Thinking Through Crisis: Improving Teamwork and Leadership in High-Risk Fields

Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this strikingly original analysis of the complex dynamics of high-risk fields demonstrates that teamwork is more important than technical prowess in averting disasters. Thinking Through Crisis narrates critical incidents from initiation to resolution in five elegantly constructed case studies: the USS Greeneville collision, the Hillsborough football crush, the American Airlines flight 587 in-flight break-up, the Bristol Royal Infirmary pediatric fatalities and the US Airways flight 1549 Hudson River landing. Drawing on a variety of theoretical and real-world perspectives, this vivid, well-documented book provides innovative ways to understand risk management, develop new models of crisis decision making, enhance socially responsible leadership and encourage deep questioning of the behavior of individuals and groups in complex systems. Its insights will resonate with professionals in a wide range of fields and with a general audience interested in understanding crises in complex systems.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: how teamwork is more important than technical prowess; 1. Rethinking normal accidents and human error – a new view of crisis management; 2. USS Greeneville – the downside of charismatic leadership; 3. The Hillsborough football disaster – explosive team chemistry; 4. American Airlines flight 587 – latent failures align; 5. Bristol Royal Infirmary – the price of organizational overreach; 6. US Airways flight 1549 – thinking through crisis; 7. Team resource management.

About the Author :
Dr Amy L. Fraher is Associate Professor and Chief Pilot of the Aviation Operations Program and Director of the International Team Training Center at San Diego Miramar College. She is a retired U.S. Navy Commander, Naval Aviator and former United Airlines pilot with 6,000 mishap-free flight hours in four jet airliners, five military aircraft and several types of civilian airplanes. A crisis management expert with almost thirty years of leadership experience in high-risk fields, she is a member of the Washington Post Leadership Panel. As Principal Consultant of Paradox and Company and qualified LeanSixSigma Green Belt, she consults internationally with a broad range of organizations. Her focus is on improving team performance in high-risk organizations by helping people understand how group dynamics can debilitate operations. She is the author of Group Dynamics for High-Risk Teams (2005) and A History of Group Study and Psychodynamic Organizations (2004). Her essays have appeared in journals such as History of Psychology, Human Relations, Socio-Analysis and Organisational and Social Dynamics.