The Empowered Leader: Defining the Organization’s Response Plan

Leaders are called upon to demonstrate flexibility in the handling of crises. Employees will look to their leader to have a command of the situation, to have the confidence to navigate the unknown, to anticipate conditions, and to make advanced provisions for them. In terms of managerial capacity, it is important to divide decisions into those that can be made pre-situation (e.g., allocation of resources), and those that must be made post-event.

When unexpected events occur, good emergency management serves to reduce improvisation to a minimum. Leaders should emphasize planning for a variety of events that suddenly or significantly disrupt the environment or demand for their organization's services. Developing a communication plan is the first critical step.

Establish a chain of command that is secured ahead of time and known to all key employees. To keep your leaders informed and prepared for an emergency, consider creating an alert model that outlines various stages of events and how to respond. Modern technology supports the ability to release vital information to your employees in a layered method: broadcast e-mails can be viewed from work, home or cell phone; recorded voice-mail messages can keep your employees informed during short-term emergencies; e-mail blasts can deliver specific disaster recovery plans to clients, so that confidence is maintained and expectations are established.

Effective management consists of evaluating information, making decisions and ensuring they are put into practice. The idea is to consider the effects that specific types of emergencies will have on your organization and the community. As part of this process, it is important to remember that one type of emergency may have a cascading effect. Performing test drills of your plan will ensure it remains current and reduce the likelihood of costly errors when called to enable the plan.

Developing an emergency plan requires organizations to determine who is responsible for planning, how to fund emergency readiness efforts, what exactly constitutes the planning and response processes, and how to coordinate within the company and possibly with state and federal emergency management resources.

The areas of vulnerability that most demand community and organizational attention should be addressed in this plan. Collaborate with your leaders in establishing your plan so they are intimately aware of the components and agree on the core structure. Their understanding and confidence in the plan will be invaluable if ever faced with an emergency.

Steps to Defining Your Organization’s Plan:

Identify and establish an emergency preparedness plan.

Determine the risks and hazards the community faces.

Set goals for preparedness and response planning.

Determine current capacities and capabilities.

Develop the integrated plan.

Ensure thorough communication planning.

Ensure thorough mental health planning.

Ensure planning related to vulnerable populations.

Identify, cultivate and sustain funding sources.

Train, exercise and drill collaboratively.

Critique and improve the integrated community plan.