Imagine the following: Late in the workday the assistant fire chief asks you to meet with her before you leave for the day. At the meeting the chief commends your leadership skills and then asks (or perhaps assigns) you to take responsibility for an existing program or project within your fire department. She goes on to explain that you’ll be taking over for an officer who’s going to lead a new program.
Excited about this new opportunity you feel ready to jump right in get to work demonstrate your skills and achieve new success. But in the midst of your enthusiasm to begin work don’t overlook an important tool that can help ease a change of leadership: the incident command system (ICS).
Too often we employ the ICS only on scene at an emergency. Many of today’s leaders however realize they can apply the ICS to other management issues as well. The ICS offers structure when you’re transitioning into the leadership role of a program or project.
The transfer of command is an essential feature of the ICS. Use it to hand off program or project management responsibility away from the emergency incident scene. The following five steps of this transfer process provide the structure for a successful transfer of authority and responsibility:
1. Situation assessment
2. Briefing
3. Point of transfer
4. Transfer notice
5. Continuing involvement
Step 1: Situation Assessment
Assuming a new assignment or responsibility demands that you thoughtfully evaluate the current situation consider what has transpired and understand what your supervisor expects. Note: Do not confuse assessment with briefing which is described in Step 2.
To assess an emergency scene you must observe the incident from multiple perspectives; often this includes walking around the incident scene. You evaluate what’s going well and note where there’s potential for trouble. To assess a project or program follow a similar process: Ask questions make notes and take pictures (mental or otherwise). Collect any records or data associated with your assignment. Organize this information into a document that you can use for future reference. These important observations provide context and will inform discussions in your briefing with the outgoing manager.
Note: You should regard this step as an overview and should not invest a lot of time in it. Your assessment should be comprehensive but not too detailed or exhaustive.
Step 2: Briefing
After your situation assessment schedule a face-to-face meeting with the outgoing incident commander or person in charge. Whether you are new to this project or have been working on it in another capacity take this opportunity to pick the brain of your predecessor.
Respect the outgoing leader and protect your exchange by giving the discussion your full attention. Schedule a specific time to meet and hold the meeting in a quiet place free from distractions or interruptions. Summon your best listening skills and encourage an open candid discussion. Some of the information you discuss may warrant confidentiality. If this is the case discuss the need for confidentiality and if possible agree to it.
Consider the history of the program/project along with its objectives and schedules. Ask the following:
– Are there any priority elements?
– If you don’t achieve your goals what are the risks?
– How is the project currently organized; is there a need to reorganize it?
– What resources will you have at your disposal?
– What limitations or constraints are in place?
Finally get a clear statement of your authority and the name of the person to whom you are accountable. Also determine if the outgoing leader will continue to be involved in the project. If so what will his involvement entail? (More on this in Step 5.)
Step 3: Point of Transfer
In this step you must define when you will assume full responsibility for this project or venture. Do the circumstances dictate that you should take over immediately or should the outgoing manager wrap up some pending matters? Clarify this and come to an agreed-upon time and/or date to avoid any confusion or missed actions.
The assistant chief may decide the point of transfer. Or you and your predecessor may be expected to work it out. Either way make sure all involved know when the transfer will occur. This piece of information is critical for your next step: notifying affected personnel of the change.
Step 4: Transfer Notice
When you’ve completed your assessment conducted your briefing and defined the point of transfer you must ensure all who will be affected receive advance notice of the leadership change. (Ideally this notice will come from your predecessor or from that person’s supervisor.) I recommend sending a timely e-mail. If appropriate include an outline of your immediate plans in this notice.
Personnel who have worked on or who have been involved in some form with the project/program are likely accustomed to receiving direction and information from a specific person. To avoid confusion they should hear about the change from that familiar authority. The notice should identify the change and should specify when it will take effect. When that date/time arrives you should immediately contact everyone involved to confirm the change and let them know how to contact you.
Step 5: Continuing Involvement
A shift of command or management responsibility doesn’t mean that your predecessor won’t have some form of continuing involvement or responsibility in the effort. When you conduct your briefing consider and discuss the future role of the outgoing manager if appropriate.
The officer may continue to serve as a technical advisor or they might be a valuable resource to help guide the project or program as it moves forward. If you agree to some form of continuing involvement be sure your supervisors agree with and support your decision before you announce your plan to the team.
Conclusion
As you develop and refine your skills in incident management you will have the opportunity to assume command of emergency incidents. Throughout your career you will also confront new responsibilities programs and projects that require you to successfully transition into the command role as a program or project manager.
The ICS offers a structured scalable process to transfer the command function at an emergency incident to a new person. We can and should use this same process when we shift administrative program or project leadership. By following the five steps outlined in the ICS we can make the transition a smooth success.
Note: You can review the ICS Transfer of Command sequence in the ICS Review Document online at the FEMA ICS Resource Center: http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/ICSResource/index.htm.
