The
early stages of the disaster turned out to be a testing ground out of which
arose those individuals who showed they were the most effective in getting
the job done. People who previously had little rank found the strength and
skill to get work done. They were given leadership roles. This happened at
the highest levels. For example, as a result of their performance, two top
officials of an obscure agency, the Department of Design and Construction,
were given the overall lead in running the recovery effort.
This realigning of leadership roles in the midst of a crisis is a peculiarly
American response. In many other countries, we see quite a difference response:
1. People in a disaster area wait for orders or instructions from those in command
before acting. 2. Leaders responsible for decisions often sit around talking
as if words were going to have an effect upon the crisis. 3. The leaders who
do end up giving orders often lack vital information about the immediate situation.
Preplanning is good, and plans for disaster response should be in place. But
when a major crisis hits, innovation is called for and plans might need to be
scrapped.
Conclusion: In a major crisis, it might be best for leadership
to stay loose for a few days and as problems are solved pay attention to how
and where things are getting done. Look for the leaders in those places.
Myth: Agencies will cooperate to accomplish the task at hand
A power struggle developed at the WTC between the fire department, the police
department and the engineers. Langewiesche says, "The firemen in particular
felt that they had a special relationship with the site, not only because they
had lost 343 people there - out of a force of 14,000 - but also because afterward
their survivors, along with their dead, had been idolized as national heroes."
Each of the groups seemed to feel this disaster was more theirs. When I met with
people from the Oklahoma City bombing, I was surprised to learn that there was
friction between those victims who had survived the bombing and the relatives
of victims who had been killed. Both groups felt their loss was special and gave
them some priority in making decisions about the memorial to be built on the
site.
The fact is that poor coordination among agencies or agency competition often
results in misunderstandings, delays in getting tasks accomplished and duplication
of effort.
Conclusion: Several things need to be done to ensure full
cooperation between agencies. First, disaster planning needs to be inter-organizational
with members of the agencies having an opportunity to work with each other
before a disaster. Second, because that is not always possible, there needs
to be a mediator on hand in the area where decisions are being made to monitor
how people are working together. This person might have to engage in on-the-spot
mental health interventions when anger or strife interferes with performance.
Myth: Technology has eliminated communication problems
At the WTC, phones did not work, e-mail services had been destroyed and writing
memos was out of the question. Langewiesche reports that "When problems
arose, they were dealt with right away, either in the room or, if more information
was needed, with a walk down the street to the pile, and a decision on the spot."
