Evaluating and Improving Your Situational Awareness
In this week's blog post, I’ll discuss situational awareness. Whether you are a seasoned leader or an emerging leader, these tips will help you evaluate and improve your situational awareness.
What is situational awareness?
Situational awareness is the ability to understand what is happening around you in a given moment and to use that understanding to guide your decision-making. For public sector leaders, this means being attuned not only to the tasks at hand but also to the broader context in which those tasks are situated. It means being aware of political and social dynamics, understanding the needs and concerns of different stakeholders, and keeping a finger on the pulse of the external environment.
Leaders who possess good situational awareness are better able to anticipate emerging issues, identify opportunities for collaboration and innovation, and make more effective decisions that align with their organizational goals.
The benefits (and consequences) of different levels of situational awareness
Those with good or exceptional situational awareness make decisions more quickly and are more likely to advance easily to higher levels in the organization. While those with lower situational awareness could face some unpleasant surprises as they might miss important information and facts that could help them achieve their goals.
How can you tell if your situational awareness is low?
Your situational awareness might be low if you’re new to a job, have become overwhelmed, feel out of control, or are struggling to keep up in a crisis.
Sometimes it can come from having a too narrow focus on delivering on the task at hand. Situational awareness is about establishing context and connections (with issues, events and the people involved in them) ...it’s part of having a strategic focus on the work you are doing.
Remember, it’s not just about your focus and interests in the topic, but also knowing and understanding the focus, interests and perceptions of the other key involved parties (like your Minister, Premier, DM, Mayor, Council, lobby and advocacy groups, etc.).
Situational awareness and understanding organizational dynamics
It is true that most people at the DM/CAO level and other senior leaders do not need to be technical experts to be successful, but that doesn't mean that they don't need to learn the business of the Ministry/Municipality (and quickly in most cases). Those who are situationally aware know that they must understand how the organization is functionally structured, how results are produced and the resources it takes to produce those results.
In situational awareness failures, there can be a disconnect between how a leader believes things work vs how they actually work.
Using situational awareness to anticipate what’s coming down the pipe
Developing situational awareness can help you identify emerging trends and proactively address them. Situational awareness isn't just about being aware of your surroundings; it involves gathering and analysing information to make informed decisions. By building your capacity to gather and analyse information and developing the confidence to share your insights with others, you will be able to more easily see what's coming down the pipe and take appropriate action.
To enhance your situational awareness, make sure you have built the capacity internally to facilitate the gathering of the necessary information and communication that will highlight emerging trends or serve as early warning systems. Develop your confidence and share your unique perspective so others can see what’s coming down the pipe.
Toxic leadership can hinder situational awareness
When a DM/CAO is controlling or demanding, employees may become nervous and hesitant to share important information or identify potential challenges for fear of retribution. This creates a culture of fear that hinders independent situational intelligence and requires closer collaboration with colleagues to overcome. When working for a challenging leader, work more closely with your colleagues and apply situational awareness as a group.
Develop your situational awareness by learning from others
There is no substitute for experience in this area. Some of your most valuable learning experiences will come from “carrying other people’s briefcases”. When learning from others, simply be there to observe how they solve problems. What do they pay attention to? What do they not pay attention to, and why? What can you see that might have been helpful that they were blind to?
To get a head start, learn from public sector leaders in our situational awareness short course.
Humility and curiosity can enhance your situational awareness
As an executive, your responsibility extends beyond your division, ministry, or department and even the public service in many cases. To improve your situational awareness and intelligence, it's important to practice humility and curiosity. You don't need to be the person with all the answers. Instead, focus on creating a safe environment where your staff can bring challenges and options to you. This will give you a broader view of the situation and help you make more informed decisions.
A coach can help enhance your situational awareness
Your coach can help you practice developing your peripheral vision. First, pick a critical part of your job that you want to know more about. Then think in concentric circles (up, down, sideways, beyond the unit):
What do the people who report to me know about this?
What do my colleagues see?
What is in my boss’s mandate letter?
What do those outside of our organization, but still in government, want?
What are the priorities of external organizations affected by our work?
What is the media’s perspective?
What announcements has the Government made? What did it campaign on?
Developing your political acumen can help enhance situational awareness
Political acumen also plays a crucial role in situational awareness as it will help you understand the political landscape in which you operate. As a leader, you’ll need to be aware of the political priorities and goals of politicians, as well as the various stakeholders involved in your work. You’ll also need to be able to anticipate how political decisions may impact your work and be able to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Read my other blog on political acumen or take our full course to learn how political acumen can be used to address the unwritten rules that public sector leaders need to navigate.
Looking for an Executive Coach?
We work with several coaches who have taken the Inside Public Sector Leadership Program and worked with public sector clients for many years. Please contact us if you would like a no-obligation referral with a complimentary ‘fit’ meeting: programs@publicsectorleadership.ca