Decision Making

One of the most important responsibilities a leader has is the power of decision making. Especially during a crisis, the ability to make decisions becomes extremely important and essential for leaders and responders. Decision making can be defined as the process a person goes through in order to make the choices he or she needs during a crisis. This skill can be one of the most important skills a leader has in a crisis situation and is often one of the first things followers or team members will look to as a quality for their leader.

With all of the stresses brought to a crisis situation, the ability to make decisions becomes harder because of the additional burdens resulting from what has happened. A crisis will bring time pressures, risks, and an ever-changing situation, and seldom will the crisis responder be able to control the timetable of the event. The people who make the decisions in the crisis will have to make many difficult decisions and will ultimately be responsible for those decisions once the situation has calmed down. Often, the decision makers will express self-doubt, lose their own perceptions of the scenario, or cause stress upon themselves about the decisions that were made in the heat of the crisis.

It is important that when decisions are made, they are made quickly and decisively. The first consideration should be people's safety, and the decisions that are made need to be communicated precisely to those who need the information. Frequently, the decisions will need to be made quickly with little or no information available, but it will be the responsibility of the crisis leaders to do their best to make the most informed decisions they can as rapidly as possible. Most decisions will not be easy to make and may even be based upon conflicting information. These decisions will need to be prioritized in importance and communicated appropriately.