By: Gisela B. Bradley, CEO
Law Practice Management Consulting
Where , oh where do I begin?
This is what many of you will be asking yourself if your office has been struck by a disaster. For purposes of this article disaster is defined as a fire, tornado, flood, hurricane, or other natural occurrence.
If you have never experienced a business disruption of any magnitude, it will be difficult to know where to start. Even if your firm has an emergency response plan, it is not a recovery plan. Recovery is yours, even after the Red Cross serves you food, and you hold your insurance check in hand – it is up to you to get back to some level of normalcy as quickly as possible. Unfortunately you will need to work on recovery and resurrection of your firm as it was – at the same time. Following are some suggestions on how to accomplish that.
At your first visit to your office after the disaster, briefly assess the extent of damage to your property. How much clean up is needed? What type of damage has your office suffered i.e. water, smoke, fire or wind damage? Are the premises usable to an extent that will allow you to begin the clean-up? If so, make sure that you have potable water, sanitary facilities, protective gear such as masks, gloves, boots etc. to protect workers from mold and other toxins. Before you begin any clean-up efforts, take photographs of damaged areas and property, you may need them for insurance purposes later. You may also want to first assign someone to be in charge of the recovery of your practice and someone else to start setting up temporary operations.
The next step would be to take inventory of all your equipment, furniture and fixtures. Determine what is usable and what needs to be replaced. Remember not to plug in any computers or other electronic gadgets if they are wet, as data may be lost or damaged.. Examine your files and records (take pictures of destroyed files) and document their condition. This inventory is needed for two purposes: to asses the damage, and to establish how much money is needed to replace unusable items.
If you have lost power, water, telephone or any other utilities, communicate with the landlord or the utility companies to find out when the utilities will be reconnected.
Some of the supplies you will need for facility clean-up will be: tarpaulins and plastic sheeting to protect materials from water, to insulate windows, and to cover desks during salvage operations. Interlocking plastic crates to pack materials in, because cardboard boxes will weaken from the moisture in the materials if you had water damage. Generators to power equipment such as emergency lights, air conditioners, fans, etc.; waterproof and grounded heavy duty extension cords for fans and dehumidifiers; washing tanks or large plastic garbage containers, along with sponges, brushes, and hoses to wash materials; freezer paper, wax paper to keep items from adhering to each other in a freezer, and last but not least, cellular or satellite telephones or ‘walkie-talkies’ to coordinate the process, portable battery operated 2-way radios and petty cash in case the ATM does not work.
While your recovery team is taking care of the impacted location, your organizing team looks after finding temporary space to work out of, and rent needed equipment and furniture, coordinate staff and work schedules, and contacting clients to let them know that you are still in business and how and where you can be contacted.
Contacting your clients is the most crucial aspect of your business continuation. If your clients have been impacted by the disaster as well, they will be happy to hear from you and know that you are concerned about their well-being. At the same time, they can tell you if they have new needs for your services. You will want to get an idea of the work that is coming in, and what kind of cash flow it will create. Prioritize the work to most urgent, somewhat urgent, and can wait a while, until your practice is fully functional again. It is important to know how much money you will need during the recovery period, and knowing what type of work is coming in, will help determine that number.
Technology can play an important role in disaster recovery. The first is to realize that the physical location of your office is no longer as crucial as it once was. You can have several ‘virtual’ offices to work out of, i.e. associates’ homes, secretaries’ homes, etc. by utilizing technology to communicate the written and spoken word. You can dictate your work into a telephone and your assistant can email the work product back to you almost as easy as if she/he were sitting outside of your door. If you are working out of several locations, plan on having regular conference calls (your telephone company can set that up for you) to promote the feeling of working together. At the same time, if your computers have suffered during the disaster, this may be a good time to upgrade to newer technology for a more efficient practice.
It is possible that you will be in more than one temporary location before your office is settled again in a more permanent facility. It is my opinion that the two most important things in getting back to work as it was before the disaster are to remember : communicating with your staff and communicating with your clients. The first facilitates a quicker return to normal operations by keeping everyone informed of the progress of recovery and the need for all to return to work as quickly as possible, the latter is to assure your clients that you are still there to serve them and that you will continue to provide the same quality work as before.
If you cannot reach your clients, please remember to document every effort you have made to contact them, just as you need to document every step you have taken to get your practice back in operation.
Showing posts with label Natural disasters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natural disasters. Show all posts
September 16, 2011
October 17, 2008
Disaster Recovery Reminders from Ike
By Debra Bruce, J.D.
Hurricanes, tornados, mudslides, firestorms, ice storms, blizzards, riots – there are many different kinds of disasters that can affect a law firm. Savvy lawyers create a disaster preparedness plan before trouble strikes, and then do their best to cope with the ultimate results. There are two things you might not think to include in your disaster survival kit, however – humor and gratitude.
Gratitude as a Survival Tool
I began writing this during the 12th day without electricity following Hurricane Ike, which knocked out electric service to 90% of Houston. Even though personally I was fortunate to sustain only a minimum of damage, trying to live and conduct business without electricity (and therefore air conditioning, refrigeration, lights, microwaves, stoves, computers, Internet, email and sometimes telephones) creates challenges that fray the nerves. When I found myself feeling irritable, I knew that I was starting to engage in a futile internal battle with “what is.” That’s when turning to gratitude saved the day for me.
In the midst of the chaos and frustration of coping with the aftermath of Ike, I found a lot to feel gratitude for. I remembered that I was not one of the people with a tree through my roof or the mucky residue of flood waters in my home. I felt grateful for little things like a sudden breeze, or the fact that I don’t live in this hot and humid climate without air conditioning all the time, like people in the previous century did. I felt gratitude for big things like the fact that all of my loved ones, even my pets, were safe and sound. I didn’t live or work in Galveston or on Bolivar peninsula, where many lost their homes and others still struggle without basic services more than three weeks later. I expressed gratitude over how the problems I worried about last month now seem small.
Each time I ticked off a few things I felt grateful for, I felt a little more peaceful, a little more relaxed. It turns out that there is scientific support for the benefit of gratitude lists. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and by Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami researched the impact of listing gratitudes.
Emmons and McCullough compared people who kept a weekly record of hassles or neutral life events to people who kept a weekly gratitude record. Those who expressed gratitude reported fewer physical symptoms, exercised more regularly, and felt better about their lives. They were also more likely to make progress on their goals, whether academic, interpersonal or health-based, over a two-month period.
Whether dealing with daily hassles or a genuine disaster, it is pretty common to want sympathy and to play “ain’t it awful” by recounting everything that has gone wrong. Consider the effect that you are having on your own health and the success of your practice, however. Be sure to at least include an equal dose of gratitude for what’s going right.
The Healing Quality of Humor
Your grandmother probably told you that “laughter is the best medicine.” Studies validate her wisdom and demonstrate that humor and fun strengthen your immune system, stabilize blood pressure, stimulate circulation and increase the flow of oxygen to muscles. Humor relieves stress and helps us cope, so be sure to pack a funny bone into your disaster preparedness kit.
Here are a few of the ways that survivors of Hurricane Ike have used humor to cope.
• Several homeowners posted “Yard of the Month” signs on their debris-strewn lawns. Photo at http://www.scrapjazz.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/217834/
• One home had a boat lodged against it in the front yard. Propped against the boat was a displaced harbor sign that read: “No wake zone. 5pm strictly enforced.”
• A home had clothes and other ruined items piled by the street. A mattress leaning against the stack had a message painted on it: “I’ve had women treat me worse than this Ike.”
• A truck had a sign on the back that read “Go home Ike. Tina’s not here.” Photo at http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/09/hurricane-ike-h.html.
• Khyber restaurant’s marquee said “Not gone with the wind!” Photo at http://web.mac.com/icecarvingsecrets/ics/secrets/Entries/2008/9/17_elephant_(sitting)_design.html .
• A stack of discarded appliances and other junk from Ike clean-up bore a sign: “Got mud?” Photo at http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2008/09/hurricane-ike-eight-days-later.html.
Some hardy survivors have parodied Jeff Foxworthy’s “You know you’re a redneck when” humor with “You know you’re from the Gulf Coast when…” You can see one of the lists at http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=132573, but here are a few of my favorites:
• You have FEMA’s number on your speed dialer
• You catch a 13 pound redfish – in your driveway
• You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner’s insurance policy
• Having a tree in your living room does not necessarily mean it’s Christmas
• A battery-powered TV is considered a home entertainment center
• At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw
• Your child’s first words are “hunker down”
• The dogs got out and you have been swimming around the neighborhood looking for them
Here are a few of my favorite “lessons from Ike” that circulated:
• People will get into a line that has already formed without having any idea what the line is for
• No matter how may times you flick the switch, lights don’t work without electricity
• What looks acceptable by candlelight in your bathroom will scare you when you look at yourself in the mirror at the office.
• There were a lot of dang trees in Houston
• Laundry hampers were not made to contain such a volume
• There are a lot more stars in the Houston sky than most people thought
• Hair will dry without blow dryers – it just won’t look like you planned
Disaster recovery is a serious matter, but taking ourselves a little less seriously can help us cope. I will echo how one author of hurricane humor signed off: “This is sent because we are in need of a smile, but you who have lost so much are in our prayers.”
© 2008 Debra L. Bruce
Debra Bruce (www.lawyer-coach.com) practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach for lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and board member and past leader of Houston Coaches Network, the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your questions and comments at debra@lawyercoach.com or in the comments section of this newsletter.
September 17, 2008
Communicating After A Disaster
By Dan Steppick
If in aftermath of event it is important to maintain appropriate and effective communications with employees, clients, vendors, opposing counsel, the court system and other persons and entities with which the firm interacts.
Client communications:
1. Maintain effective and appropriate communications with clients to reassure them that their files are intact, court dates will not be missed, operations will continue and the firm will survive.
2. Maintain off-site mailing lists so that clients can be notified in writing if possible.
3. Try to contact clients within 48 hours.
4. If possible, develop one appropriate letter for clients so that the firm speaks with one unified and forward-thinking voice.
5. Keep clients posted as firm recovers and/or relocates.
Employee communications:
1. Maintain off-site employee contact and phone list.
2. Immediately notify employees of contingency plans and temporary facilities.
3. Try to keep in communication with employees throughout aftermath in order to maintain morale and preserve relationships with valuable employees.
Court system/opposing counsel:
1. Notify appropriate court systems and opposing counsel of situation as soon as possible.
2. Court system and opposing counsel may provide support or backup in aftermath of event.
3. Cooperate and support other firms affected by events in community. Someday you may be looking for their support.
Public relations:
1. Maintain open and positive communications with press to maintain firm’s image.
2. Press may provide opportunities for good advertising and public relations moving forward
through feature articles or quotes.
Dan Steppick is a partner in the Denton firm of Shipman Steppick, PC, who practices civil litigation. Mr. Steppick has had first-hand experience in dealing with disaster recovery as his firm at the time was impacted by a devastating Fort Worth tornado several years ago.
If in aftermath of event it is important to maintain appropriate and effective communications with employees, clients, vendors, opposing counsel, the court system and other persons and entities with which the firm interacts.
Client communications:
1. Maintain effective and appropriate communications with clients to reassure them that their files are intact, court dates will not be missed, operations will continue and the firm will survive.
2. Maintain off-site mailing lists so that clients can be notified in writing if possible.
3. Try to contact clients within 48 hours.
4. If possible, develop one appropriate letter for clients so that the firm speaks with one unified and forward-thinking voice.
5. Keep clients posted as firm recovers and/or relocates.
Employee communications:
1. Maintain off-site employee contact and phone list.
2. Immediately notify employees of contingency plans and temporary facilities.
3. Try to keep in communication with employees throughout aftermath in order to maintain morale and preserve relationships with valuable employees.
Court system/opposing counsel:
1. Notify appropriate court systems and opposing counsel of situation as soon as possible.
2. Court system and opposing counsel may provide support or backup in aftermath of event.
3. Cooperate and support other firms affected by events in community. Someday you may be looking for their support.
Public relations:
1. Maintain open and positive communications with press to maintain firm’s image.
2. Press may provide opportunities for good advertising and public relations moving forward
through feature articles or quotes.
Dan Steppick is a partner in the Denton firm of Shipman Steppick, PC, who practices civil litigation. Mr. Steppick has had first-hand experience in dealing with disaster recovery as his firm at the time was impacted by a devastating Fort Worth tornado several years ago.
Returning to Your Office After a Disaster
By Gisela B. Bradley
Where , oh where do I begin? This is what many of you will be asking yourself if your
office has been struck by a disaster. For purposes of this article disaster is defined as a
fire, tornado, flood, hurricane, or other natural occurrence.
If you have never experienced a business disruption of any magnitude, it will be difficult to know where to start. Even if your firm has an emergency response plan, it is not a recovery plan. Recovery is yours, even after the Red Cross serves you food, and you hold
your insurance check in hand – it is up to you to get back to some level of normalcy as quickly as possible. Unfortunately you will need to work on recovery and resurrection of your firm as it was – at the same time. Following are some suggestions on how to accomplish that.
At your first visit to your office after the disaster, briefly assess the extent of damage to your property. How much clean up is needed? What type of damage has your office suffered i.e. water, smoke, fire or wind damage? Are the premises usable to an extent that will allow you to begin the clean-up? If so, make sure that you have potable water, sanitary facilities, protective gear such as masks, gloves, boots etc. to protect workers from mold and other toxins. Before you begin any clean-up efforts, take photographs of damaged areas and property, you may need them for insurance purposes later. You may also want to first assign someone to be in charge of the recovery of your practice and someone else to start setting up temporary operations.
The next step would be to take inventory of all your equipment, furniture and fixtures. Determine what is usable and what needs to be replaced. Remember not to plug in any computers or other electronic gadgets if they are wet, as data may be lost or damaged. Examine your files and records (take pictures of destroyed files) and document their condition. This inventory is needed for two purposes: to asses the damage, and to establish how much money is needed to replace unusable items.
If you have lost power, water, telephone or any other utilities, communicate with the landlord or the utility companies to find out when the utilities will be reconnected. Some of the supplies you will need for facility clean-up will be: tarpaulins and plastic sheeting to protect materials from water, to insulate windows, and to cover desks during salvage operations. Interlocking plastic crates to pack materials in, because cardboard boxes will weaken from the moisture in the materials if you had water damage. Generators to power equipment such as emergency lights, air conditioners, fans, etc.; waterproof and grounded heavy duty extension cords for fans and dehumidifiers; washing tanks or large plastic garbage containers, along with sponges, brushes, and hoses to wash materials; freezer paper, wax paper to keep items from adhering to each other in a freezer, and last but not least, cellular or satellite telephones or ‘walkie-talkies’ to coordinate the process, portable battery operated 2-way radios and petty cash in case the ATM does not work.
While your recovery team is taking care of the impacted location, your organizing team looks after finding temporary space to work out of, and rent needed equipment and furniture, coordinate staff and work schedules, and contacting clients to let them know that you are still in business and how and where you can be contacted.
Contacting your clients is the most crucial aspect of your business continuation. If your clients have been impacted by the disaster as well, they will be happy to hear from you and know that you are concerned about their well-being. At the same time, they can tell you if they have new needs for your services. You will want to get an idea of the work that is coming in, and what kind of cash flow it will create. Prioritize the work to most urgent, somewhat urgent, and can wait a while, until your practice is fully functional again. It is important to know how much money you will need during the recovery period, and knowing what type of work is coming in, will help determine that number.
Technology can play an important role in disaster recovery. The first is to realize that the physical location of your office is no longer as crucial as it once was. You can have several ‘virtual’ offices to work out of, i.e. associates’ homes, secretaries’ homes, etc. by utilizing technology to communicate the written and spoken word. You can dictate your work into a telephone and your assistant can email the work product back to you almost as easy as if she/he were sitting outside of your door. If you are working out of several locations, plan on having regular conference calls (your telephone company can set that up for you) to promote the feeling of working together. At the same time, if your computers have suffered during the disaster, this may be a good time to upgrade to newer technology for a more efficient practice.
It is possible that you will be in more than one temporary location before your office is settled again in a more permanent facility. It is my opinion that the two most important things in getting back to work as it was before the disaster are to remember - communicating with your staff and communicating with your clients. The first facilitates a quicker return to normal operations by keeping everyone informed of the progress of recovery and the need for all to return to work as quickly as possible, the latter is to assure your clients that you are still there to serve them and that you will continue to provide the same quality work as before.
If you cannot reach your clients, please remember to document every effort you have made to contact them, just as you need to document every step you have taken to get your practice back in operation.
Gisela Bradley is the owner & CEO of Law Practice Management Consulting, a legal practice management consulting firm in Austin (www.lawpracticemanagementconsulting.com). Ms. Bradley is also a former Director of the State Bar's Law Practice Management Program and a current member of the Bar's Law Practice Management Committee.
November 18, 2005
Law Practice Management Tip - November 2005
All management tips are provided by State Bar of Texas and ABA Practice Management Advisors. The tips are not meant as legal advice, nor binding on the State Bar of Texas or the ABA.
Keeping recent events (hurricanes, etc.) in mind, you should ask yourself: what would I do if my practice were no longer accessible?
Here are some suggestions to be prepared for any business disruption:
• Always have an up-to-date client list with current contact information.
• Always have an up-to-date list of employees of your firm with current contact information as well as emergency contacts.
• Always have your important contact information in an easily accessible place (contact information for your banker, your CPA, your insurance broker, your attorney, your doctors, etc.)
• Keep your important papers (bank accounts, insurance policies, last tax return, wills, passports, etc.) in an easily accessible place.
• Keep all your computers backed up regularly, preferably on a portable device that is easy to carry with you.
It never hurts to periodically think about ‘what would I do if I could not go to my office or my home tomorrow?’ Your own situation will dictate additional precautionary measures to take. Unfortunately too many of our neighbors had to experience this recently and our hearts are with them and we wish them a speedy recovery from the disasters.
Please call the Law Practice Management Program if you have any questions regarding disaster recovery.
Keeping recent events (hurricanes, etc.) in mind, you should ask yourself: what would I do if my practice were no longer accessible?
Here are some suggestions to be prepared for any business disruption:
• Always have an up-to-date client list with current contact information.
• Always have an up-to-date list of employees of your firm with current contact information as well as emergency contacts.
• Always have your important contact information in an easily accessible place (contact information for your banker, your CPA, your insurance broker, your attorney, your doctors, etc.)
• Keep your important papers (bank accounts, insurance policies, last tax return, wills, passports, etc.) in an easily accessible place.
• Keep all your computers backed up regularly, preferably on a portable device that is easy to carry with you.
It never hurts to periodically think about ‘what would I do if I could not go to my office or my home tomorrow?’ Your own situation will dictate additional precautionary measures to take. Unfortunately too many of our neighbors had to experience this recently and our hearts are with them and we wish them a speedy recovery from the disasters.
Please call the Law Practice Management Program if you have any questions regarding disaster recovery.
October 17, 2005
Leadership Lessons From Katrina
By Debra Bruce, J.D.
Together Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita brought destruction and chaos to much of the Gulf Coast. In every situation, however, there are lessons and gifts. Here in Houston as a Katrina volunteer at the Astrodome/Reliant Park, I received the gift of watching leadership lessons demonstrated before my eyes.
Usually the impact of our leadership style plays out gradually over time, and we are not able to easily distinguish which variables caused the results we received. In the time-compressed atmosphere of the Katrina relief effort, however, we had the benefit of something like time-lapse photography. We could see strangers form work teams that either dissolved into dysfunction or developed an efficient rhythm despite the rapidly changing environment.
I will briefly describe the leadership keys I observed that worked.
Purpose and Passion
Everyone on the team knew the ultimate purpose of their work: to bring emergency relief and compassionate care to people devastated by a natural disaster. The volunteers all aligned with that purpose, found it meaningful, and felt passionate about it. Their passion and purpose motivated them to work long hours, to do difficult work and even menial or distasteful work willingly and with a sense of fulfillment. For example, on my first day I voluntarily sorted dirty disposable diapers out of a poorly marked container also containing damp dirty clothing in the women’s shower area.
Vision and Direction
In this case, leaders didn’t have to inspire passion or communicate purpose to the legions of volunteers. They were self-evident. What was not so evident, however, was what needed to be done, by whom, and how to do it. So many volunteers flooded into the Astrodome when Katrina survivors arrived that traffic clogged all around. The mass of inexperienced volunteers overwhelmed the workers trained in disaster relief. The survivors’ immediate needs of food, water, medical attention and shelter did get met amid the chaos, at least. Over the first few days, leaders with vision emerged among the volunteers, establishing direction for others, who eagerly fell into step. As they shared their visions and established a direction for all that activity, the chaos diminished.
Structure and Communication
Some leaders could see what needed to be accomplished and could point others in that direction. Their newly formed teams worked inefficiently towards the goal, however, because they lacked structure and communication. I watched one team leap forward in productivity when they developed clear structures of responsibility and systems for tracking their progress (instead of everyone just taking on the task they felt like doing in the moment). Their system also included daily training for the regular influx of new volunteers. They still stumbled, however, when one structured department of responsibility didn’t know the duties or accomplishments of another.
Even amid high adrenaline urgent activity, they needed to slow down enough to communicate effectively with each other. The team developed a new structure of taking time out for a reporting meeting each morning and each afternoon. In that meeting they learned the needs and accomplishments of each department, and were able to coordinate their efforts. The team leader had the opportunity to acknowledge individual contributions and communicate new initiatives and directions. The team members offered feedback on how the team functions could be performed more effectively. The team leader quickly recognized the benefits of these twice-daily structures for both listening and telling for his fast-paced team.
Empowerment and Strengths
With a clear structure and regular communication, the team began accomplishing many of its daily goals, yet there was still a bottleneck in the overall flow. Every time the team leader walked into the room, people with questions surrounded him. He could not accomplish his own duties to the larger relief effort command center, due to the interruptions. Yet, if he didn’t make himself available for questions, his team came to a near standstill.
The team leader recalled how he became a team leader in the first place. He saw a problem and proposed a solution to the leaders he encountered. Their response was, “Sounds like good idea. Run with it,” and they turned away to other matters. They didn’t try to do it al themselves, and didn’t micromanage him. As he demonstrated his capability, those leaders called on him for help, asked for his opinions, and gave him more authority.
The team leader recognized that he himself had become a bottleneck for his team, because he had not adequately empowered his team members to make judgments and take action on their own. He began telling his sub-team leaders to “run with it” and even refused to make decisions for some who were reluctant to take the reins.
As his own bottleneck cleared, he occasionally noticed bottlenecks forming down line. Closer scrutiny revealed a new volunteer processing her duties slowly and spasmodically, although the previous volunteer had functioned quickly and efficiently. The team leader paused to ask the new volunteer what kind of work she liked doing, and what she did really well. He encouraged her to capitalize on her strengths, and authorized her to switch roles. By finding a substitute with strengths in the original role, he improved the efficiency of two posts, and the bottleneck disappeared.
Epilogue
In a matter of days, an ever-changing group became an efficient team of 20 people tackling jobs many of them had never done before. The team hummed, even with a 70% weekly turnover rate as volunteers returned to their regular jobs, and new ones filled in. The workers expressed pride and fulfillment in their accomplishments. The team leader completed his service knowing he had just gotten the equivalent of a $10,000 crash course in leadership.
Our Teams
What can we learn from that team leader’s experience? If we want our teams to function more efficiently and productively, we can ask ourselves these questions:
Have I clearly communicated a meaningful purpose for our work and inspired my team members to join me in my passion for it?
Do I have a clear vision of where we are trying to go and am I pointing a clear direction to that goal?
Am I willing to ask for the help and wisdom of others?
Do we have a structure that clarifies responsibility and provides systematic opportunities for communication up and down the ladder, as well as across different ladders?
Is every team member in a role that plays to her strengths, and have I fully empowered others to make decisions and take action to the full level of their capability?
With these guides in mind, leading a team can start feeling less like dragging a mule by the harness, and more like lightly flicking the reins to give course direction to a trotting horse.
Debra Bruce (www.lawyer-coach.com) practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach for lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and board member and past leader of Houston Coaches Network, the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your questions and comments at debra@lawyercoach.com.
Together Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita brought destruction and chaos to much of the Gulf Coast. In every situation, however, there are lessons and gifts. Here in Houston as a Katrina volunteer at the Astrodome/Reliant Park, I received the gift of watching leadership lessons demonstrated before my eyes.
Usually the impact of our leadership style plays out gradually over time, and we are not able to easily distinguish which variables caused the results we received. In the time-compressed atmosphere of the Katrina relief effort, however, we had the benefit of something like time-lapse photography. We could see strangers form work teams that either dissolved into dysfunction or developed an efficient rhythm despite the rapidly changing environment.
I will briefly describe the leadership keys I observed that worked.
Purpose and Passion
Everyone on the team knew the ultimate purpose of their work: to bring emergency relief and compassionate care to people devastated by a natural disaster. The volunteers all aligned with that purpose, found it meaningful, and felt passionate about it. Their passion and purpose motivated them to work long hours, to do difficult work and even menial or distasteful work willingly and with a sense of fulfillment. For example, on my first day I voluntarily sorted dirty disposable diapers out of a poorly marked container also containing damp dirty clothing in the women’s shower area.
Vision and Direction
In this case, leaders didn’t have to inspire passion or communicate purpose to the legions of volunteers. They were self-evident. What was not so evident, however, was what needed to be done, by whom, and how to do it. So many volunteers flooded into the Astrodome when Katrina survivors arrived that traffic clogged all around. The mass of inexperienced volunteers overwhelmed the workers trained in disaster relief. The survivors’ immediate needs of food, water, medical attention and shelter did get met amid the chaos, at least. Over the first few days, leaders with vision emerged among the volunteers, establishing direction for others, who eagerly fell into step. As they shared their visions and established a direction for all that activity, the chaos diminished.
Structure and Communication
Some leaders could see what needed to be accomplished and could point others in that direction. Their newly formed teams worked inefficiently towards the goal, however, because they lacked structure and communication. I watched one team leap forward in productivity when they developed clear structures of responsibility and systems for tracking their progress (instead of everyone just taking on the task they felt like doing in the moment). Their system also included daily training for the regular influx of new volunteers. They still stumbled, however, when one structured department of responsibility didn’t know the duties or accomplishments of another.
Even amid high adrenaline urgent activity, they needed to slow down enough to communicate effectively with each other. The team developed a new structure of taking time out for a reporting meeting each morning and each afternoon. In that meeting they learned the needs and accomplishments of each department, and were able to coordinate their efforts. The team leader had the opportunity to acknowledge individual contributions and communicate new initiatives and directions. The team members offered feedback on how the team functions could be performed more effectively. The team leader quickly recognized the benefits of these twice-daily structures for both listening and telling for his fast-paced team.
Empowerment and Strengths
With a clear structure and regular communication, the team began accomplishing many of its daily goals, yet there was still a bottleneck in the overall flow. Every time the team leader walked into the room, people with questions surrounded him. He could not accomplish his own duties to the larger relief effort command center, due to the interruptions. Yet, if he didn’t make himself available for questions, his team came to a near standstill.
The team leader recalled how he became a team leader in the first place. He saw a problem and proposed a solution to the leaders he encountered. Their response was, “Sounds like good idea. Run with it,” and they turned away to other matters. They didn’t try to do it al themselves, and didn’t micromanage him. As he demonstrated his capability, those leaders called on him for help, asked for his opinions, and gave him more authority.
The team leader recognized that he himself had become a bottleneck for his team, because he had not adequately empowered his team members to make judgments and take action on their own. He began telling his sub-team leaders to “run with it” and even refused to make decisions for some who were reluctant to take the reins.
As his own bottleneck cleared, he occasionally noticed bottlenecks forming down line. Closer scrutiny revealed a new volunteer processing her duties slowly and spasmodically, although the previous volunteer had functioned quickly and efficiently. The team leader paused to ask the new volunteer what kind of work she liked doing, and what she did really well. He encouraged her to capitalize on her strengths, and authorized her to switch roles. By finding a substitute with strengths in the original role, he improved the efficiency of two posts, and the bottleneck disappeared.
Epilogue
In a matter of days, an ever-changing group became an efficient team of 20 people tackling jobs many of them had never done before. The team hummed, even with a 70% weekly turnover rate as volunteers returned to their regular jobs, and new ones filled in. The workers expressed pride and fulfillment in their accomplishments. The team leader completed his service knowing he had just gotten the equivalent of a $10,000 crash course in leadership.
Our Teams
What can we learn from that team leader’s experience? If we want our teams to function more efficiently and productively, we can ask ourselves these questions:
Have I clearly communicated a meaningful purpose for our work and inspired my team members to join me in my passion for it?
Do I have a clear vision of where we are trying to go and am I pointing a clear direction to that goal?
Am I willing to ask for the help and wisdom of others?
Do we have a structure that clarifies responsibility and provides systematic opportunities for communication up and down the ladder, as well as across different ladders?
Is every team member in a role that plays to her strengths, and have I fully empowered others to make decisions and take action to the full level of their capability?
With these guides in mind, leading a team can start feeling less like dragging a mule by the harness, and more like lightly flicking the reins to give course direction to a trotting horse.
Debra Bruce (www.lawyer-coach.com) practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach for lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and board member and past leader of Houston Coaches Network, the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your questions and comments at debra@lawyercoach.com.
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