The importance of situational awareness in the workplace

In my last blog I introduced the concept of situational awareness – the importance of being constantly ‘in tune’ with the environment around us so we can be prepared for, and effectively respond to, any unforeseen challenges which might come our way.

So, having considered various definitions, now let’s think about why situational awareness plays such an important part in today’s modern workplace.

Quite simply, if managed correctly, situational awareness can contribute to the continuous improvement process in teams and organisations.

Firstly, improved situational awareness can help identify issues before negative consequences.

What are the consequences of your Leadership actions? Photo Bradyn Trollip Unsplash

Secondly, the concept helps to go through a structured learning process and identify situations which you could avoid with a proper level of situational awareness. This makes situational awareness an essential management tool to drive organisational learning.

There are three main stages in implementing situational awareness:

·       Perceiving – you must ‘perceive’ the relevant information by firstly having access to that information and secondly recognising it. For example, if a project manager isn’t informed about an issue that could potentially cause a project delay, then he won’t be able to initiate countermeasures to mitigate it.

·       Comprehending – you must properly ‘comprehend’ the relevant information. Depending on the specific situation, this requires the right knowledge to deal with the acquired information.

·       Predicting – you must ‘predict’ the future state based on the information perceived and comprehended. This is especially critical when dynamic processes are projected into the future based on wrong assumptions.

All the above therefore, leaves us in no doubt as to the importance of situational awareness.

But to ensure you get the best results for your organisation, and take advantage of all opportunities, what steps can you take to maximise situational awareness?

Communication/information exchange

A critical element of situational awareness is proper communication and information exchange. However, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ as communications must be tailored to address specific scenarios.

Try asking yourself the following questions:

·       How does communication take place?

·       What is communicated?

·       How often does communication take place?

·       What does the communication process involve?

To achieve the best outcomes, always ensure you concentrate on the quality rather than the quantity of all workplace communications.

Management/Planning

Situational awareness involves knowing what’s going on around you – you must continuously watch your environment

However, you can’t pay attention to every single detail. Instead, focus on what’s important to achieve individual tasks and objectives. If you combine prioritisation with a planning process, you’ll further improve situational awareness further.

To help with this, stand back and consider the following questions:

·       How will things develop in the short, mid, and long term?

·       Which alternative scenarios could happen?

·       Which problems/issues could arise in the short, mid, and long term?

·       Which interdependencies affect how things might evolve?

Visualisation

Visualisation is a special form of communication and information exchange. It helps structure complex topics, recognise deviations, and better understand how single elements relate to each other.

You can use various visualisation tools and methodologies in your workplace. For example:

·       Different forms of maps such as mind maps and knowledge maps.

·       Colour codes indicating specific area, functionality, or risks.

·       Time schedules with important milestones.

 Don’t miss the next in my series – “What have you learnt from situational awareness in 2022?”

If you’d like to explore the subject of situational awareness more deeply, please contact me via Email: russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.