In this Umbral Truths sub-series, we’ll discuss the “major players” in a team to manage the event, or incident, or whatever else you want to call the organization that will handle YOUR locality’s Eclipse Experience.
This piece is actually two parts, and we’ll set it up by discussing who “The Person In Charge” reports to - because everyone reports to somebody.
The True Power
In this case, it’s the party responsible for the event/jurisdiction, etc. They hold the purse strings AND the legal authority by virtue of being the property owner in the case of a private event, or the chief executive of a jurisdiction (Mayor, City Manager, County Judge, Presiding Commissioner, the term will vary WIDELY) in the case of a public event or “response”.
This is the person who’s signing the other end of your contract and/or delegation of authority. One thing critical for both parties to remember in this point of the exchange: you can delegate authority, but not responsibility.
I’m not a lawyer and the nuances of contract law vary so much that trying to advise on what should or shouldn’t be in the contract/delegation of authority is WAY beyond the scope of this series.
Make sure both parties are content with the contents - and your lawyers are too.
The Daily Shot-Caller
Again, the job title isn’t important. It could be “Event Organizer”, “Incident Commander”, “Executive Director”, “HMFIC” for all anyone cares - but this is the person in charge of the day-to-day leading up to, during, and after the event until its conclusion.
But shouldn’t that be the Event Committee, or whoever Chaired it?
tl;dr: No, and maybe.
Longer answer: Committees are great for planning well in advance. They invite in multiple stakeholders, build consensus, and leverage broad bases of training, knowledge, and experience to come up with a comprehensive plan. However, they suck at execution.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a public or private event, or a public safety “response” to the increase of people - as things ramp up, visitors pour in, and previously unforeseen issues start stacking up on your door like a SWAT team ready to breach-bang-clear; getting a committee together, reaching consensus, voting on solutions - that’s a recipe for disaster. Remember that time-decision curve? Decision-by-Committee when you’re “operational” will guarantee you crash into the bottom of “decision made for you because you ran out of time” virtually every time.
You’re advocating we just hand things over to an autocratic tyrant? I’ve seen that movie and it didn’t work out well in the end for the Republic.
Easy there, we’re not talking about disbanding the Galactic Senate Event Committee to hand everything over to a Supreme Chancellor Event Overlord. The plan is still the plan, and the contract/delegation of authority should charge the Event Czar to execute the plan, and outline (read: limit) where that individual has authority to unilaterally modify the plan. While nobody should be going Poe Dameron on the event/plan… while we’re using Star Wars references, how many Senators did the Galactic Senate have? and how many Generals and Admirals did the Rebel Alliance have? Might that have had something to do with the numerous security leaks and dawdling decision making on the part of the Alliance? This guy votes yes.
The Dichotomy of Leadership - in Practice, and in Selecting Your Event Overlord
If you spotted the Jocko reference, awesome! If you’re wondering who Jocko is, educate thyself - especially if you’re going to continue reading me. Essentially, Jocko’s Theory of Leadership is rooted in several core principles: Extreme Ownership; Prioritize and Execute; Decentralized Command; Decisiveness Amid Uncertainty are the ones most relevant today.
Just as with the Force, the principles can be over-, under-, or mis-applied, leading to, well, hopefully not the fall of the Republic and the Jedi.
How the dichotomy applies to the ideal candidate:
Collaborative - Decisive: they seek input and info from relevant parties, but can make a prudent, timely decision once they have a clear picture of the issue. They can communicate their decisions crisply and explain their rationale in ways that enhance understanding of “Leader’s Intent”.
Ownership - Delegation: This ties back to the discussion of the True Power and a reminder that you can delegate authority, but not responsibility. Likewise, the Event Overlord will have the ability to delegate authority and tasks, and must be able to do so regularly without micromanaging, but they must also keep tabs on their people and tasks, as “Ownership” for success or failure ultimately falls on them.
Team-Building - Command Presence: Your ideal candidate can bring in folks to build a successful team that communicates effectively and openly, and keeps the focus on the ultimate goal - safe, successful completion of the event. At the same time, and this relates back to the first bullet of this series, they must also be the “captain of the ship” and run their team, not allow the team to run them, or worse, ignore them.
If you’re just now starting to think about preparing for the April 8th, 2024, Total Solar Eclipse…
It’s not that bad… yet. Keep in mind that you have 5 and a half months left before Totality Day. It might make sense, this late in the game, to skip the “Committee” phase - like all groups where human interpersonal dynamics are involved, any committee you put together will go through the typical “Group Formation” stages of Forming, Storming, and Norming before finally hitting their stride with Performing - at which time you’re probably right about “go time”.
It may make more sense to go right to looking for an Event Overlord of your own to come square things away for you and carry you from planning to operations.
Lucky for you, there’s just one such person with one such company that specializes in showing up, rapidly and thoroughly analyzing a situation, and bringing Order to Chaos.
mark@groundedtruths.com or call 573-889-2559. For more info: www.groundedtruths.com
I’m also booking short-term virtual consultations via my website to help with ideas and planning, or review your current event plans. Book NOW!