An earlier blog addressed some reasons why your C-Suite (Executives, Sr. Managers) might not be the best choice for your Incident Management Team.
What about the composition of Business Continuity Management (BCM) Teams? A BCM Team may be quite varied in makeup. Some members may be dedicated to BCM full-time. Others may have a ‘dotted line’ responsibility for BCM – serving part-time to represent their Department or Business Unit. Some members could be contributors with specialized knowledge (Facility Management, Security, IT, HR, etc.).
Often BCM Team membership isn’t voluntary. In some organizations, BCM team membership is a rung on the ladder to career advancement; in others it is considered a sidetrack – or worse.
For most BCM professionals with industry certifications and career aspirations, BCM is a choice (even if initially stumbled upon or ‘voluntold’). But what about other BCM Team members who participate on a part-time basis? If you could pick the members what traits would you look for? You might well consider:
- Someone who has a good grasp of how your organization works. Not just its org chart (who reports to whom), but its products, services and markets – and how those products are created. They don’t have to be an expert in everything, but the broader their knowledge about what you do and how you do it the better.
- Someone with good communication skills. A BCM Team is often called upon to make presentations to and answer questions from a variety of audiences – both face-to-face and in written form. Not everyone is a great speaker and a good writer. But either is a benefit.
- Team players. Not everyone can be a leader – nor is everyone good at it. Building an effective BCM program requires collaboration and cooperation among the BCM Team. Proven team players will help make that possible. A roomful of individuals fighting to be the leader will get little accomplished.
- A reputation for integrity, hard work or diligence. Strivers and delegators may add something to the mix, but the former won’t stay long, and the latter will grow tiresome. Reputation counts.
- People skills. Just like communication skills, the abilities to lead, persuade, inspire and cooperate are valuable assets. Dealing with a broad cross-section of the organization, the ability to deal with people of all ranks and motivations is indispensable to meeting goals.
- Balance. The ability to juggle multiple priorities, within different timelines, with diverse collaborators. The ability to product under pressure (of both deadlines and disruptions) – with a cool head and a calm demeanor.
- Analytical skills. Perhaps the least appreciated, but most valuable trait. The ability to question why. The ability to see through the ‘standard’, the ‘template’ and the ‘dashboard’ and find out where the problems really reside, where the risks really threaten – and the solutions shine.
Few individuals have all these traits. But looking for them will help find the right person to fill a gap in the BCM Team, or build and entire Team from scratch. Even when someone is ‘voluntold’ to be part of the BCM Team, recognizing their useful strengths (and minimizing their negative traits) can mold him or her into a valuable member of your Business Continuity Management Team.
