Enhance your capability through all hazards group coaching

Often, I hear group and team coaching used interchangeably; however, they are very different.

All Hazards Group Coaching works with individuals, in a group, who have a common role but work for different organizations. Work with a coach and group to enhance YOU.

All Hazards Team Coaching is for teams that fall under the same leadership. Work with a coach and your team to enhance WE.

“Become a better disaster risk professional, emergency manager, leader, incident commander, or command or general staff member”

In her book Group Coaching: A Comprehensive Blueprint Ginger Cockerham defines group coaching as ”a facilitated group process led by a skilled professional coach and created with intention of maximizing the combined energy, experience, and wisdom of individuals who choose to join in order to achieve organizational objectives or individual goals”

Coaching expert Jennifer J. Britton defines group coaching as “the application of coaching principles to a small group for the purposes or personal or professional development, the achievement of goals, or greater self-awareness, along thematic or non-thematic lines”.

Group coaching in the context of All Hazards Coaching adheres to the same definitions with some clarity on how it applies to emergency management. For example:

• The Next Generation Emergency Management Core Competencies are integrated within All Hazards Coaching.

• All Hazards Group Coaching sessions will maintain a span of control where the group will range from four to eight participants,

• It meets FEMA’s National Incident Management System 2011 Training Program’s Adult Learning in emergency management principles, and

• It uses an interdisciplinary approach to forming groups in order to maximize learning to expand across prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and disaster resilience.

Focus areas for All Hazards Group Coaching:

• Becoming a better disaster risk professional, emergency manager, leader, incident commander, or command or general staff member

• Building collaborative environments and trust

• Conduct strategic foresight and systems design activities

• Develop Disaster Governance

• Develop Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Assessments

• Build Accountability

• Emergency management program design, development, and delivery

• Exercise design

• Enhanced individual productivity

• Implementation of the Incident Command System

• Strategy development

The process and techniques used by qualified coaches should have the International Coach Federation’s core competencies embedded in them (or similar standards and competencies). 

As a Thanks for Reading

Get 2 FREE Hours of Private 1-to-1 Coaching Instantly

Give coaching a try RISK FREE. Having a coach is the same as having access to an additional resource. Your coach works with you during live coaching sessions and between sessions.

Read more nere

WATCH

For more information on why I coach and how I can help visit my about page.

Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and is the former Director of Training, Accreditation, and Standards for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. To find out more contact Brad directly by emailing him at brad.ison@hazardscape.com.

Disaster Governance in Fort McMurray will be Critical to their Recovery

The residents of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) have experienced enough disaster for one life-time. They are a resilient bunch of people; however, how much more can they take? The hazards that surround them are not going away. And even though the flooding they experienced is considered a 1-in-100 year flood (in other words each spring break-up there is a 1 percent change of similar flooding) the community is still vulnerable and exposed, their ability to govern their recovery will be critical to their future as a community.

In January 2020 the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published Short-Term Solutions to a Long-Term Challenge: Rethinking Disaster Recovery Planning to Reduce Vulnerabilities and Inequities.

Disaster Governance

In the paper, disaster governance is described as: “a coordination mechanism for collaboration and spans the phases of disaster management from preparedness to long-term recovery. Tierney defines disaster governance as “the interrelated sets of norms, organizational and institutional actors, and practices . . . designed to reduce the impacts and losses associated with disasters”

…….In contrast to the typical top-down, command-and-control emergency-centric approach, disaster governance emphasizes: engaging multiple actors at multiple levels; building trust and social capital through collaboration and leadership; learning and innovation; and building strong formal and informal networks through bridging and boundary spanning organizations.

…………..a core feature of disaster governance is social inclusion, that is, engaging a broader constituency of local society in decision processes about disaster response and recovery in the short- and long-term.”

One step the RMWB will need to undertake early on in their recovery is an assessment of their disaster governance. Do they have the systems in place to engage with the multitude of actors, at all levels, that is required for managing the reduction of vulnerabilities and inequities?

steps the RMWB will need to undertake include:

1. What is the composition of their Disaster Advisory Committee? Is it sufficient? Who is missing from ‘the table’? What needs to change for their recovery?

   • Does the current committee have the ability to address “the interacting socio-economic, cultural, environmental, and physical factors that contribute to vulnerability and to ensure that pre-disaster inequities are not amplified in post-disaster futures” (Short-Term Solutions to a Long-Term Challenge: Rethinking Disaster Recovery Planning to Reduce Vulnerabilities and Inequities.)

2. What policies exist that will aid in their recovery? What policies are missing? Do they have a build-back better policy and plan in place? Will the Government of Alberta support the use of financial assistance for prevention/mitigation efforts?

3. How does their Hazard Vulnerability Risk Assessment support the spending of their post-disaster financial assistance?

4. What are their critical recovery success factors?

These are just a few questions that will help the RMWB assess their current disaster governance state. If they need to make adjustments they will need to undertake them now so they do not create additional vulnerabilities within the community.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

All Hazards Coaching

From Training to Coaching

Incident Commanders and their teams (Incident Management Teams) have one of the most complex jobs on the Planet. It’s not everyday you hear someone say “I’m prepared to lead and be on a team during a fast changing and complex type one disaster.” 

These teams require training to have the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to respond to large events. Training is great for skill development and knowledge transfer from expert to expert. But, Incident Commanders and their teams need alternative learning and development options during the preparedness phase to accelerate the transfer of learning from the training room to the real World. By accelerating their transfer of learning they will improve their performance during response. Individual and team coaching provides the process and the space for this acceleration.

For example, firefighters generally progress through recruitment, front-line training, and senior firefighter and officer training. Training for recruits and front-line firefighters has a high focus on technical competencies (ropes and knots, fire behavior, vehicle extraction, swift water rescue). Senior firefighter and officer training will focus on behavioral competencies (leadership, business acumen, staff relations). 

Emergency Management Leadership Core Competencies

Learn More

Outside of the training room, skilled and qualified coaches use processes and techniques to leverage the life experiences and expertise of team members. They will also create opportunities for team ownership, to discover knowledge, and to link learning to real life. This accelerates learning in both technical and behavioral competency areas by creating a space for individuals and teams to have conversations with intent that will:

• enhance team collaboration

• improve individual and team performance

• improve relationships

• develop collective wisdom

The process and techniques used by qualified coaches should have the International Coach Federation’s core competencies embedded in them (or similar standards and competencies). 

Thank you for visiting

For more information on why I coach and how I can help visit my about page.

Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and is Director, Training for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. To find out more contact Brad directly by emailing him at brad.ison@hazardscape.com

The Hazardscape Difference

It’s not about Us .vs. Them. It’s about Us with Them.

The difference between Hazardscape and other disaster and emergency management (DEM) oriented firms is neither good nor bad.

Hazardscape wants to help you see where we fit in and how a coach approach is different than the other options you have for enhancing your organization’s performance.

Coaching and other methods  What's the difference?

Training	Counseling	Mentoring	Consulting	Coaching
An expert provides new knowledge, skills, or abilities.	Professional guidance in resolving personal problems, healing pain, trauma or personal dysfunction.	Provides advise based on one’s own lived and professinal experience.	Provides expert advice to other professionals.	Commonly used after training and education, it empowers teams and leaders to learn how to solve problems using the skills they have learned and the resources they have.

Hazardscape is different  But how?

Hazardscape………	Others………….
We use a coach approach that empowers your teams, and leaders, to solve current and future problems.	Provide consultancy services that solve a specific problem.
Our goal is to develop your team’s and leaders so you never have to hire us again.	Hope you continue to retain them so they can be a main resource for solving your problems.
Customizes its programs to align your talent and workforce needs with your business objectives which is critical for achieving sustainability.	Apply their solutions which should result in your long-term sustainability.
Believes your teams and leaders already have the right solution. We help you to learn how to uncover solutions when priorities are unclear, and when resources and time are tight.	Believe you are too operationally focused to see the answers, so they develop practical solutions for you.

Kick Stress, Overwhelm, and Worry To The Curb

Ready To Kick Stress, Overwhelm, and Worry To The Curb?

At one time or another, you've probably wished others would stop asking you to take on work that was out of your ‘wheelhouse’, not inline with your core functions, or someone else’s problem? If only you could say no, but in a way that still makes you look like a team player as a way to create what YOU want.

I'm going to guess you've read a fair amount on time management, maybe even attended a webinar or seminar on personal growth, or even used some free online tools.

And maybe it helped a little.

Maybe you're a little happier, a little more successful.

And yet there is still so much more you want to be doing. Maybe with your family? Or maybe you want better relationships, greater health and well-being.

And yet you still find yourself with negative feelings like worry, concern, frustration, anxiety and even anger a lot more of the time than you'd prefer.

You still find yourself struggling for so many of the good things you want in life.

You feel stuck or feel like no matter what you do, you can't quite get to where you want to be in life.​

Well, what if today was the day that everything shifted for you...for the better?

My own resilience and preparedness, through coaching not only changed my life…..it became my life

I thought I knew everything about Emergency Management and was on the fast track to being a success in the field.

Was I ever wrong!

I joined the Alberta Emergency Management Agency three months before the Slave Lake wildfires, then experienced a horrible year of floods in 2012 and then the 2013 southern Alberta floods….THEN the 2016 Wood Buffalo wildfires.

I was stressed, burnt out, not taking care of myself, and getting pushed and pulled in every direction.

I was not doing well in terms of relationships, I was struggling to be the leader I knew I could be and my family was paying the price. And I thought taking on a new role would fix everything…….wrong again!

During what seemed to by my darkest time, I had a major a-ha moment.

I stumbled upon the Government of Alberta’s Coaching Connections program.

It was as though the light bulb came on, and I finally really got it!

Coaching builds individual resilience!

Formal coaching was the missing component from my home and work life. I had taken coach training before but back then it was basically:

• Ask questions

• Listen

• Give Feedback

My focus had set up residence. "I am not doing enough." “I have to man up”. “We don’t have the resources." "There is no time for ME." “It’s faster if I do it myself.”

I’d been focusing on exactly what I did not want as a leader.

The thoughts I was repeating to myself, that focus on a lack of resources, the lack of time, and thinking that I had to do it all was burning me out.

I had other, more experienced leaders, sending me videos and articles written by other leaders, telling me what I needed to do, telling me that I must change because I can’t change the others around me…..but this all lacked a few key things.

NONE of the articles and videos empowered me to make change. Sure they told me I had to change and why but no one was helping me do what I needed to do for myself.

It was through coaching, and being coached, that I realized the fastest way through personal change is by admitting your own truths, evaluating why those truths exist, and then developing a plan to change and stay changed.

For all of the courses, training classes, seminars, workshops I had been to, coaching is what moved me from stuck and stressed to free and happy.

Hazardscape’s All Hazards Coaching is truly an investment in your future. 

As you go through the coaching process, individually or in a group setting, you will learn to:

• ​Assess your own balance and self-care

• Determine your own unique self-care needs

• Learn about the emergency management net gen core competencies

• Understand how to move between ‘normal’ mode and ‘response’ mode

• Build in time and strategies to do what YOU want to be doing

• Put your phone away!

• Snap out of those old stories and turn off the mental soundtrack that diminishes your ability to be happier

• Learn to set boundaries and say ‘No’ respectfully

• Ask for exactly what you want

It's not complicated to implement what you'll be learning about yourself. However, it takes 100% commitment to show-up, practice making you #1, and to become the person you want to be.

It's a whole new way of being a Disaster and Emergency Management Leader.

Let’s Connect

Assessing Your Emergency Management Program

What criteria can an emergency management agency use to determine program success? How does an organization know if its emergency management program is successful?

Throughout a program’s lifespan (preparedness phase), these are some of the hard questions that need asking. Unfortunately, due to a number of reasons, assessing whether a program is succeeding or failing to meet its intended outcomes gets lost overtime.

Changes to policy, staff turnover (knowledge transfer gaps), disasters, and misunderstanding of an agency’s strategic plan can get in the way of measuring the effectiveness of emergency management programming.

So how do we assess programming?

1. Planning is a critical first step.

Determining the assessment’s budget, staff allocation, and desired length of time is required so the assessment lead can define a successful outcome and timeline. Moreover, consideration of who should be involved in the assessment is important.

• Who should assist with providing data?

• What methods of data collection are the most relevant?

• Who can support with planning or project management?

Also consider what parts of the program should be analyzed. All programs have goals, delivery staff (who have assigned functions or tasks) and a requirement for those staff to have specific skills, experience, and technical and behavioral competencies. Analyzing the program’s goals, function’s, or required competencies is critical.

2. Existing versus desired performance

After the assessment’s plan is developed and communicated, data needs to be gathered. Data from this step can come in many formats:

• Reviewing post incident assessments, staff job descriptions, process diagrams, media reports (including social media).

• Staff surveys to gauge administration issues

• Individual and group interviews

• Client or program user feedback

• Observations of staff routines and workflow

If available, reach out to staff that were part of the program’s original design and development team. They should have insight regarding the program’s original intent. All too often, this data is lost due to retirements, attrition, or promotions to other areas of the organization.

3. Validate the reasons for the performance issues

Typically, performance issues are a result of an issue within a program’s logic model. Potentially, there are issues rooted in the organization’s inputs and activities which in turn drive outputs that do not support the desired short or long-term outcomes.

Functional job level causes

• Staff not aware of their role or responsibilities

• Inadequate skill sets on the team

• Staff may not have the right tools or resources

Process and procedures level causes

• Inefficient process or workflow

• Too much or not enough process

• Procedures change without proper communication

Organization level causes

• Organizational structure may not support the desired short and long term outcomes

• Desired performance outcomes are not aligned with the vision and mission

4. Getting to better performance

After data has been analyzed against the desired short and long-term outcomes, priorities must be set. What performance issues exist and how will they be prioritized? Based on priorities, what solutions can be implemented to manage the performance to the desired level?

Solutions can include:

• Staff role and responsibility changes

• Staff training, mentoring, or coaching

• Technology updates

• Process improvements

• A strategic functional review of the organizational structure

Getting to better performance typically means change at the job level or organizational level. Either way, organizations should be prepared to develop a change management plan that will help staff adjust. With any change, performance tends to get worse but after the change, the improvements will take the organization to better outcomes.

Brad Ison 

Brad Ison is a professional coach, disaster management professional, facilitator, and speaker. To find out more contact Brad directly by emailing him at brad.ison@hazardscape.com

Emergency Management Leadership Competencies

Through Hazardscape’s learning experience, individuals and teams will further develop their core emergency management leadership competencies.

For organizations, we customize our programs to align your talent and workforce needs with your business objectives which is critical for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.

“During the 2015 FEMA Higher Education Symposium, interest was expressed for a systematic and comprehensive look at emergency management core competencies for the next generation.Therefore, the FEMA Higher Education Program supported the education community’s process of updating the emergency management core competencies, developed by Dr. Wayne Blanchard in 2005, by sponsoring a focus group of regionally diverse educators.

The charge given to the group was to draft competencies for 2030 and beyond, and conduct a Delphi study for refinement and ratification of the updated competencies. In 2017, FEMA published The Next Generation Core Competencies for Emergency Management Professionals: Handbook of Behavioral Anchors and Key Actions for Measurement:

Feldmann-Jensen, S., Jensen, S.J., Maxwell Smith, S., (2017). The Next Generation Core Competencies for Emergency Management Professionals: Handbook of Behavioral Anchors and Key Actions for Measurement.  FEMA Emergency Management Institute Higher Education Program, Emmitsburg, MD.

Feldmann-Jensen, S., Jensen, S.J., Maxwell Smith, S., and Vigneaux, G., (2019).  The Next Generation Core Competencies for 

Emergency Management.  Journal of Emergency Management, Vol. 17 No. 1.

In 2017/2018 Public Safety Canada developed a working group to explore emergency management competencies for the profession of emergency management. While the working group met and discussed adoption of core competencies, Public Safety Canada did not dedicate the required resources needed to continue the project. The working group essentially dissolved.

Hazardscape understands that much more work needs to be done before emergency management professionals adopt a common set of core competencies. But that does not mean we can’t get started.

Hazardscape Management’s Learning & Development Competency Model

Hazardscape’s All Hazards Coaching programs are aligned to the 2017 next generation core competencies:

Building the Individual

Building the Practitioner

Building Relationships

Within the three overarching themes there are several competencies. Using a coach approach, Hazardscape develops emergency management teams and leaders in each competency using a learning experience that includes coaching, trying, reflecting, and sharing.

View fullsize

Coach

We engage you through inquiry based non-directive All Hazards Coaching combined with expertise and activities. Our coaching sessions are designed for individuals, groups, and teams. They run from 1/2 days to six months, or longer. Grounded in the principles of inquiry, reflection, and action, you will be empowered to take ongoing action and create accountability for your commitments.

Try

To use the skills and knowledge you already have, you need to try them out. In between coaching sessions you will perform activities that will give you an opportunity to try out new behaviors, within the context of your role.

Reflect

Our activities include time and questions for you to reflect, so you can make connections to your work challenges. Reflection is a powerful way to enhance your performance and broaden your professional impact.

Share

During your coaching session you will construct knowledge through conversations with your coach, and if you are part of a group or team cohort your peers will help you build enhanced understanding.

How

We engage you through inquiry based non-directive All Hazards Coaching combined with expertise and activities. Our coaching sessions are designed for individuals, groups, and teams. They run from 1/2 days to six months, or longer. Grounded in the principles of inquiry, reflection, and action, you will be empowered to take ongoing action and create accountability for your commitments.

Coaches and Community

Coaches - Hazardscape Management All Hazard Coaches are trained through accredited training providers and adhere to coaching standards. Coaches are required to be actively seeking, or have, their ACC certification through the International Coach Federation or equivalent. We also bring in expert emergency managers to address specific technical competency needs.

Community - Learn alongside a cohort of peers from different jurisdictions and agencies.The Hazardscape community spans around the World with countless professionals and industries. Build your network by making valuable connections in each coaching program.

Thank you for visiting

Get 2 FREE Hours of Coaching Right Now!

To learn more:

Visit our Coaching Topics Page to see the programs we are building.

Read about Why Hazardscape?

You can also read about How Hazardscape is Different.

Why Hazardscape?

BEACUSE “THAT’S HOW IT’S ALWAYS BEEN DONE” IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

We are modern disaster and emergency management. Coaching, technology, Relationship Intelligence.

Solutions

WE CAN’T CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN EXPECTING NEW RESULTS

In today’s world leaders need to focus more time and intention on prevention/mitigation, preparedness and post-disaster recovery planning that will reduce the impacts of hazards on our organizations, communities, and households. 

Contact us

LIMITED BUDGETS DON’T HAVE TO MEAN MINIMAL RESULTS

We provide cost effective services because we know your work is important and funding should not be a barrier.

solutions

Part 2 - ICS Alberta - Redesigning a Provincial Program

Part 2

After six months of gathering data, we developed a three-year plan that would produce a more accountable and sustainable ICS Alberta Program. This would be done by:

• Conducting a committee composition analysis

• Structuring the committee more formally

• Conducting an analysis of all ICS Alberta policy and procedures to fill gaps and document what was being done

• Creating an ICS Instructor Standard with a development and support program (ICS Community of Practice and Instructor guide and support manual).

• Developing an ICS training accreditation program

• Developing more private-public partnerships that would improve ICS training delivery in Alberta

• Enhancing the ICS training supports, such as developing instructor and student videos that are easily accessible

To do all of this meant giving up a lot. For example we stopped producing more one and two day position specific courses and we had to adjust our online training delivery strategy. It also meant that we would be looking to reduce our Train the Trainer courses so we could focus on supporting the instructors that were already developed and actively instructing.

There was never any doubt, additional training products were needed, but if the Alberta ICS program was going to mature AEMA spending time and money on more training products was not the answer.

To evolve we had to develop a system that would empower ICS Instructors and private sector organizations to develop courses using provincial standards. ICS Alberta would be the group to help develop and enforce those standards.

After two years the following was completed:

• A committee composition analysis

• An analysis of all existing, and required, ICS Alberta policies and procedures

• An ICS instructor application manual with a development and support program (ICS Community of Practice and Instructor guide and support manual)

• A plan to develop a formal ICS Alberta Committee using section 5 of the Alberta Emergency Management Act

• A pilot for an ICS training accreditation program

• Several private-public partnerships that would improve ICS training delivery in Alberta

As of December 2019 we still needed to:

• Have the plan to develop a formal ICS Alberta Committee using section 5 of the Alberta Emergency Management Act approved (It was on its way up to the Minister of Municipal Affairs in January 2020)

• Scale up the ICS training course accreditation program

• Complete the ICS Train the Trainer development and support program

• Continue to document all program procedures so better on-boarding of committee members and staff could be conducted

• Continue to develop student and instructor support videos and tools, including an exercise library and online portal for ICS Committee members.

I left the Government of Alberta in April 2020 so I am not to sure where all of this work is at and with COVID-19 I imagine the Alberta Government has put a lot on hold. Hopefully, post pandemic, the plan to enhance the Alberta ICS program continues.

Check out our ICS Programs

Learn through the power of a group

Sneak Peek

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Want to download some of our free guides? Get Access Today!

Part 1 - ICS Alberta - Redesigning a Provincial Program

The link for part 2 of this blog is at the end of this post.

Introduction

When I accepted the position of Director, Training, Accreditation, and Standards at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) it included the role of Chair of the ICS Alberta Committee. My background did not include much ‘command and control’ experience. My education and experience was mostly business management. Before moving to this role my past work at AEMA included managing its disaster financial assistance program which was more grant delivery and policy development and less incident command. I had been with AEMA for seven years and had education, training, and experiences in emergency management (EM) but my view of EM was through a ‘business management’ lens.

The ICS Alberta committee was in its seventh year and the majority of the committee’s strategic objectives had been met. There was a high focus on program inputs, activities and measuring outputs ( e.g. number of students and instructors trained) but not much focus had been placed on developing and measuring long-term outcomes (e.g. jurisdictions are responding together seamlessly).

When groups and teams focus on outcomes they generally feel more connected to the vision, the mission, and the organization. So, the vision was to develop an ICS Community across Alberta, one that was connected, could participate in the development of the program and one that had open access to a transparent system.

By 2017 countless hours, by many dedicated emergency managers in Alberta, were spent progressing ICS in Alberta which is why it is an ICS leader in Canada. Several Alberta communities were developing sustainable ICS programming, but many did not have the time and resources that are needed to administer a well functioning ICS program.

Moving Forward

If the province was going to move collectively towards having a sustainable and effective provincial ICS program that produced long-term outcomes, the development of more training was not the answer. ICS in Alberta needed to adopt governance that would move to the next level.

By 2017 Alberta had:

• just over 250 instructors

• trained almost every community in the province

• developed online ICS training (with AHS)

• 25 committee members

The AEMA team responsible for administering and managing the program was barely able to keep up with the day to day demands of the program (answering instructor and student questions, conducting the intake of instructor applications, providing instructor training and support, managing records, organizing the ICS Alberta committee…etc) which meant that a lot of work that is needed to develop and maintain a well functioning program was not getting done (quality assurance, evaluation, documentation of process and new policy). so this is where we started to focus our attention.   

It took six months to complete a:

• review of the program’s initial design, objectives, inputs, activities, and outputs,

• a risk assessment, and

• a work plan.

Interviews were conducted with stakeholders and committee members. We sifted through years of meeting minutes and we compared the current state of the ICS Alberta committee to more mature committees such as the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) plus we worked extensively with the Alberta Public Agency Governance team to determine, legislatively, how we could evolve the committee. One of the big questions was, could ICS Alberta operate at arm’s length to the government?

Part 2

In part 2 of this blog, the three year plan for change will be highlighted with what is left to develop.

Check out our ICS Programs

Learn through the power of a group

Learn More

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Want to download some of our free guides? Get Access Today!

How Coaching Works Before, During, and After a Crisis

Eric J McNulty Associate Director for Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative has spoken and written about how no leader knows everything during a crisis. So in order to lead through crisis, leaders must be curious, they need to ask questions so they can make sense of the situation. “Questions are more important than answers” he says. He also says “Questions keep people out of their emotional basement so they stay positive and looking forward”.

Non-directive coaching is about communicating effectively by:

• Actively listening

• Asking powerful questioning

• and communicating directly

And…..it’s about facilitating learning and RESULTS by:

• Creating awareness (situational awareness, intelligence)

• Planning and Goal Setting (planning and objectives (IAP))

• Designing Actions (tactics)

• Managing Progress and Accountability (briefings)

I have learned one thing from being in the World of Emergency Management for nearly 15 years:

1. Some within the profession welcome questions.

2. Some see questions as a threat (especially if the questions are coming from those in the ‘lower ranks’).

And the ones that see questions as a threat, also believe that asking questions during a response is the wrong time (mostly because command and control typically means sit and do what your told).

As Eric J McNulty stated, during a crisis, “Questions are more important than answers”

Coaching works during all phases of Emergency Management. A professionally trained and accredited coach will use powerful questions to help leaders:

• Define the real problem

• develop solutions

• find resources

• identify measures for success, and

• develop commitment and accountability

This process can take place in 10 minutes or over 12 months. It’s up to the person, group, or team being coached.

More than ever, leaders need their teams to be rock solid, to bring their ‘A game’.

If you are an emergency management professional without a team, or some type of support, you are going to have a very difficult time bouncing forward as we all move through COVID-19 and future events. If you don’t have a team, consider a mentor, a coach, or some other support who can help you through response, recovery, and being ready for the next event.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Get our free guides on How to Choose a Coach and How to Discuss Coaching with your Manager

Fear and Perfectionism, Emergency Management's Next Big Hurdle

Fear and perfectionism are productivity killers, innovation killers, and positive culture killers. They stifle us and suck our energy, not only as individuals, but as organizations too.

In her latest book Dare to Lead, author Brené Brown presents how perfectionism and fear keeps us from learning and growing. She describes perfectionism as self-destructive and addictive because it leads to a mindset of ‘If I look perfect and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of blame, judgement, and shame”. Perfectionism leads to a fear of failure. There are other factors that contribute to negative cultures and a lack of learning and growth, such as:

• Bullying

• Cover-ups

• Teasing

• Gossiping

• Blaming

I chose to write about fear and perfectionism in emergency management because I have seen how they can keep us from ‘learning lessons’ and I have had my own battles with fear of failure and thinking that I must be perfect.

Pre 2013 southern Alberta floods I was very confident in my leadership abilities, I was learning a lot, and I was making great strides in my work. But post 2013 (southern Alberta floods) after my recovery from acute stress disorder, I found myself struggling to understand my value. This then lead me to feeling like I had to validate my importance; so my focus turned from getting my work right to trying to be right.

How does fear and perfectionism impact our ability to learn and grow? It keeps us:

• complacent

• unhealthy

• in a state of competitiveness when we need to be in a state of cooperation

• in our silos

• from seeking data and evidence

• in denial

People stay perfect and fearful because they think it keeps them safe….but as Brené Brown points out, “trying to protect ourselves with fear moves us away from authenticity and wholeheartedness”.

As emergency managers, if we want to LEARN from COVID-19, we will have to assess if fear and perfectionism is a risk for ourselves and our organisation, if it is, we will need to beat fear and perfectionism to the ground so we, and our teams, can work together better than ever before.

What is one way you can do this?

1. Start with watching some TED Talk videos by Brené Brown on vulnerability.

2. Then read Dare to Lead.

3. Then, if you are a manager or supervisor, buy all of your staff the Dare to Lead book.

4. Then guide your team through the Dare to Lead Read-Along Workbook. It’s free online.

5. Then be a stronger, more resilient, more productive, and happier team.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Get our free guides on How to Choose a Coach and How to Discuss Coaching with your Manager

Canada’s COVID-19 Disaster Response and Recovery Costs

After managing dozens of government disaster financial assistance programs, one thing is clear, it is going to be very very messy for governments, especially those that have not had much experience with the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements.

In Canada, disaster financial assistance is provided to indigenous and non-indigenous communities and to provinces/territories (PTs) for disasters that are caused by natural hazards. For this blog I will focus on non-indigenous disaster financial assistance as there is a more common approach for this process across PTs.

Disaster financial assistance programs pay for related response and recovery costs and they are developed using a fairly standard path.

Municipalities

1. Impacted communities assess their damage.

2. They start recovery planning.

3. They submit their estimated response and recovery costs (with any actual costs) to the provincial government for review and a decision.

Provincial/Territorial and the federal governments

1. If the event qualifies, the provincial/territorial government provides funding to the community, normally through one or more ‘buckets’ of funding.

2. Then the province requests financial support from the federal government.

3. If the province qualifies the federal government commits to funding.

In Canada, each territory and province has different processes for indigenous related costs, the federal government funds all indigenous costs but in some cases federal funding may flow through the provincial process. In Alberta Metis communities will work directly with the provincial government.

For COVID-19, each level of government should be trying to estimate their initial and ongoing response costs while calculating and documenting their actual costs. At some point they will start to estimate their recovery costs through their planning process, document actual costs and submit these to thier respective PTs. But sooner, rather than later, all communities and PTs will start asking “who is paying for what?”

Where do pandemics fit in this model?

Formally, they don’t. As of the start of 2020, the majority (maybe all) of PT, and federal government guidelines for disaster financial assistance only speak to providing assistance for the repair, restoration, and replacement of assets caused by natural hazards.

Pandemics, for human based events, are not defined in these guidelines. Any mention of outbreaks in disaster financial assistance guidelines are normally related to agriculture live stock scenarios.

But with the federal government moving to an All Hazards emergency management framework pandemics and other hazards, such as cyber threats, will need to be addressed within the federal guidelines, or through some other type of program.

This is going to get messy

At the onset of every disaster response governments are quick (rightly so) to do what it takes to save lives, which includes spending a lot of cash. During the 2013 southern Alberta floods I was granted a one million dollar spending limit (per invoice) so decisions could be made quickly.

Normally, during a response, the federal government is not so quick to jump in and offer financial assistance directly to those impacted by a disaster. They usually wait for a PT to request assistance, then federal auditors review the PT submission, then the federal government makes a decision.

During the 2016 Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (Fort Mac) fires I led a small team through the process of securing $300 million from the feds. This included coordinating all government department leads as federal auditors came to Alberta to review our funding ask, before they committed to funding.

With the federal government offering response assistance, it is going to get messy when the PTs submit their claims for federal reimbursement. The federal government could make the case that because they provided response assistance, any PT claims are the sole responsibility of the PT.

One thing is for certain, politics will play a big part in who gets what. Municipalities will be submitting their costs to their respective PT governments and the PTs will be applying to the feds.

One question I have is:

1. Given that the feds have a financial assistance program for response costs, will Alberta be eligible for reimbursement, from the federal government, for it’s Emergency Isolation Support Program through the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (which are meant for natural hazards)?

If you are a mental health services provider, read about Mental Health and the Canadian Recovery System.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Get our free guides on How to Choose a Coach and How to Discuss Coaching with your Manager

How coaching moves you forward, fast

I have observed two camps of Disaster and Emergency Management professionals:

1. The ego driven camp

2. The learning and accountability driven camp

I have no time for the ego driven camp because they have no time for me, it’s an unwritten mutual agreement. Whenever I hear the phrases “I’ve been doing this for 20 years…..” or “this is how we did at or in….” I am the first to move on. Coaching can be very beneficial to this camp but I don’t have the time or energy that it takes to get through their thick personal armour.

I do have time for those who are driven by learning and accountability. These people tend to be curious, good listeners, open minded, and high performers. If you are someone who sees every encounter as an opportunity to learn, and is okay with being held accountable……I’ll stick around and discuss coaching with you all day long.

The ULTIMATE GUIDE TO…..

No amount of advice is going to satisfy your need for sustainable solutions that meet your unique needs. Advice overload. Tips and tricks. The ULTIMATE GUIDE to blah blah blah………….there was a lot of information being developed before COVID-19 but over the last few weeks the amount of guides and social media graphics that are being created is nuts……..

• How to work from home

• How to manage your team remotely

• How to be prepared for COVID-19

• How to stay healthy

Advice has its place but COVID-19 is hitting everyone in their very personal and private World. I understand, it’s easy to download a guide or seek out memes or social media graphics to try and find solutions for your unique problems. It’s easy in the sense that you can be anonymous, you don’t have to work very hard, you can do the work from your couch on your phone in front of the TV. If you have made and sustained the change you want by scrolling through your phone day after day then great! Keep it up.

But if you have 30 ultimate guides and know every motivational meme off by heart and you are still stuck……there is one reason for that. The advice and experiences of others are not moving you forward because you lack the understanding of THEIR situation so how can their solutions fit into your life and context?

So how is coaching different than advice or consultation?

In a nutshell, coaching helps develop sustainable solutions, and change, that meets the unique needs of the individual or team. Coaches do not tell you or recommend a solution.

During a coaching partnership:

• you are expected to work hard

• you are expected to be open and honest, with yourself

• you are expected to minimize distraction

• you are expected to learn about yourself

• you must choose the topics to work on and commit to success and be okay with accountability

During a coaching partnership no one:

• tells you what to do or how to do it

• judges you

• includes biased opinion or advice

• gives you the answer

• gives you orders

Getting coached is hard, its messy, its awkward, it requires your truth so you can develop solutions that are right for YOU!

Developing your own solutions that fit your context equals EMPOWERMENT which is why you are more likely to commit to the necessary actions that will create the sustainable change you want from your situation.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Contact Brad

COVID-19 Mental Health and our Disaster Recovery System

I have been involved in a lot of disaster recovery efforts, all fire, flood, or tornado related, at the community level, and during two provincial states of emergency.

“Mental Health support for survivors of the 2013 southern Alberta floods was mostly gone after five years.”

In all of these cases media and governments would flash photos and video of devastated communities, burnt to the ground or flooded to the roof tops. The public could easily see the damage and the toll the event took on the community. But with COVID-19, even though we are all experiencing the event together, the damage will not be as recognizable. Unless there is a vaccine, the risk of COVID-19 springing up during the flu season, as a ‘second wave’ is very likely. In fact, the risk and fear of COVID-19 could haunt society for decades to come.

To start, I am not a first responder, nor am I a ‘response guy’. Response is stressful. I did seven years as a search and rescue volunteer and a decade of working in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre. I tried my hand at being an Incident Commander and I am tired of this type of shift work. I am still very involved in prevention/mitigation, preparedness, and recovery. This is probably because my background is management…..I love to plan, incorporate a systems design and coach approach, educate, and empower.

During post-pandemic recovery, markets will respond and adjust, jobs will come back, and people’s financial health will rebound. What is more of a concern is the mental health recovery aspects of a post-pandemic World.

All of us have a part to play in ensuring long-term mental health recovery is a priority

During the 2013 southern Alberta floods, the majority of mental health support for survivors was gone after five years. This was because financial support for mental health programming was made available through government grants which was limited. Sure, these grants allow for a quick ramp up of programming, the problem with this is there is no sustainability for the long-term mental health recovery (five years plus).

What are governments planning for long-term?

Absolutely! Acute health services are required today; however, while this event is ongoing and as we move into post pandemic surveillance there will be a significant influx of mental health challenges and illness across Canada, and not just for five years.

We will see generational impacts from this pandemic. Kids will grow up remembering COVID-19 which will spark all sorts of fears and anxieties. Our public health system will see an increase in mental health challenges because:

• there are those who may not have a mental health illness today, but may have challenges related to COVID-19 now or in the coming months,

• there are people who think they will never have a mental health, but current realities are developing an illness within them, and

• there are those who had mental health challenges and illness before COVID-19, and now they will have compounded challenges.

I am curious to know how each federal and territorial government will respond to mental health funding, they will all be different, they will all have different outcomes. I hope the federal government steps up as a leader to help provinces and territories offer long-term sustainable support and treatment for all Canadians and Indigenous communities.

Other questions:

1. How is the ‘supply chain’ for psychologists and therapists and social workers?

2. What do they need to be ready for increased demand?

3. How will public education campaigns be funded?

4. How will emergency management agencies shift to place more attention on public health?

5. How will we make the support that is needed available for decades to come?

6. If provinces and territories develop different support models, what impact will this have across Canada? Where will disparities be and how will this change communities?

What can you do today?

As a health care provider or government Staff

1. Start building a business case now for long-term mental health support.

2. Connect with experts at Alberta Health and Alberta Heath Services who have been through this before, they have information, ideas, and systems.

3. Reach out to your not-for-profit, and other stakeholders, and the whole community to brainstorm.

4. Make it an issue!

As an individual

1. If you have never reached out or received mental health support before, start now! Source two to three registered psychologists or other mental health supports and book an over the phone consultation to see if they are a good fit for you.

2. Have at least one appointment with them so they have a sense of your background and potential challenges. So when you need them they are ready and one phone call away.

3. Make mental health support an issue, let your government officials know it is top of mind for you.

Comment below and stay-tuned for upcoming blogs on recovery efforts.

For information on Hazardscape Management Inc. visit our about page.

Author: Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and had decade long career at the Alberta Emergency Management Agency where his focus was on Disaster Recovery and his last role served was as the Director for Training, Accreditation, and Standards.

Get our free guides on How to Choose a Coach and How to Discuss Coaching with your Manager

Brad will never disclose or sell your information. It will be used to provide you quality service and value. Our privacy policy

Curious about our Disaster & Crisis Management Coaching?

See if you are ready….

Get Started