Creating Institutional Memory
The most important attribute of an organizational leader is their ability to respond and lead through crises effectively. Managers are rarely measured solely by their ability to complete the routine and programmed tasks of the company. When facing a crisis, managers can increase the likelihood of success by drawing from the organization’s institutional memory – if it exists.
Institutional memory sees an organization as an analog to the human brain in that it can learn and get better. Therefore, organizations can gain new knowledge from what they experience and create a memory for approaching future problems.
During the onset of a crisis, the event can cripple leaders who are unsure of how to approach complexity. Inaction due to the problem’s novelty can devastate a company. Worse, complex problems are, by definition, unfamiliar, which makes it challenging to prepare. So, how would we expect leaders to lead through crises effectively?
A good rule of thumb: Never underestimate the power of the after-action review and tabletop exercises to create an institutional memory for the unknowable future.
Review The After-Action Review
In successful companies, lessons from the past are digitally archived in some form of in-stride or after-action review (AAR). Those involved share their first-hand perspectives while reflecting on ways to improve systems moving forward. The goal: don’t repeat the same mistakes that led to the event.
When approaching the AAR, a fallacy is to view this powerful tool as a box check. Organizations compel participants to complete their portion of the AAR and submit it by some arbitrary suspense date. Once submitted, the knowledge manager stores the document in a digital repository, and it may never be touched or reviewed again.
Instead, effective leaders know they must seek and continuously learn from lessons of the past. The most critical step in conducting an AAR is not completing it but its subsequent review. Therefore, we must create opportunities to routinely review past events by finding the company’s AARs, brushing off the digital dust, and collectively reviewing what occurred. This process initiates a cognitive shift offering the participants insight into how their team approaches problem-solving.
Rarely do organizations repeatedly face the same crisis. Again, by definition, crises tend to be complex and unfamiliar problems. However, when managers routinely lead their teams through a review of critical AARs, they reinforce institutional memory. The team’s reassessment of a past event quickens its reaction capability, much like the human brain. And companies that think deeply about how they approached problems of the past are better prepared for an unknowable future crisis.
The Tabletop Exercise
The tabletop exercise is a second and very effective method for creating institutional memory in preparation for the inevitable crisis. During a crisis, leaders from different organizations with competing goals often converge on the problem. Chaos erupts if they have never worked together or collaborated in the past. The tabletop exercise offers a means to draw upon the knowledge and experience of the likely actors before the event. By thinking through plausible or worst-case scenarios, the participants collectively refine and develop solutions.
The crisis management community has mastered this tool. First responders, key stakeholders, and incident commanders come together in a safe environment to notionally respond to a crisis. During the exercise, participants share ideas, build relationships, and create new ways to solve unfamiliar problems.
A similar approach is critical for creating institutional memory for how companies approach complexity. Managers can easily replicate the tabletop exercise, creating a safe space for their teams to think through unfamiliar problems. Structuring the tabletop exercise can be enabled by four important steps:
1. Gather the tools – whiteboards, 3x5 cards, and current plans – to enable free thinking, creativity, and collaboration.
2. Create a plausible problem for the organization or a worst-case scenario that requires timely action for organizational survival.
3. Encourage participants to contribute, knowing there is no pre-determined solution; instead, participants rely upon a review of the AARs, knowledge of existing capabilities, and skills.
4. Capture the process, which is more important than the outcome.
With the above in mind, leaders can guide their team through a thought exercise, looking for system gaps or vulnerabilities. They focus first on identifying the problem. Next, the team revisits existing plans, procedures, and AARs for “A Way” to approach the problem. Then, using whiteboards and 3x5 cards, facilitators solicit feedback from across the team – using the whiteboards for group collaboration or leveraging the 3x5 cards to draw from the quiet professionals. Lastly, the facilitator gathers the ideas; celebrating divergence of thought and creativity is critical.
However, the brilliance of the tabletop exercise is not in the outcome but in the process: learning how to think, building a cohesive team, and creating institutional memory to deal with crises.
Creating Institutional Memory
Leaders will inevitably face crises. Although the problem they face is unfamiliar, how they approach it doesn’t have to be. Companies must create an institutional memory for how they think about solving problems. Routinely reviewing after-action reviews and conducting tabletop exercises can generate a memory pathway to a known experience and, in turn, prepare leaders for the next crisis.
Reflection Prompt
Which tool — AAR or TTX — can you implement this quarter to strengthen your team’s ability to respond under pressure?
