The Challenges of Communication Under Crisis Conditions

By Dr. Anita M. McGahan, University of Toronto

As a professor at a business school, I find that my students are often surprised by the challenges of communicating across organizational boundaries even under normal, routine conditions. Specializations, differences in mindsets, and variation in focus can block communication even within a well-functioning organization. Often, well-meaning people don’t realize that they have information that would be valuable to colleagues working in another division. Furthermore, the incentive to communicate may be low when conveying information effectively across organizational boundaries takes time and commitment.

Yet despite these obstacles, often the biggest impediment to effective communication across a complex organization is the lack of opportunity to execute. For example, in one case that I discussed with my students, we were astonished to find that executives in one division of a company didn’t even have the email addresses or phone numbers of their peers in another division.

Complex Organizations

The problem of effective communication in complex organizations is even more difficult to solve under crisis conditions. In recent research, my colleagues and I have studied how firefighters from neighboring departments work together under life-threatening conditions where the stakes on clear information-sharing are high. A range of impediments gets in the way, including differences in training that lead firefighters to pursue different strategies for controlling an incident. Lack of familiarity – not to mention trust and loyalty – with the Chiefs of neighbouring departments may lead to conflicts in command structure when divisions from different communities are deployed together. Variation in protocols for operationalizing and deploying equipment may lead to contention. All told, we find that, even when the incentive for effective communication is at its highest, the crisis itself compounds the challenge of accomplishing it.

What can organizations do to overcome these problems? Our research suggests a number of best practices:

The first is the simple recognition that information-sharing across organizational boundaries requires extra commitment in times of crisis, and that often the best way to accomplish this commitment is by identifying, in advance, which individuals in each relevant department will be responsible for accomplishing it.

A second best-practice is in general training among all members of the organization in how to rely on this network of communication experts for sharing information.

A third is joint training exercises and case analyses that enhance understanding of the mindsets and principles that shape decision-making in different organizational units.

Fourth, communication is enhanced by routinizing collaboration under non-crisis conditions to build shared language and enhance knowledge of variation across units in systems and equipment deployments.

Finally, we find that trust and loyalty are enhanced when divisional leaders meet regularly with members across an organization to share information about initiatives and priorities.

While we find that the benefits of pre-crisis information exchange improve performance during crisis, we also believe that they may improve performance in routine situations. We believe that, by building familiarity with the operations of prospective collaborators, firefighters become better in their roles in their home jurisdictions. The discovery that what you know how to accomplish is valuable to others can lead you to deepen your expertise in ways that save lives.

Anita McGahan is a Professor of Strategic Management at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, where she holds the George E. Connell Chair in Organizations & Society, and where she leads the Police Leadership Program, a partnership between the OACP and the Rotman School of Management. Dr. McGahan can be reached at Anita.McGahan@Rotman.Utoronto.ca.

This year’s PLP program runs from October 28 to November 15, 2024, in Toronto. For more information on the PLP, click here.

Forensic Evidence: Collection vs. Intelligence Gathering

It is a viciously cold night in february and homicide is called to attend a shooting in a sparsely populated area of your city. As your investigators approach the scene, they note several pieces of evidence that need to be collected before the forecasted heavy snow rolls in. Your forensics team is called in to attend and sends two officers to begin the documentation and collection of items that lay about the scene.

Harnessing Geographic Data Technology

In an era flooded with data and technology, law enforcement finds itself grappling with a paradoxical issue: having too much information, yet not the right kind to empower officers on the ground. How do police organizations wade through large amounts of data and transform it into actionable insights for their frontline members? The answers lie within evidence-based policing, an approach that combines law enforcement with the precision of data analytics.

THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP IN POLICING

Under the leadership of Chief Jim MacSween, the executive leadership team at York Regional Police (YRP) established a mission to re-imagine leadership development within the organization. YRP knew that standardizing leadership principles and delivering them to all ranks of the organization would enrich the development of ethical and professional leaders.

The Tri-Party Responsibility in Employee Wellness

The conversation around employee wellness in policing is gaining increasing priority for all police personnel for many good and justifiable reasons. This conversation was exacerbated by a global pandemic where law enforcement professionals may have been disproportionately impacted by a variety of challenges, including vulnerable populations, anti-vax advocates and others whose mental health was significantly impacted by restrictions, lack of social and economic opportunities,

Behind Blue Eyes

Behind Blue Eyes: A Police Officers Resiliency Journal as a way to help myself, other police officers, and first responders heal. My journal is a tool and resource and was created because my 23-year-old self would have benefited from the wisdom, insights, and life experiences that I have now. I was not prepared for the death, trauma, and suffering that I would see in my career. Since I was not prepared for it, I didn’t know how to navigate it or to handle it effectively.

THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP IN POLICING

HQ's Comms Hub · Apr 30, 2024

President ’s Message

As police leaders, living in uncertain times is part of the fabric of our professional lives.

HQ's Comms Hub · Apr 30, 2024

Behind Blue Eyes

HQ's Comms Hub · Apr 30, 2024

Connect, Lead, Inspire

As policing leaders, there are key elements to consider when it comes to developing outstanding organizations. Opening conference keynote presenter Tanya McCready of the Winterdance Dogsled Tour and author of Journey of 1000 Miles opened the conference with a timely message: time, dedication, trust, and practice are key elements to leadership, as well as ensuring that leaders know their team and where they thrive best.

HQ's Comms Hub · Apr 30, 2024

Forensic Evidence: Collection vs. Intelligence Gathering

Harnessing Geographic Data Technology

THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP IN POLICING

The Tri-Party Responsibility in Employee Wellness

Behind Blue Eyes

THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP IN POLICING

President ’s Message

Behind Blue Eyes

Connect, Lead, Inspire

HQ Magazine

Categories

Social Footprints