I commented earlier on the culpability the leaders of the cruise line, Carnival Cruises, that hired and/or promoted the Captain of the Costa Concordia had for the Captain's unacceptable behavior. My point was to raise the issue now among those people responsible for hiring emergency managers or Incident Commanders so that serious character and leadership flaws as the Captain demonstrated could be identified before an event occurred where people or things got hurt unnecessarily.
I always (well, almost always) enjoy hearing from readers of this blog, and particularly if the comments are from people I know and respect. Neil Clement is a long time emergency management professional and former broadcaster who headed up emergency management for the county during the event that propelled me into this business. He graciously raised the issue of whether it is truly possible to identify problems of character and leadership in advance in an email to me, which he has allowed me to share with you:
Neil:
"I’m not so sure, however, that I believe the character flaw the Captain exhibited was entirely predictable. We are used to being around staff who are challenged with emergencies every day. In that context it’s easy to see if an individual has the “right stuff.” Working in EOC environments, however, we often had personnel who were rarely, if ever, exposed to high stress emergency environments. When tossed into the fray, it’s much easier to see who can withstand the stress and who is a liability.
During the first six hours of the Whatcom Creek Incident I had to have two people escorted from the EOC because they did not have personalities suited to the environment they found themselves in. One was on the verge of hysterics that could have become infectious. Prior to being introduced to the type of stress we found ourselves in during the Incident, I’m not sure that I could have accurately predicted who would fail the test.
Despite the contempt that I have for the Captain of the Costa Concordia I’m not sure that his character flaws would have been evident before he was subjected to the kinds of stress he found himself in after he struck the rocks. His entire career may have been characterized by relatively non-emergent decision making that would not have exposed him to significant life and death types of stress. His incredible actions after the incident makes it almost seem that he fell into an immediate state of denial.
I don’t know enough about this particular individual, so I’m probably wrong, but I do know that I’ve been surprised by the changes that occur to some individuals when they are subjected to high levels of stress for the first or only times of their lives."
An excellent point, Neil, and you are probably right. I'm not sure that even we know for sure ourselves how we will react in high stress situations. I am a huge fan of military history, particularly WWII, and never having been in combat situations myself I have often wondered how I would react. Now, this will seem silly to anyone who hasn't played real paintball before, but a few years ago I loved playing that very intense game in part because it was probably the closest I could come to experiencing on a very, very limited basis, the adrenalin rush, the dread, the pain of defeat and the thrill of victory. It gave me just a little insight into not only my behavior in stressful situations (yes, there is some real stress in paintball, those little plastic balls can really hurt) but also into the behavior of others. No, let me say it again lest I offend every soldier and veteran out there, paintball is not the same. But putting yourself in simulated situations where the stress level is raised based on some form of simulated reality, is perhaps the best we can do. And that is why I believe in the power and value of realistic drills and exercises, with serious issues at stake. I really don't think it is very helpful after a drill or exercise to only focus on the things that were well done or went according to plan. If some people, after a drill or exercise, are not disinvited from the team or are not moved to positions where their weaknesses will not harm the response, then I suspect the exercise was not well planned or the seriousness of it not properly addressed.
Thanks Neil for the comments and discussion.
