**May 21, 2007 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Report**

\(1\) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:

WCBS News Radio 880. \"Schumer: Dismantle Dept of Homeland Security.\"

May 10, 2007. Accessed at:

[[http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/439990.php?contentType=4&contentId=486379]{.underline}](http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/439990.php?contentType=4&contentId=486379)

\[From Steve Detweiller\'s \"Articles of Interest,\" May 18, 2007.\]

\(2\) KATRINA:

Jones, Bruce C. \"Katrina\'s Neglected Lesson.\" Government Executive,
May 21, 2007. Accessed at:

[[http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0507/052107ol.htm]{.underline}](http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0507/052107ol.htm)

\[Excerpts: \"When things go wrong, we naturally gravitate toward
solutions that appear achievable in the relatively short term. Much
post-Katrina attention has focused on what are essentially technical
questions: Who\'s in charge; where do the pieces fit together; how are
resources and services acquired and accountability maintained; what
should the National Response Plan say; how do we make our
telecommunications systems more resilient.

Getting these structural issues right is absolutely necessary. But
addressing them alone is not enough. Katrina\'s neglected lesson is that
to prepare for the next catastrophe, we must direct equal attention to
leadership and the human element, which often have more influence on
organizational outcomes.

Some public and private organizations, though virtually cut off from
contact with their chains of command and support and unable to conduct
business using customary or even safe procedures, were nonetheless able
to recognize what needed doing, and then adapt, innovate and perform at
a high level. How? These organizations had set the conditions that
enable leaders to emerge spontaneously from the workforce wherever they
are needed as crises unfold. These conditions include:

Clear objectives: Leaders must clearly convey organizational priorities
before disaster strikes. There will be little time \-- and possibly no
communications capability \-- to pass on instructions in the chaos that
reigns afterward. Clear, well-understood objectives ensure that
subordinates plan and prepare thoroughly for crises, and are then able
to see and navigate around the many obstacles that arise and could
otherwise cause them to falter in their response.

Flexibility: Experienced first responders know that in a crisis, \"the
plan\" is only a starting point. It\'s impossible to anticipate every
contingency. It\'s more important to be capable of adapting and
adjusting rapidly to evolving situations using the plan as a guide.
Doing so on scene requires insight, confidence and initiative.

Insight comes more readily to those in learning organizations where
plans and goals are developed collaboratively, members are expected to
be alert for new threats and opportunities, and internal communications
are strong. Insight is less likely to be achieved in rigid, hierarchical
organizations whose members have no expectation of being able to
initiate change in response to events.

Confidence comes from technical competence, practice, experience and a
supportive, forward-leaning and risk-tolerant leadership climate.
Subordinates who know their leaders \"have their backs\" will take
action and do the right thing, even if it means going out on a limb and
breaking some rules, in support of established priorities.

Initiative arises not only from innate individual qualities, but can be
developed over time, as a result of being encouraged and empowered to
take chances, innovate and learn from mistakes. No one who has been
relentlessly micromanaged will suddenly become a proactive,
out-of-the-box thinker in a crisis \-- and it\'s both unfair and
unrealistic to expect otherwise.

In the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe, it\'s not organizational
charts but organizational culture that distinguishes those who get to
work from those who stand reeling from the blow. Tens of thousands of
Katrina survivors were rescued because legions of Coast Guard, National
Guard, local and other first responders found themselves with more
responsibility and less oversight than they had ever had before, and
rose to the occasion.

Building and sustaining a winning organizational culture is not
glamorous, and neither easy nor easily measured. But a leader has no
more important responsibility. How will your organization perform if it
finds itself at the center of a catastrophe?\"\]

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, K-011

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

\* To subscribe to the Hi Ed Activity Reports go to the Higher Education
Project homepage at <http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/>. Scroll to
the fourth paragraph and click on the link to send a blank e-mail to our
list server. You do not need to enter any information on the Subject
line or in the Message area. If you want to remove yourself from this
mailing list, you can send a blank email to
<leave-emi-hi-ed-reports-205686A@lyris.fema.gov> or visit:
[[http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/)

If you are unsubscribing from a different email address than the one you
originally subscribed with, send your email to <lyris@lyris.fema.gov>
and include the next line of text in the subject line of your message:

Unsubscribe emi-hi-ed-reports <Barbara.L.Johnson@dhs.gov>

.

**"Please note: Some of the Web sites linked to in this document are not
federal government Web sites, and may not necessarily operate under the
same laws, regulations, and policies as federal Web sites."**

\* NOTE:  Users can be dropped from the Hi Ed Activity Report list for a
few reasons.  Make sure your mail box will accept our email.  Sometimes
inboxes are too full to accept an attachment.  If the email "bounces"
too many times you will be dropped from the email listing.   Make sure
the activity reports are not rejected as SPAM.  This will also cause the
email to bounce and again you may be dropped from the listing.  You can
have your Help Desk check your computer settings to ensure DHS emails
are acceptable to your system. Hi Ed Activity Reports are distributed
daily Monday through Friday; if for any reason delivery of the Hi Ed
Activity Reports stops let us know immediately via email at
<Barbara.L.Johnson@dhs.gov>.  Missed Activity Reports can be accessed on
the Hi Ed website at
<http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/activityRA.asp>.