Five techniques the Navy SEALs
use for crisis management.
My team leaders and I consider our options (Afghanistan 2014)
Thomas H.
Disciple of Christ, Warrior for Truth, and Shepard of Goats
1 article Follow
November 4, 2016
U.S. Special Operations conducts missions in challenging, hostile, or politically sensitive
environments. They require a high level of expertise and involve a high degree of
risk. The teams performing these operations are the most highly trained and elite units
in the world. The members come from diverse backgrounds. Their physical, mental, and
psychological attributes differ considerably. I’ve spent over 20 years serving as a Navy
SEAL, and few common themes are universally true about the members of my
community. One of them is that we all manage a crisis extraordinarily well.
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That insight is not surprising. SEALs and other Special Forces personnel are screened
from early on in training to ensure they possess the focus, mental agility, adaptability,
stamina, resilience and poise to efficiently perform in any emergency. Those traits are
then honed and reinforced through countless hours of instruction, drills, and scenario-
based training to achieve a common result. Special Operators are masters at crisis
management.
It is easy to understand why the the SEAL Teams invest so heavily in being able to
manage a crisis. It is also evident how valuable those skills are to businesses that
operate in today’s Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world. A crisis
can strike any company anytime, anywhere. The good news is that it is not necessary to
possess an elite commando’s inherent traits and countless hours of training to employ
some of their fundamental techniques. I would like to share five of them:
1. Plan for contingencies. A plan in Special Operations always has a section
dedicated to contingencies. It is accepted that “no plan survives the first shot.” There is
not a rule on how many or how detailed they should be. The situation will dictate. My
standard as a senior advisor in the SEALs was always to include contingencies for a
minimum of three. What actions to take when the most likely problem occurs. Measures
to take when the worst possible problem occurs. And one other hypothetical event that
may occur based on an assessment of collective experience and creativity. The first two
are usually obvious, and the last one is often the most important. It is imperative to get
the entire team involved in planning contingencies and ensure every stakeholder
understands them. The idea is not that the perfect plan will be in place to reflect the
exact crisis that occurs. However, the plans that do exist will serve as a framework, to
begin with, and adapt as appropriate. The effect can compare to the difference between
being buried up to your neck and figuring out how to dig yourself out, or being
completely submerged and just struggling to breathe.
2. Calm is contagious. If you were to listen to the radio voice conservations of a
Special Operations Force, while engaged in combat it may surprise you. The team
leaders, the senior advisor, the commander, the Joint Tactical Air Controller, and the
supporting aircraft are all discussing status, location, intent, and situation. The thing is if
you ignored the content, it would sound like dinner conservation. Bullets are flying, lives
are in the balance and the players involved are narrating the event like it is a somewhat
boring movie. I guarantee you they are not bored. What they understand, is that
everyone is on the net. Those above and those below their position need to see and
hear them being in control. That poise ensures everyone that the information
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transmitted is correct and that the decisions made are informed. Just as calm is
contagious, so is panic. The leaders need to project calm, and the players need to have
calm. Anyone unable to do so will do their team a greater service by sitting out during a
crisis, no matter how valuable their other skills.
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3. Look, listen, communicate, and move. This is based on a concept for how to
react when engaged in battle. It applies to all facets of crisis management. Look with
objectivity – understand what is causing the crisis. Listen with compassion – know why
the crisis is occurring. Communicate with precision – share what you know, what the
intent is, and how we expect to achieve it. And move with conviction – As a group with a
shared understanding and common objective. It is worth noting that "plan" does not
receive a mention. That is intentional. Natural behavior in an emergency is to focus too
much on planning and neglect the four critical elements listed. If the key players
involved perform these efficiently, then sufficient planning will occur naturally.
4. Know your status. Who is injured and how bad? How much ammunition do you
have left? What is the status of your equipment? These are the first three questions
every member of a Special Operations team will need to answer after a crisis. In
business, this could be translated to how many projects and efforts have been
affected? What resources do we have available? Which processes and programs are
still online? The demand is the same. It is vital to know your status. Doing so will allow
you to prioritize the effort to re-stabilize the organization and adequately respond to any
new crisis that may occur. Sound crisis management is not only about surviving the
current issue. It is also about being prepared for the next one.
5. Debrief. Discuss what you have learned. What went wrong, when, where, and
why? The purpose is not to assign blame. It is about taking ownership of the solutions. It
also may be the most difficult to implement. People have a natural tendency to cover up
their mistakes, and we all know it when we see it. Acknowledging problems is the key to
eliminating them. The Special Operations Community embraces this concept because
lives depend on it. Protecting self-interest when lives are on the line is
unacceptable. Doing it when profits are on the line is more likely to be tolerated, but it
shouldn’t be. The leadership must have the awareness and courage to award those
who accept accountability and at a minimum, not reward those who dodge it.
Crisis Management is the art of solving problems by the most efficient means even
when urgency is necessary. Some people thrive naturally in these types of
circumstances. Everyone can achieve a level of competence, though. It ultimately
depends on the attitude embraced and level of preparedness. There is a quote
displayed prominently in my inaugural SEAL Team. It reads, “Are you ready for war
today; you should be.”
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