• Lunchtime Session - Teaming: Benefits to ESOs’

Presenter : Dr Terence Sheppard

 

Teaming refers to the process of developing the mindsets and practice of team work without the benefit of stable team structures. Teaming can deliver two major benefits to emergency services organisations. Firstly, ESOs must have the capacity to react rapidly and flexibly to critical events that can arise with little or no warning. Teaming allows an ESO to be flexible in harnessing the talents of staff and volunteers to respond to critical events within short time frames by rapidly assembled teams. Secondly, teaming recognises that critical event management in Australia in the 21^st century will require new solutions to known or familiar problems as well as new solutions to new problems and encourages team based creativity and problem solving. This is achieved through organising for learning, a style of leadership that promotes learning and continuous improvement as a way of working. Using this style of leadership, leaders encourage speaking up, collaboration, experimentation (under safe conditions) and reflection to encourage their teams to develop alternatives to existing solutions that may no longer work in the rapidly changing landscape of incident response.