Even if you're not the top dog (or bird) in the director's chair, you still carry some authority and leadership during a disaster recovery operation. (Source)

After hundreds of hours of prepping, reviewing, drilling, training, speaking, and getting ready to handle a big event, you can finally start bossing people around...right? Not quite. As a specialist, you'll be reporting to the Director of Emergency Planning or some similarly titled supervisor who wields the actual authority. 

But fear not—your boss can't be everywhere at once and will rely on you to directly handle some of the crucial coordinating and decision-making in the aftermath of an emergency situation. Don't let the "specialist" moniker mislead you.

As opposed to other specialist positions, which are usually far down the food chain in most organizations, you are a highly trained and experienced professional who has been handling a lot of responsibility in your organization's emergency preparation planning and training. When the time comes, you'll find yourself directing all kinds of personnel. We're talking firefighters, police, community volunteers, the works.

•  Back
• More