Team Leader Training
Human Factors
Ontario Search and Rescue Volunteer Association
Human Factors
 Objectives
Leadership and supervision
Risk management
Team safety
Psychological health and safety
Transportation
Leadership
 A team leader must be able to
Lead
Supervise
Direct
Team in a safe and efficient manner
 This involves recognizing hazards due to physical
or psychological demands, and taking into
consideration the different personalities and skill
sets present within the team
Leadership and Supervision
The team leader must be able to be both a
Leader
Supervisor
They must be able to
Coach
Manage
Resolve conflict
Counsel
Communication
 The team leader must have a thorough
understanding of effective two-way
communication skills including
Body language
Appropriate language – written and verbal
Active listening
Giving and receiving feedback
Tabletop Exercise
Break into groups
What are 10 POOR ways of communicating
information (write out your responses on flip carts
provided)
Then discussion – how can these poor
communication skills be corrected?
Team Leader
 The team leader must understand
Characteristics of an effective team
Principles of conflict management
Coach skills
Ability to address inappropriate actions by team
member
Group discussion question – How, as a team leader,
can you address a team member regarding
inappropriate behaviour?
Tabletop Exercise
Break into groups
 What are some attributes of a good leader?
(Write out your responses on flip carts
provided).
Leadership Attributes
 Knowledgeable,
competent and relevant
experience
 Safety mindedness
 Decisiveness
 Respect
 Good judgement
 Credibility
 Problem solving –
adaptability
 Motivator
 Ability to Delegate
 Mentor
 Interpersonal skills
 Compassion and
empathy
 Motivator
Leadership Styles
 Four Behavioural Types
Directing – decisions made by the leader and
passed to the team
Coaching – the leader seeks ideas and listens to
suggestions from the team
Supporting – the leader facilitates and supports the
team’s efforts and decision making
Delegating – control is with the team. The leader
assigns a task and the team makes the decisions
Coaching
 Coaching is a form of guidance, and is an
interactive process
 How to Coach
Team leaders can provide constructive feedback by
Describing specific and changeable behavior
Using “I” statements (less accusatory than “you”)
Being respectful
Emphasizing strengths as well as weaknesses
Checking for understanding
Not dwelling (once feedback has been given, move on)
Coaching
 Coaching is most effective and relevant if given
soon after the behaviour is observed
 Guidance can occur anywhere
 However, while praise can be given in public,
constructive criticism should always be delivered in
private
Conflict Management
As a team leader you will have to deal with
conflict and this will require a blend of different
approaches to keep the team focused on
carrying out assignments
It’s important to be flexible when dealing with
members with different personalities and past
experiences
Approaches to Conflict Management
Avoidance approach – “tomorrow” or “no way”
The issue is of low importance
It’s necessary to reduce tension in the situation
It’s necessary to buy some time
The immediate needs of the mission outweigh the
need to resolve the conflict
Approaches to Conflict Management
 Compete approach – “my way or the highway”




The situation requires quick action
An unpopular decision needs to be made
The issue is of vital importance
It’s necessary to protect self-interests or safety of
others
Approaches to Conflict Management
 Accommodate approach – “it would be my
pleasure” or “your way”




It’s necessary to demonstrate being reasonable
It’s important to create good will
The goal is to keep the peace
The issue is of low importance
Approaches to Conflict Management
Compromise approach – “meet me halfway”
 The issue is of moderate importance
 There are time constraints requiring a temporary
solution
 There is a strong personal commitment to
resolution
 There is an equal power relationship with the other
party
Approaches to Conflict Management
Collaborate approach – “two heads are better
than one” or “our way”
 The issues are too important to compromise
 Attempting to gain commitment
 The situation requires a merging of perspectives
 The conflict is important to those trying to find an
integrated solution
 Trying to improve relationships
Tabletop Exercise
 Break into groups
 Scenario 1-You have a team member that is posting pictures
on Facebook of an active search
 Scenario 2: Two team members are going through a divorce
and are not working well together
 Scenario 3: A team member continuously interrupts a
training exercise to demonstrate they know more about the
topic than you do
Within your group decide which approach will work best
for each scenario. Then we will discuss together
Counselling
A team leader must initiate corrective action
when performance within the team is adversely
affected
They must also be prepared to respond to a
request for assistance to solve a personal issue
The team leader should assist the member to
discover the solution to their problem
Risk Management
The team leader plays a key role when it comes
to identifying, assessing and managing the risks
to which team members may be exposed
At any time the team leader can suspend or
terminate the assignment if the safety of the
team would be compromised
Risk Management
 In order to assess risk, the team leader must
understand potential hazards on a search such as
weather, wildlife, terrain etc.
 They must also know how to anticipate and assess
level of risk and strategies of dealing with risk
 Further details and steps to identify hazardous
environment/situations will be covered in Section 10
Team Safety
Team safety should be given first priority in the
implementation of search assignments from
beginning to end
Safety information needs to be provided when
briefing the team
Team members’ capabilities need to be considered
Monitor physical conditions throughout the
assignment
Ensure the safe operation of vehicles and
equipment
Ensure health breaks and rests
Tabletop Exercise
Team leaders can do many things to ensure
safety during an assignment
Break into groups
In groups, let’s brainstorm and come up with
lists of ways leaders can accomplish this during
search operations
Psychological Health and Safety
Personal issues may affect a searcher’s ability
and effectiveness
It is important to be familiar with how to assist
team members who may be affected by an
incident and suffering from stress
The team leader should be able to recommend
resources available post-search
Questions