Increase Situational Awareness - Improve Performance (Don't Get Eaten By a Lion)

Increase Situational Awareness - Improve Performance (Don't Get Eaten By a Lion) :

First off what is situational awareness and second how does it improve performance ?

SA (Situational Awareness) is knowing what's going on around you , so you can figure out what to do. It involves perceiving, processing and predicting. Then doing something about it.

Endsley (1995) describes 3 levels of SA :

Level 1 Situation Awareness—Seeing key elements or events in the environment that in combination identify and define the situation.

Level 2 Situation Awareness—Comprehend the current situation by examining what you see in a holistic pattern or tactical situation. This allows you to consider the current situation and make timely decisions and take actions.

Level 3 Situation Awareness—This is taking what you see and projecting the current situation in the future. This allows you to support short term planning and make adjustments to avoid drift, disruptions, and major delays.

Technology can improve SA, for example if you are a fighter pilot using a multi function screen to display critical information not only about the status of the aircraft but also what is out in the environment ( friendly aircraft as well as air/ ground threats to the aircraft).

Sadly technology can also significantly decrease SA, as shown in the picture below. People can become so focused on the small screen in front of them , that they can actually be a danger to themselves and others.

Picture 1: Technology and SA

Importance of expanding your focus:

Picture 2 shows how important it is to expand your view to everything around you, not just focusing on one thing or in one direction. When learning a new skill , like driving a car for instance , most people's level of SA is minimal initially and increases as they gain knowledge and experience. Similarly, for anyone that has ever driven a car at speed on a track, you find that when you first start your SA is very low. You need to react quickly as turns are coming up very fast. Initially your view and focus is around 10 feet in front of your car - straight ahead. Clearly this is not ideal , as you want to be looking as far ahead as possible to be able to react to upcoming turns. You need to also be aware of any cars near you as well as the track flag stations that provide critical track status information. (They may even point at you if your car has problems or if you are driving in an unsafe manner). Gradually with experience your field of vision expands (as does your SA) , thereby making you more effective and a better driver.

Situational Project Management:

SA is also of prime importance in effectively managing projects. Risks like the lion in picture 2, can catch you unprepared if you are not aware of them. By increasing your and the team's SA , you can often identify risks in advance and have a plan to eliminate or mitigate the risks. Similarly if you have a high level of SA , you will identify opportunities and be able to take advantage of them.

You should always ask yourself: Am I doing the right thing for the situation, the moment and the environmental context that I am in now?

Oliver Lehman states that situational project management is built on a very simple observation: The tools, practices, behaviors, and approaches that are successful in one situation may fail in another. Simple best practices may sometimes match the situation you find yourself in and create a great outcome, and other times they might lead to disaster. The best project managers using SA, can analyze the situations and make adjustments as needed.

One of the primary things to focus on is helping to reduce complacency across the team. When the team has successfully completed a similar project, a situational leader will challenge them by asking if the project will be successful this time, given the differences in the current project environment.

Don’t let your team fail because they fail to have SA.

Picture 2: Take a 360 Degree View