How We Respond Matters: The 5A Approach

The way we react to news of an unplanned event or negative outcome can have significant unhelpful consequences both culturally and on future performance. One of the guiding principles of HOP (aka Safety Differently or Safety II) is "How We Respond Matters," which encourages organizations and individuals to handle incidents in a way that fosters curiosity, learning, and resilience rather than blame, punishment, and fear.?

The 5A approach is a practical method for structuring responses to events—particularly those with negative or unexpected outcomes. By following these steps, individuals and teams can react thoughtfully, avoiding rash decisions or assumptions, and instead focus on constructive growth and improvement.

1. Accept The first step is acceptance. What has happened, cannot be “unhappened”. Acknowledging that the event is now in the past helps prevent dwelling on the idea of "what could have been." Acceptance allows you to focus on what can be done moving forward rather than immediately reacting angrily to those involved. It helps create a blame-free environment where learning is the primary goal.

Tip: Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this event?" rather than "Who is at fault?"

2. Absorb Once you've accepted the event, it’s important to take the time to absorb what happened. This is about slowing down and allowing the emotional and cognitive impact of the situation to sink in. Internalizing the situation helps you better understand it in its entirety, which can lead to deeper insights when it's time to assess the event.

Tip: Consider how the event impacts you, the team, and the broader system. What are the emotional and operational implications?

3. Assess After the event has been absorbed, it’s time to assess. This step is all about gathering information and analyzing what happened. Here, you’ll want to focus on understanding the causes and consequences of the event. How did it affect goals, operations, and people? What were the conditions that led to the event? This is where learning opportunities are identified in accord with another of the HOP Principles: “Context Matters.” It’s important to reach widely in time and space to gather this information. Consider a broad range of actors and factors: human, process, technical, equipment, and environmental at a minimum. If there was equipment involved, don’t just look at the operator of the equipment, assess the design and maintenance of the equipment.

Tip: Use questions like, "What were the contributing factors?" and "What can be improved?" to guide your assessment.

4. Adjust Once the assessment has provided clarity, adjustments need to be made. This is where actions are planned based on what was learned during the assessment phase. Whether it's revising schedules or plans, adding resources, modifying procedures, providing additional training, acquiring new tools, or implementing new systems, this step focuses on changes that will allow progress to continue towards organizational goals and potentially prevent similar events in the future.

Tip: Don’t just fix the symptoms—adjust at the systemic level to prevent recurrences. In vPSI terms, look for a Type 3 corrective action.

5. Act The final step is to put those adjustments into action. While it’s important to plan thoroughly, this step reminds us that change only happens when those plans are executed. Take decisive action based on the adjustments made in the previous step and ensure the changes are communicated clearly to those involved.

Tip: Communicate the actions and adjustments openly with your team, reinforcing the lessons learned.? Follow up to ensure adoption and staying power of the plan.

Conclusion The 5A approach—Accept, Absorb, Assess, Adjust, Act—is a simple yet effective framework for responding to incidents in a way that encourages learning and system improvements. By following these steps, you can create a culture that focuses on growth rather than blame, allowing your team to respond to challenges in a thoughtful and proactive way.

Next time you encounter an unexpected event, try to bring the 5As to mind. This approach can help you respond in a “HOPropriate” way, guiding you through an effective process of learning, adjusting, and growing.

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