Socratic Paradox In Emergency Management

"The only thing I know, is that I know nothing."

Socratic Paradox In Emergency Management

"The only thing I know, is that I know nothing."

I like to read Plato. I reach for his wisdom often. I have a copy of the Dialogues of Plato on my bookshelf out at arms reach. My favorite opening of all times is "How you O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell, But I know they almost made me forget who I was..." As emergency managers, we sometimes forget who and what we are. However, that is a conversation for another day.  As we examine our emergency management life (keeping with the theme), we must understand what we do not know. 

I was on a call with Kelly McKinney the other day. Our conversation got deep into what the future of our profession is. We discussed some of the new leaders who are coming into the ranks. And then we got deep into what it is to be an emergency manager. 

Kelly then uttered the words of Socrates and perhaps some of the most profound words ever spoken. "The only thing I know is that I know nothing," I told him. You just gave me my next topic to write about. Thank you, Kelly! 

This statement is known as the Socratic Paradox. True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.⁣ 

So, you may ask how does this topic fit with emergency management and leadership. Well, the answer is simple. When I talk to my students and the emergency managers that I mentor, they feel like they are moving at the speed of light and cannot catch up at times.

The job of emergency management has daily tasks that are burning our time. The Emails are adding up, overdue tasks, calls requiring a response, and many other functions that continuously pile up on the "to do" list. 

Yet, at the same time, we are required to stay ahead of our stakeholders. As an EM, you need to know and understand the new laws and regulations are being pushed out at the state and federal levels. Have a comprehensive threat assessment done and committed to memory. The problem here is that when we are moving so fast, we seldom take the time to step back and learn important details about the community that we are serving. Our RPMs are in the red we that we think that we are making headway and we are just spinning our tires. 

Learn From The Past Or Repeat the Mistakes 

I was part of a collaboration project between multiple jurisdictions. When my job duties changed, I no longer attended the meetings, and the group kept motoring on. After a few years, I had the opportunity to work with that same group. They had new leadership and new representatives from various jurisdictions. As I sat in the meeting, I realized that the problems they were trying to solve were the same issues we had faced before. This is an excellent example of a lack of institutional knowledge. The members in that room did not know what they did not know. They did not look at the documents that came before them, and they did not reach out to the organization members that sat in the room in the past. 

This microcosm of emergency managers struggling with a question that was answered and documented years ago is what we see at all levels of the profession. 

One of the constant problems with this profession is that we do not have a great handoff between the new employees and the old. When an emergency manager retires or moves on, the jurisdiction will not hire the new EM for weeks or months after the old one is gone.  In the cases of the collateral duty emergency manager, they are rotating off by the time they understand the assignment. The new person comes in, and they do not know what they do not know. 

Many emergency managers are an office of one. They may not have the support that larger offices have. As an office of one, they do not have an area of focus, so they say they are a jack of all trades and a master of none. Now that office of one, that EM has to be on top of everything, which means that they are on top of nothing. Because they are expected to know everything, they cannot know anything fully.  

Getting Public Support 

The general public is wise to today's issues and they are finding answers independently. They do not take “we told you so” as a reason. No matter what side you fall on with the “great mask debate,” we owe our community a better explanation than this is what the CDC said. Everyone can have almost any information at the tip of their fingers. If we are not armed and ready with information, they will be confused, leading to many “disaster drills” down the road. Confusion leads to a loss of trust, and when you lose trust, you have lost the community. 

Do you know what you don't know? I have been practicing being a conscious leader (more on this in the future). Being aware is a rudimentary concept that is vital in learning. When we acknowledge what we do not know, we search out and educate ourselves on the unknown. Moreover, you need to accept that admitting that you do not have all the answers is ok. That is the first step in seeking information.  When you get that, you are committed to learning the information you need to communicate with the people you serve. 

When the people you serve trust you, trust that you will be open and honest with them. Then that builds support. The support of the public is the cornerstone of building a resilient, robust, and antifragile community. 

What Is The takeaway?

So, what is the takeaway from this? Take the time to learn. Ask questions, get to know the "old" emergency managers, get a mentor (even if you are a seasoned emergency manager). Knowledge is power; knowledge communicates confidence, and confidence breeds trust. With trust, getting community support becomes much easier. And most of all, as sailors know, if you are off by one degree on your compass, you will never make it to port.