Welcome to the new Manager podcast.
I'm your host, Kim Nichol. Hello and welcome.
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before you before you leave today and and go do something
else. Now today I wanted to talk with
you about some things I have learned along the way as I have
become a neighborhood Emergency response Team volunteer.
Now this is a program that is put on by the San Francisco Fire
Department and essentially volunteers, you know, people
that live in in the different neighborhoods in San Francisco
can participate in this training.
What I learned were some foundational skills and not just
things to do, but also the mindset, how to think in the
event of an emergency. Now, of course, I live in San
Francisco, so the kind of #1 emergency that we know will
happen but we really can't predict is earthquakes.
And so in the course of learning about emergency response, a lot
of it was from the perspective of in the event of a huge sudden
earthquake, how can we be prepared?
And also, you know, what do I need to be knowing in order to
think about not just what to do, but also how to think about the
situation? So some of the specific things
we learned, we learned light search and rescue, we learned
medical, not medical procedures, but basic things that can help
people live in the event of an emergency, You know, like making
sure people are breathing, checking the airway, people are
bleeding, stop the bleeding. If you know, realize people
might go into shock, which can have an adverse effect on a
person. You know, what can we do in the
event of shock? So some disaster medical
operations as well as disaster psychology.
So also being aware of what's happening to people from a
psychological perspective in the event of these severe traumatic
events. And we also learned about
buildings and building structures.
San Francisco is a town that's got some really old buildings.
So learning how to think about, you know, what is the potential
damage or the potential risk that we're looking for in the
event of an earthquake. And being able to do a very
quick assessment of what is the level of damage and therefore,
what is the potential risk that might it be involved if we are,
you know, going into a building to help someone that might need
assistance coming out. So there are all of these
different things that we learned.
And as I was going through this program, I, you know, was
thinking about you, and I'm thinking about all of the
different challenges that emerge in the course of the workplace
and how we can't always predict exactly the problems we're going
to face, the challenges we're going to face.
We don't always know exactly the resources we will need or the
resources we will have. And yet, at the same time, there
are still some things that you can do in order to feel more
prepared. And it's this interesting
balance between being comfortable with not knowing,
being comfortable with uncertainty, and also really
being on point with what are the things that I can be responsible
for? What are the things that fall
within my scope of care, my scope of influence, my scope of
control and being able to both be planful in how we think
ahead, being skillful in gathering information, doing
practices in order to build the skills that we need, but also
being OK to let go of sort of a, a, a really clear plan.
Because we know for sure that in the moment we will need to
adapt. We know for sure that in the
moment we will need to be reassessing and re evaluating
continuously because information will change and the situation
will change. And so if anything, we're kind
of building both this ability to be perceptive and observant and
focused in the moment, as well as adaptive using whatever
skills and resources that we can bring to that situation.
And the other interesting thing is that in terms of the
organization, there are some structures, you know, there is a
chain of command and there is, you know, like a basic reporting
structure for how each of these different neighborhoods are
going to organize. But it's also rather
decentralized in the sense that you don't know who's actually
going to be around. Just because you live in a
neighborhood doesn't mean you'll actually be there in case of a
big earthquake. You might be, you know,
someplace else. So I thought that it was so
interesting and kind of elegant that the things that we were
learning is the sense of leadership and organizational
structure, even when you do not know who exactly will be there,
even though you don't necessarily know who exactly is
going to be able to show up. So one of the ways they're able
to do that is there are some very clear roles.
And it's kind of like, OK, if, you know, 5 people show up, we
know no matter, you know, even if we've never met each other
before, there are some specific roles that people will need to
take on. And then if we have more people,
then we can't adapt and kind of restructure the roles a little
bit differently. And, you know, sometimes it
might just be you. You might be the one person who
shows up. And given those different roles,
you will need to choose the extent to which you're going to
be able to step into that role. And I thought that was like very
interesting because you want to, you know, again, like be
planful, but also realize you're going to be working with people
that maybe you've never met before.
But when there's clarity about what the role is, what your
responsibility is, what are the tasks that go with that role, it
actually makes it easy to then begin to take effective action
because you have some foundations in place.
So some things that I wanted to share with you as I have been
reflecting on my experience in this program.
And also just huge, huge shout out to the San Francisco Fire
Department. They were so awesome.
And it was also, I mean, I just, I learned so much and they had
such great knowledge and sense of humor.
And, you know, I feel like they really took everyone and, you
know, they were able to really be patient with us and work with
us, even though, you know, some of us had more enthusiasm than
skill. And I'm talking about myself
here. But gosh, it was such a great
program. And so you're just, I'm feeling
a lot of appreciation for the fire department and all of the
work that they do. So here's some some notes that I
took that in the last class as I was reflecting on this journey
of my neighborhood emergency response team training that I
thought, you know, this is actually helpful for the
workplace. Regardless of what kind of
workplace you're, you're working in, you will face uncertainty,
you will face unexpected challenges, and you're going to
have to balance, you know, foundational knowledge with the
ability to adapt as situations unfold.
So here are some things that you want to keep in mind.
Number one, there will be many unknowns.
And that's good to accept because if we try to chase down
all those unknowns and actually know them, it's really easy to
drive yourself into an anxiety spiral.
So just accept there will be many unknowns and you can't plan
for every possible scenario. You know, like in an emergency,
maybe you'll be at home, maybe you'll be at the grocery store,
maybe you'll be on a bus, maybe you'll be in a car, maybe you'll
be outside at a park with your friends, maybe you'll be at
work. Like you cannot plan for every
possible scenario. So don't try.
Instead, you want to get some good foundations in place.
Like no matter where you are, what kinds of things do you look
for in terms of safety? If you're looking for a safe
space in a building, it's going to be a little different than if
you're outside at the beach. You so you can't plan for every
possible scenario scenario. That part's OK Foundational
knowledge will still be really helpful.
And also, and things will change and things will change
unexpectedly. Sometimes I think this is the
most difficult lesson as a human because we sometimes think, you
know, if I follow the plan or if I'm doing a good job, I'm able
to control the uncertainty. I'm able to reduce the risk, I'm
able to reduce the uncertainty of things changing unexpectedly.
But the truth of the matter is that things will change and it
will be unexpected. And you being really good or
really caring or really trying really hard, you know, you're,
you're not in control of all of these other forces.
We're working with them. We're working as as sort of part
of this ecosystem. So yes, except that things will
change and they will do so unexpectedly.
There is going to be a lot that is outside of your control and
beyond your knowing. What I see in the work that I do
is so often people are wanting to solve for that they want to
control and they also want to know everything because they
think that's what they need to feel more grounded or to create
the desired outcomes that they want.
And when we get over attached to that, when we try to be over
controlling or we try to to know the unknowable, it can really
become a distraction and it can keep us in a place of
hesitation. So except that there is going to
be a lot that is outside of your control and that you're just
you're not going to know in the course of your work.
It might be like that your industry is affected by bigger
geopolitical, you know, changes or circumstances.
It might be that the leadership in your organization might be
making decisions that you don't fully understand the rationale
or the reasoning behind. There will be things that you do
not and cannot fully know or fully control.
So we want to just accept that. That's part of, you know, being
a human being in the world and working with humans because even
still, you know, the good news is you don't need to know all
that in order to also feel prepared to meet the moment as
it arises. There are good foundational
things to know about and some procedures to follow.
One of the lessons that I learned in my training is when
you're doing search and rescue, you never go alone.
Always go at least a team of two.
That's a really great foundational thing to know no
matter what the situation is. Never go alone.
Always go with a partner in the workplace you can think through
too. Like, what are some of those
foundational things that will help you regardless of what the
situation is? And also, you know, perhaps most
of all, there's this awareness too, that there will always be
others around you with different levels of training and
knowledge. That was one of the takeaways
that I got from the emergency response team training number
one, just seeing all of my neighbors and community members,
people I've never met before and might never see again.
But there's this knowledge of wow, there are actually a lot of
people who care and that have more knowledge and different
knowledge and different levels of training.
And so it I don't have to do all of it.
I need to be mindful of what's in my hands, what's my
responsibility, and realizing I will be working with others,
other people and other resources.
So you are part of a community. We work together as best we can
and it's just a really great reminder to not focus on all of
the possible things that can go wrong and instead we want to
choose to direct our attention in a more effective and
practical manner. So for example, do what you can
with what you have. Remember, you are part of a
community. It's not just you.
Continue to keep learning and show up.
Showing up matters. It's important.
You know, for me, it was in, in a sense so humbling to be with
firefighters as well as there were some people with medical
training doctors and nurses and healthcare providers that were
also in my neighborhood training course.
And to realize, wow, these people have dedicated their
careers and, and in some cases decades of life to gain
experience and knowledge and understanding that I will never
have. And I know so little.
There's so little that I know in comparison to what all of these
other people know. And that is OK.
You know, my job is not to know everything.
My job is to be mindful of what is it that's in my hands and
that it still matters that I show up able to participate and
help to the extent that I can. And the same is true for you in
the course of your life and in your work and in your career.
You cannot know everything. Even as you gain expertise in
your field, there will always be people who know things that you
don't and that have expertise and perspective and experience
that you didn't have. And so it's OK because your job
isn't to know everything. It's not to be this all knowing,
you know, kind of flawless, perfect, you know, person.
It's actually just to know who you are, what you bring, and to
show up. I feel like the last several
years have challenged leaders and especially like emerging
leaders in the workplace with so many new and unexpected and
unprecedented challenges for the workplace.
And so it's hard when you don't have a precedent to refer back
to, and it's hard when you don't have a mentor to look up to.
And So what we do, and this matters is we show up the best
that we can. We do what you can with what you
have and you keep learning. And at the heart of all of this,
one of the the most important things and, and one of the
things I learned in my training, one of the first places you
start is that when there is an emergency, the first thing you
have to do is you need to check in with yourself.
Take care of yourself first in training, you know you take care
of yourself. You check in with your family
like you make and then you go to your community.
And it's only when you are feeling like, OK, I'm in a
position now to be of service when the need arises because I
have taken care of myself. That means that because I've
taken care of myself, when I go forward into this disaster
situation, I will not become something that someone else now
has to manage, right? Like I'm not going to contribute
to the load. I'm going to go show up knowing
how I'm doing. I'm going to show up with
awareness of what my capacity and capability is.
One of the things that they told us, they said, you know, if you
get squeamish at the sight of blood, like don't volunteer to
do, you know, medical, medical work.
Like there are other things that we can have you do.
We want to make sure that we're making the best use of your
abilities and skills and it's OK.
Like you don't have to be the person who's, you know,
bandaging or, you know, helping, helping to stop the bleeding of
people that are injured. If that's, you know, if that's
only going to, you know, kind of make things worse for you, don't
worry about it. There are other things that we
can have you do. So take care of yourself first.
Have that awareness of knowing you know not what your limits
are, but what your capacity is, because your capacity can change
depending on the day, depending on the season, depending on the
situation. So it's so important that you
have that practice and that ability of checking in with
yourself. You know, if you've ever had a
manager or worked with someone who was really bad at that, like
they couldn't tell that they were overworked or they couldn't
tell that they were having a hard time.
So instead they just kind of lashed out and took it out on
everybody rather than simply saying, OK, you know, I'm, I'm
going to need to, to step out for a minute.
I'm going to need to take a break.
I'm going to need to eat some food.
Let's have this conversation when I have more energy.
That level of self-awareness makes everything so much easier
and it makes for more effective communication, decision making,
relationship building. You have to develop the
willingness to pause, check in and care for yourself first.
You'll be so much more effective in any leadership role and in in
any situation when you're able to do that.
So those were the, you know, kind of insights that I had from
my training that I wanted to share with you.
Again, like really big thanks and appreciate and appreciation
and gratitude to San Francisco Fire Department for running this
program and for you in your community.
So if you are listening and you are in the US, your community
might have a program like this too.
It would probably be called the Community Emergency Response
Team Training and it will probably be facilitated by your
local or regional fire department.
So if that's something that you'd like to learn more about,
I highly encourage you to check it out.
And if you are not in the US, then I'm not sure if that's
available in your town, but it could be.
And so be curious, be curious about what are the different
ways that I can learn to care for myself and my community in
the event of uncertainty. Because it's just a nice thing
to be able to know, you know? And I'll say for me too, it also
helped me feel, I think, even more connected to my community
and to my city. You know, it's, I live in a in a
big city. So I don't, you know, I don't
know everybody and people come and go.
So having that sense of almost like the in forestry and what
we've, one of the things that we've learned about how plant
communities and ecosystems work is you have these mycelium, this
sort of delicate but very important network of this like
fungus actually that goes through the soil and through the
roots and it helps communicate with the the trees and the
plants. And it's sort of hidden from
plain sight, but it's there in the ground and it's supporting
the health of the entire ecosystem.
I kind of feel like I tapped into some of that.
Like, I had no idea there are so many others who have done this
training over the last several decades, but there are so many
others and they're kind of invisible.
I don't know who they are, but I know they're here.
And I am now also a part of that team.
And I'm going to continue with my learning journey as well.
So that is what I wanted to share.
That's what I wanted to invite you to reflect on and to think
about. So thank you for listening.
And if you want to know more, if you want to deepen your learning
with me, then you can go to my website, kimnickel.com and reach
out to talk with me about one-on-one coaching.
That's private coaching where we focus on your specific situation
and your goals. I also have courses coming for
managers, so there's a link in the show notes where you can go
to learn more about that. And if you're on LinkedIn, find
me there and follow the podcast there.
The New Manager podcast just got a new page on LinkedIn, so
that's kind of fun. Anyway, that's what I had to
share with you today. Thank you so much for listening.
I hope you have a really great week and I'll talk to you next
time. When you're more effective at
work, you're happier in your life.
And when you're happier in your life, you're more effective at
work. I can help.
Go to my website, kimnickel.com and sign up for a coaching
consult. It can get better.