Obtain, Train, Gain – Situational Awareness

Situations, our lives are filled with them. Decisions we take in seemingly less important situations may potentially transform our lives, yet we only remember high-pressure, urgent and critical ones. The way we handle a situation with a senior can be equally important as handling a situation with a peer.

Our responses in such situations might have proved to be right or wrong, but what mattered at that point in time was Situational Awareness, henceforth abbreviated as SA.

Before we get into the crux, a little bit about the cover image. Notice that OBT doesn’t have ellipses, TR has one and G has more. Here's why? The complexity and time taken increases with each step.

So, let's dive in!

Obtain – Let’s look at what it is and how you can grasp it.

Most of us will say ‘Oh yeah, I know what it is and I’m great at it!’ But, there’s a lot to it and this article shares my thoughts on this interesting skill, going beyond the standard definition of SA.

I believe SA is an outcome of multiple skills including, but not limited to, being in the moment, observation, analysis, verbal and non-verbal communication, perspective, presence of mind, and empathy.

The process of SA typically involves:

• Absorbing the information,
• Analyzing the information to extract the context and meaning,
• Envisioning possible next steps based on knowledge and experience,
• Choosing and acting on the identified next step, and
• Iterate, because you’d be in a new situation after the above steps. ??

Pretty self-explanatory, so not getting into each step here!

To start grasping SA, you need to thoroughly understand the above steps and try to just run through them in your mind during each situation. This forms the foundation of your SA improvement journey, hence the step is shown at the bottom in the main graphic.

SA can be practiced when you’re an individual contributor to the discussion or as part of a team that has a common goal. Both are equally important in our corporate and personal lives. For the purpose of this article, let’s stick to the corporate world and situations we deal with at work.

Train – Once you’ve got it, you gotta practice it too!

When we are in the office settings, the need to be situationally aware starts from the moment we walk into the office. During a typical day, we interact with numerous colleagues in the aisles, meeting rooms, coffee and lunch breaks, and even the elevators. These interactions can be face-2-face, emails, IMs, phone calls etc. Each of these interactions can be enhanced extensively through SA.

Personal SA - Let’s look at what we, as individuals, need to do/consider to be situationally aware during all the above interactions.

Try to relate the following points to a situation while you read them.

• Observe the body language of the other person(s) to analyze their state of mind.
• While you exchange pleasantries, try to recall the last interaction with the individual or members of the group. That could be a good starting point in impromptu discussions.
• If you’re the one starting the discussion, show some empathy to begin with.
• Prepare a mind-map of the discussion so you know what your positioning will be and how you’d explain that to others. I had touched upon this in one of my earlier articles.
• In the process, finalize your definitive non-negotiable position so you know when to respectfully indicate disagreement or middle ground, if needed. Be sure to have your own reasoning in such cases.
• While you hear everyone else, accept that they will also have their own positioning. Try to understand where it’s coming from, the underlying presumptions, thoughts, logics, facts etc. without rushing to a conclusion.
• Knowing what you shouldn’t bring up in a discussion is also critical. The decision will be driven by the purpose, audience, agenda, available timeslot, sensitivity and confidentiality of the topic.
• Keep your body in the best possible shape, as all the above will be possible only when you’re in good health. We typically forget to even drink water or get up from our desks – avoid that.

Almost all of us a part of a team, and for our teams to do well, we need to improve our own SA first. So, start with yourself!!

Group SA – Any manager is as good as his/her team or the group they work with and hence ensuring that the group also works on improving their SA will ultimately help the overall performance. Let’s look at some key aspects here:

• Each group member needs to first understand the common goal and should always be focused on that. All work-related interactions within and outside of the group should be towards that direction.
• The group needs to know possible critical situations they may run into, and should be armed with recommended multi-level remedies.
• A level below, they should also be clearly aware of their own goals, which’ll make them think about the SA they need to possess to improve their performance.
• All the right and important information should be passed on to each or appropriate group member so they can prepare their perspectives.
• Every person in the group should be optimally loaded, definitely must not be over-burdened as that’ll potentially reduce SA.
• The group manager should imbibe a culture of appreciation and freedom of expression, only then the group members will feel confident to express their perspectives in critical situations.
• A positive outlook also goes a long way in improving SA, as positive group will have the belief that every problem has a solution. The positivity, of course, should start from the manager.
• Last but definitely not the least – the manager needs to know each group member well enough to understand, identify and address their training or information needs, as experience and knowledge can help improve SA.

Gain – As you start practicing it, let’s see how it helps you.

Understanding what SA is and continually trying to improve your SA skills will improve your knowledge as you’d almost always ask the right questions, say the right things to take the discussions in the right direction.

This, in turn, will grow your own confidence and more importantly, the confidence of your colleagues in your ability to handle critical situations.

It also instils a sense of positivity as a result of higher confidence and the collective skill to navigate through a variety of situations.

While you manage those situations in a highly tactical manner, you’d notice that your expertise at various other technical skills is also improving.

This typically happens because of the focused interactions you’re able to have with your peers as well as colleagues up and down the ladder.

Ultimately, all these will directly improve the way you handle yourself and your team in tough situations. And as you excel there, you’d be helping each of your team members grow professionally.

Remember - It is extremely important to have very good situational awareness, irrespective of you being an active participant in the setting or a passive one.

So, obtain the understanding of situational awareness, train yourself to practice and improve SA in as many situations as possible, and reap immense gains for yourself and your team.

I am sure you all will be able to relate SA with a lot of situations that you’ve lived through during your work experience. Recall any that stands out? Feel free to share.

I will be covering a few more skills in my subsequent articles, so stay tuned!