ensure open communication, collaborate with other agencies, and learn from past incidents to continually improve their strategies.

To make a decisions during emergency, other than using the essentials skills or standard tool to help you analyze the situations and needs, the experience you have always play the role to confident you on the decisions you've make. Always remember a phrase - " When you think nothing is there, there is something." Don't left behind any question mark in your mind before making decisions.

Having the right team with and behind you is very essential and key by any emergency management professional or department. For example having well trained IT experts behind the computer for cyber related matters, having well trained fire marshal’s, disaster management and security team in the public/business administration arena is fundamental in managing emergencies

The old adage of ‘ first seek to understand, then seek to be understood’. Each situation, like each relationship, is dynamic in nature. Constantly changing requirements and levels of investment. There are principles we apply individually based on the dynamics we are presented with. While you may reach the same measure of closure, the path to reach that point is different each time.

Emergency Management cannot be done in a vacuum. Bring in the experts from their respective areas. You are not expected be be the expert in IT/Cyber issues. You are not the expert in Public Works or Utilities. Hold regular meetings and invite all representatives of local government to include the elected officials. Get input from all. Consider it in your analysis.

Experience should teach us that this is not something that should ever happen in a vacuum. Information sources can vary widely in an emergent situation and should require a defined (even loosely) vetting process. But that ‘process’ should not become a debilitating factor in decision making. Seeking wise counsel helps in providing a perspective towards an end state.

Se puede mejorar la toma de decisiones adoptando técnicas de "pensamiento inverso", un método que implica empezar por considerar los peores escenarios posibles y luego trabajar hacia atrás para evitarlos. Este enfoque, similar al ajedrez donde los jugadores anticipan y planifican contra las jugadas adversas, permite a los profesionales identificar posibles fallos o problemas antes de que ocurran. Además, podrían incorporar elementos de juegos de rol en sus entrenamientos, asumiendo diferentes roles en situaciones simuladas de emergencia. Esto ayudaría a desarrollar empatía, comprensión y habilidades de comunicación, permitiéndoles tomar decisiones más informadas y efectivas en situaciones reales de crisis.

Totally agree, implementing best options could consume one at times depending on the nature of the situation you are faced with. Getting a second opinion at times could resolve or allow one to control the situation from a much better point of view. Therefore, being flexible and adaptive is always helpful.

I agree, and I strongly believe that, the best team is a team that can make a poor decision now but, can be corrected later. Rather than not taking a decision at all.

Learning and reflecting are vital to making better decisions. Be open and honest with yourself and be transparent about past outcomes. A need for better decision-making does not always mean that a failure occurred, but there are areas for improvement - or room to make things more effective or efficient.

You also need to be self aware enough to recognize how you respond to feedback. If you cannot be open to learning new approaches or seeing things from a different perspective then you will repeat your identified failures until you learn the lesson.

Honesty and openness is a key in solving any problem. Also going back to the basics “SWOT and SMART” acronyms should be at play here.

I believe there exists two frameworks that are absolutely key. The first is Consult and Decide. Once you have a firm grasp on the issue, you bring together key stakeholders and present your idea for action. You quickly take to heart the feedback, and then make your decision. This is an extremely quick framework, and may be best suited for disasters with little to no time to make decisions. The second framework is, Consensus. You collectively come up with your stakeholders, then all agree on the details of implementing. This framework takes an abundance of time, patience, and is best suited for long term projects or very slow moving, chronic disasters.

Three things that I have learned on this based on my previous experiences, LOOK, LISTEN and DECIDE are the best in developing a decision-making framework.

Emergency management professionals can make better decisions by staying informed, collaborating with others, and using data-driven approaches. They can stay updated on the latest information, consult with experts, and analyze past incidents to learn from them. It's also important for them to communicate effectively and consider different perspectives. Ultimately, making better decisions in emergency management requires a combination of experience, knowledge, and a willingness to adapt.

Staying informed and participating in the community forums, have meeting with the local authorities and team players. This would help in being informed and aware of the surrounding.

Don’t make them alone or in a vacuum… emergency management is about collaboration and teamwork. No single organization can do it alone. There are always more experienced people around you. Utilize their experience, appreciate their feedback, and execute together.