Overconfidence the fatal flaw

Under Pressure 3 November 2023

Overconfidence the fatal flaw in a crisis response

Three days of testimony at the UK’s Covid Inquiry has laid bare the confusion, failures and over-confidence that was at the heart of Government as the pandemic hit in early 2020.

I have been watching health officials, civil servants and special advisors talk about the attitude and culture that existed. There was a macho approach that felt the UK would somehow be spared the worst experiences of the pandemic, and that the country could bat away any challenges.

What is clear is the over confidence had a far reaching effect. It stopped people looking to other countries to see what they were doing and how they were approaching the Covid pandemic. It prevented people questioning what they were planning and the approach being considered. It created a group think where it was not acceptable to put in any challenge.

Over confidence is one of the worst things for crisis preparedness. I have seen it before and experienced the impact of it. It may be communicator saying ‘we do this all the time’, ‘crisis is just about more communication’, or ‘ we are ready for anything’. All of which can lead to a lack of preparation, thought or consideration of what may need to be in place.

Exercises, reviewing plans, and discussing are essential for all communication teams. Do we have the right approach? Do we have the right training? Do we have enough resources? Have we considered the learning from previous events? If you don’t feel able to question then ask for someone outside the business to review what you have in place.

And if you find yourself saying ‘we are ready, we can easily deal with any crisis’ just check again that you aren’t being over confident.

Training for 2024

The crisis communication training programme for 2024 run by Amanda has been published. There are new sessions that have been added and both a full and half day session for those who want to fast track their development. There are early bird offers in place for those booking before the end of the year. Find out more by emailing amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

Top 10 Blog

Amanda’s blog on all aspects of crisis communication - Amandacomms Blog - was recently placed in the top 10 of PR blogs in the UK. The chart is developed by Vuelio and includes details of the industry leading PR blogs. Check out Amanda’s blog here.

In Brief:

• Public messaging during an active threat event was detailed in an article on website Police1. It looked at the important steps that can be taken including sharing information early. Find out more here.

• The UK based National Protective Security Authority has published guidelines on how to talk to employees about avoiding security consequences and issues. It looks at insider events and how to talk about them. Find out more here.

• The World Economic Forum has shared details of the latest cyber security threats. Find out more here.

• The latest monthly case study Testing Times has been published. Once again it considers the response to another extreme weather event and what can be learnt. For a copy email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

• In a recent Forbes article, the importance of communication to effective leadership during a crisis was highlighted. Find out more here.

• Find out more about the disaster risk reduction hub Prevention Web which is a global knowledge platform on disaster reduction. Check out the details here.

Diary Dates:

• Amanda is discussing crisis messaging at the Emergency Planning Society conference on 7 November 2023. It is the 30th anniversary of the EPS and Amanda is delighted to be part of the conference. Find out more here.

• Developing Engaging Content for those in the public sector will be the subject of the PRCA webinar run by Amanda on 9 November 2023. Find out more here.

• Amanda’s final training session for 2023 takes place on 15 November at 2pm. The session will consider how to develop a crisis communication strategy. There are just two spaces left so email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk if you would like to join the session.