All Topics > Business Services > Situational Awareness 101 >

Situational Awareness 101 Illinois

Situational awareness--knowing where you are, what you can do and how to do it--is a vital to leadership skill. Here's how to hone your own.

Local Companies

San Stone, LLC
312-567-9305
645 W. 29th St.
Chicago, IL

Northbrook Consulting Group, Inc.
847.498.7323
One Northbrook Plaza
Northbrook, IL

Cumberland Group – Chicago
630-789-8262
312 W Hickory St.
Hinsdale, IL

The Avantes Group
312-952-2575
6619 South Paulina
Chicago, IL

Interactive Health Solutions
800 840 6100
3115 N. Wilke Road
Arlington Heights, IL

Stark & Associates Inc.
800-438-8994
801 W. Bailey Rd.
Naperville, IL

RelevantC
312-628-6400 x 3
360 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL

Macscon Financial Services
708-275-7056
57 Pheasant Rd
Matteson, IL

ConnecTech Solutions, Inc.
877-463-5434
5121 Main Street
Downers Grove, IL

Increased Revenue Consultant
217 529-6084
4015 Pickfair Rd
Springfield, IL

His avionics showed that the missiles had locked on to his plane, but the pilot knew better. He was certain that he could finish his bombing run and evade the missiles. That split-second decision cost him five and a half years of his life in a North Vietnamese prison.

The pilot is John McCain, and this personal story comes from his newest book, Hard Calls, written with Mark Salter. The book explores how leaders make decisions, in particular the tough decisions, which require guts, determination and something else—situational awareness.

Determining where you are
McCain confesses that naval aviators always believed that they had invented the concept of situational awareness. The questions a pilot must ask in combat are complex and varied but come down to knowing where you are, what you can do and how you can do it. Pushing the limits is fine but sometimes, as with McCain's collision with a SAM missile, you push too far and pay for it. That's one pitfall; the other is not being aware enough of the situation. Both can be costly.

A sound sense of situational awareness is vital to leadership decision making. A leader must know context (what is happening), circumstance (what has happened) and consequence (what could happen) at all times. For pilots, these three factors may converge within seconds; for CIOs, these situations may unfold over days and months. Nonetheless, these underlying principles are worthy of exploration by CIOs and others who deal with constant change and complexity. Let's take them one at a time.

Context. A leader must know what he or she is up against—that is, what forces are shaping your world and your decisions. Who or what is pushing for a decision? Is it a competitor? Is it your boss? Is it your community or is it a genuine need? Determining the factors pushing for the decision is vital to making the decision. For example, if you are challenged to reduce costs, you need to consider what to cut and why. Is overhead the problem? Or are you overstaffed? And if you are overstaffed, whom can you cut without reducing productivity? At the same time, do you have the right people in the right jobs? Are they properly trained? Conundrums may arise—that is, you may have to reduce some headcount but add people with different skills. Knowing the context of your decision will help you make the right choices.

Circumstance. It is vital to consider the unfolding situation. Life is not static; it is fluid, and therefore whatever a leader does must be framed within variables. Ask yourself: What is changing now and what could change in the future? For example, when you decide to introduce a new product, that product—unless it is totally revolutionary—will face "me-too" competition. What's more, it could face circumstances related to economic and market conditions. Projecting launch dates in the future is good from an engineering standpoint, but no one knows what the market will be like six to 12 to 24 months into the future. Circumstances may be very different.

Consequence. Decisions have outcomes. Those outcomes will dictate what a leader does. Also keep in mind that failure to decide is a consequence. Good leaders who push decision making to the front line are those leaders who want their people to be accountable as well as responsible for outcomes. For example, in customer service, it is front-liners who maintain and monitor the pulse of the customer. Who better to consider what's best for the customer? Organizations put dollar limits on decision making, yes, but it is the person who faces the customer who makes the first call. Other decisions, such as capital spending, organizational transformation and product development, involve higher stakes because the consequences are greater. Those decisions are for people paid to make them—the senior leadership team.

Gain perspective
Some situations are so multi-dimensioned that these three C's are not enough. You must add perspective from a trusted associate. Knowing what you don't know can have major consequences, as it almost did with Neil Armstrong when he was a civilian research pilot flying the hottest rocket plane of its time, the X-15.

No hotshot pilot like Chuck Yeager who flew more by instinct, Armstrong was methodical and deliberate. He was an engineer by training and working on his master's in aeronautical engineering at USC. But he was not just a by-the-book flier; he also had flown combat missions during the Korean War.

Shortly after the death of his baby daughter, Armstrong took the X-15 up to 200,000 feet and then experienced some technical difficulties that forced him to put the craft down in a dry lake bed. A few days later, testing the conditions of a supposedly dry lake bed, Armstrong got his T-33 trainer stuck in the mud. And shortly afterward he made a hard landing in an F-104 that damaged the fuselage and caused the plane to lose hydraulic power. He landed safely, however. Coincidences or bad luck, perhaps, but as explained in his biography, First Man, Armstrong was mourning. His normally sharp mind was dulled with layers of grief that perhaps he did not realize were there. Fortunately Armstrong recovered—so well, in fact, that he qualified for astronaut training and seven years later became the first man to walk on the moon.

Situational awareness is critical for leaders. Ignoring the facts or blindly pursuing goals may end with disastrous consequences. Sometimes the situation seems as if it is illustrated in sharp relief; you know what must be done and you do it. Other times the situation is opaque; you make your way forward by instinct and feel, always cognizant that you are never totally in command. When it comes to leadership decision making, the latter is more often the case, and for that reason, tough decisions require tough calls.

John Baldoni is a leadership communications consultant who works with Fortune 500 companies as well as non-profits including the University of Michigan. He is a frequent keynote and workshop speaker as well as the author of six books on leadership; the latest is How Great Leaders Get Great Results (McGraw-Hill). Readers are welcome to visit his leadership resource website at www.johnbaldoni.com.
© 2007 CXO Media Inc.

Featured Local Company

Performance Speaking

618.939.1776
113 Kurken Dr
Waterloo, IL
www.performancespeaking.com

Read more about Situational Awareness 101

- Identity Theft Measures Illinois

Phishing has been described as one of the most insidious forms of attacks to date, as the schemes trick customers into unwittingly giving away sensitive, private data. As phishing grows in sophistication, companies may not rely on laws created by the good will of the government.

- Adapt Yourself To Lead Illinois
- Promotional Products Illinois
- Beyond Benchmarking Illinois
- Why Leaders Must Evolve Illinois
- Go or No Go? That's a Leadership Decision Illinois
- A Roadmap for Securing Personal Data Illinois
- Changing IT Awareness in State Governments Illinois
- Disaster Preparedness Taking a Back Seat Illinois
- Hiring: Do You Know How to Pick Them? Illinois

Regional Articles

- Identity Theft Measures Illinois

Related Local Events

Int'l Public Management Assn for Human Resources - IPMA-HR Conference 2008
Dates: 10/18/2008 - 10/22/2008
Location: Chicago Marriott Downtown
Chicago IL
View Details

Chicago Diversity in Advertising and Public Relations Career Day
Dates: 10/23/2008 - 10/23/2008
Location: Navy Pier
Chicago IL
View Details

GRAPH EXPO
Dates: 10/26/2008 - 10/29/2008
Location: McCormick Place Complex
Chicago IL
View Details

Futures Industry Association - Futures & Options Expo 2008
Dates: 11/10/2008 - 11/12/2008
Location: Hyatt Regency Chicago
Chicago IL
View Details

13th International Containerboard Conference
Dates: 11/12/2008 - 11/14/2008
Location: Chicago Marriott Downtown
Chicago IL
View Details

Rate Article

Save to My Articles

Articles Insider

Advertising	Financial Services	Nightlife
Business Services	Franchise	Online Database
Career	Health	Real Estate Resources
Cars	Holidays	Software
Computer Hardware	Home Appliances	Technology
Construction	Home Electronics	Telecommunications
Education	Home Services	Trade Shows
Entertainment	Internet	Travel
Family	Legal	Weddings
Fashion	Miscellaneous	World History

Advertising	Family	Home Services	Software
Business Services	Fashion	Internet	Technology
Career	Financial Services	Legal	Telecommunications
Cars	Franchise	Miscellaneous	Trade Shows
Computer Hardware	Health	Nightlife	Travel
Construction	Holidays	Online Database	Weddings
Education	Home Appliances	Real Estate Resources	World History
Entertainment	Home Electronics

Searching...

Situational Awareness 101 Illinois

Local Companies

Situational Awareness 101

Featured Local Company