Comments on: How to Manage Emergencies and Still Stay on Track

By: Ruth Finkelstein

Ruth Finkelstein — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 02:36:42 +0000

Wow, this brought back memories. I used to have an employee who was a fire fighter. When I first started managing the unit and an emergency arose, the staff would chant, “wait for xxxx to get here, she’ll fix it in no time.” I observed this for several days and then had a serious talk with my hero employee. It turned out that she was not a fire fighter but an arsonist. It was because of little things that she had set up or rather not followed up on to closure that the emergency occurred. So I became very astute to examine emergencies and determine what I might have done/not done that resulted in the emergency.

By: Susan Schumacher

Susan Schumacher — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 21:46:51 +0000

In reply to Larry Reeder.

I agree Larry. Like you, in my previous life my job was a respiratory therapist. After practicing respiratory therapy for over 16 years I know what emergencies are.
In my current job working as an admin, everyone thinks they have emergencies…but no one is going to die, it is just issues that require immediate attention,

By: Maria Onufrow

Maria Onufrow — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 21:02:02 +0000

Another long-term solution to address the “emergency” interruptions is to do a root cause analysis and see if any patterns emerge. For instance, if several of the reported problems turn out to be that people didn’t know what they were doing, more training (or a different type of training) can be rolled out to prevent these errors from happening in the future. Or if a certain part of the software keeps breaking, address that as a separate initiative. Over time it can be managed so that at least you’re not getting the same emergencies over and over. And it’s always a good idea to leave some room in your schedule for interruptions because they’re going to happen.

By: Frank G. Hrabe

Frank G. Hrabe — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:02:43 +0000

David,

With all the downsizing, rightsizing or whatever you want to call it, most of us now carry a workload that we are never caught up. We are just closer to seeing “caught up” before the next wave hits.

Your idea is great for those who actually have the opportunity to do such, but for most of us that is a dream. Where there were several folks doing the job, now there is only me. Of course the workload didn’t decrease.

I still love my job, but there is no longer any hope of being caught up to handle the cleanup and do the preparation to be ready when the unexpected happens.

While my role is important to the organization, we are not direct revenue producing, so there is no way staff will be added. I have learned to accept the situation, do the best I can, and not take it home with me.

Frank G.

By: Larry Reeder

Larry Reeder — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 16:32:02 +0000

I liked the article and response although my first thoughts were “define an emergency” A item that has come up that required attention now, whether or not your responsibility, in my mind is not an emergency. I recall a situation while on a project personnel were talking about the “pressure” being added due to unscheduled item delaying the schedule. My response was that this is only money. Although important to pay attention to was not an emergency. I explained to them that in a previous life my job was as a respiratory therapist. To me having 3 patients crash and attempt to die on night shift and only 2 technicians to cover was more of what I thought of as an emergency or pressure. This helps me a lot when situation arise that need immediate attention. You need to keep things in perspective.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 15:18:50 +0000

I find a useful way to deal with unanticipated emergencies is to schedule for them. No, that’s not a typo. I deliberately block out parts of my days so that if needed, I can meet with people who need to see me on urgent matters. That relieves the stress of interruptions because it isn’t pushing my other commitments off track. If I don’t need the time for emergencies? I can always find something useful to do. Good luck!

By: Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:59:49 +0000

In reply to George Wilhelmsen. I am reminded of a classic HBR article from the (?) 70’s: “Who’s Got the Monkey?”

By: Jeff Grigg

Jeff Grigg — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:56:54 +0000

Yes. And sometimes we need to realize that we are the firemen: For a surprising number of us, rushing in to fight the fires *is* our job. This is often the case for customer support teams, for example.

Sure the fire chief could be giving the cadets grief over, “Why did you let the cooking lapse and food get cold?” And “Why haven’t you kept up with exactly all the plans and your personal committments for cleaning around the firehouse?” And ignoring responses like, “You know, … we were out fighting actual real fires at the time.” And believe me; around Los Angeles for the past few months, there have been *the biggest fires in history* “distracting” us. ;->

By: George Wilhelmsen

George Wilhelmsen — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:28:17 +0000

This was an interesting article, and well thought out.

There may be another way to help this firefighter, that could be considered.

Perhaps a solution would be to help develop the people bringing the problem, rather than solving the problem for them, by asking the person “What do you think we should do?”

Then wait for their answer. Resist the urge to provide the solution. Let them think through it. If they are stuck, think of what you would say, and instead of saying it, stay in the role of a leader and ask them questions to help solve the problem themselves.

This will take some more time unfortunately. With that said, it can provide great benefits. People will start to understand that they can and should develop their own solutions. They will understand when they find an obstacle, to develop that solution before they come asking for one, since the leader will ask them anyway.

Over time, this will change the leader’s relationship with the workers to be more facilitative, while helping to build the leader’s replacement by having them develop the necessary skills to step into that role.

Thanks for continuing this insightful discussion.