Disaster Recovery Journal Fall 2025

I was talking with a business executive who served in the military. He said before learning how to give orders, he learned to take orders. The point here is role clarity. I have been fortunate to work with many people who served in the military and as emergency responders. I have observed those who work in emergency rooms and hospitals. What I see is role clarity. Each person doing their job, knowing when to step in or when to stand back in support of the big mission. In these cases, savings the lives of a patient, a child in a burning building, or a teammate in battle is often the ultimate mission. The thoughts are sobering. Here are two ways to define organiza tional roles that build resilience. n The first is to develop an organi zational structure that is fractal . This means defining teams as modular and scal able. This resolves single-point-of-failure problems. Our crisis management teams were responsible for leading the company’s response in a specific geographic area, for example in Florida, Mid-Atlantic states, or Pacific Northwest. These were a frac tal design that followed the company’s organizational structure. It made sense. Each team had the same structure, the same roles. They were already subject matter experts on their primary role, and since the teams were modular, they were able to provide support across teams when needed. For example, the leader of a network team in Florida could step into the same role on a different team in Texas. Not everything was identical, but they were smart, capable professionals, willing to adapt and support the big mission: ensur ing the reliability of our wireless network, for customers, and first responders. Often these teams would work together. Leaders from one region would travel to support their peers, who might literally be under water after a flood. Indeed, team member’s homes, cars and family are not immune during a crisis. The fractal design of the crisis man agement teams eliminated single points of failure in our crisis response capability.

The teams were more resilient as a result, and customers benefited. Go team! They even made a Super Bowl com mercial about it. For real. n The second point is role flexibility . This means team members are trained for their primary role, but have incentive to step outside this role to support the bigger mission. This resolves the “not-my-job” syndrome. Our BC/DR team was responsible for managing the company-wide program, crisis management, plans, tests, etc. We were a small team with big impact. We needed clarity in our roles, but also needed to step in for each other on weekends or if there were simultaneous crisis events to manage. Our team was measured based on indi vidual and team performance. We publicly shared our status in open forums within the broader department. Peer pressure toward a common goal is a powerful motivator. No one wants to be the person holding the team back from achieving its goals. The team and its mission remains resil ient, intolerant of poor performance. This makes a leader’s life easier, when the team helps enforce good behavior, and helps support one another during the inevitable surprises and challenges. When we help others, they are more likely to help us during a time of need. It too is common sense – and a beauti ful thing to see in action – to know and trust that someone else has your back. Not because they have to, but because they want to. Strong teams are inspiring and resilient. 4. Demonstrate Discipline Discipline is a unique word in the busi ness world, likely associated with pun ishment for poor performance or conduct violations. It may typically relate to nega tive behavior or things to avoid, but there are many positive disciplines. For example, team members appreciate it when others arrive on time for meetings, or when people follow through on com mitments, stay within budget, and act with integrity. These also seem like common sense, yet remain a challenge for many

teams. This is reality. Vince Lombardi, the famous football coach, was renowned for starting meetings early. When he first took over as coach of the Green Bay Packers, the team struggled due to the lack of discipline expected by their prior coach. Coach Lombardi made his point by prompting them to get back to basics. Living and breathing the basics makes a difference in the business world as well. Strong team members act with discipline, even when their leaders do not. These actions from within the team may be as important to the success of the team, help ing to set acceptable standards of perfor mance. Teams can self-regulate, when they know the mission, and rise to the occasion with their own discipline. There is a source of pride within a team. When a team wins. When a team has a reputation for delivering results when others fail. When a team works together through a significant challenge ... these things are good. They feel good and they breed more success. It becomes part of the team discipline. Sun Tzu, the ancient strategist, reminds military leaders of the seven ways to deter mine which side will win during a battle. Three of these pertain to discipline: u On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? u On which side are officers and men more highly trained? u In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and in punishment?” If you were to pick a team to help you win a competition, would you pick a team that has more discipline or less? Easy answer. Discipline is an asset that builds successful teams. 5. Add a Margin of Humanity “Boss, I screwed up.” It’s not the best way to start the day. OK, so now what? One option: “You’re fired.” Another option: “Let’s fix it.” There isn’t one magic answer. Leading teams through failure goes to the heart of management, building trust, and deliver ing winning results the next time.

16 DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL | FALL 2025