BCMD Unit Leader Training - Disaster Relief Online...domains -the motivations of your heart and the leadership ... mutual satisfactions of commonly held goals or share in frustrations

Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware

Disaster Relief Unit Leader Training

Leadership and effective teamwork…

Conflict Management

Biblical Foundation

• Lead Like Jesus Did• Look to the Scriptures

Biblical Foundations cont.

• Must be spiritually mature• Skilled and Experienced in your unit• Must be wise manager of resources (human and

equipment)


• Look to the Bible as the source of wisdom and as a guide• Look to Jesus as an example• Wise• Servant• Strong, kind, directive, corrective and Loving


“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:12-17

Dimensions of Leadership

“Leadership is a process of influence. Anytime you seek to influence the thinking, behavior, or development of people toward accomplishing a goal in their personal or professional lives, you are taking on the role of a leader.” John Maxwell


“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28


Learning to lead like Jesus is more than an announcement: it is a commitment to lead in a different way. It is a transformational cycle that begins with personal leadership and then moves to leading others in one-on-one relationships and then leading a team or group, and finally, to leading an organization or community.


Leading like Jesus involves the alignment of four leadership domains: Heart, Head, Hands and Habits. The internal domains - the motivations of your heart and the leadership perspective of your head - are things you can keep inside or even disguise if it suits your purpose. The external domains -your public leadership behavior, or hands, and your habits as experienced by others will determine whether others will follow you.


• The most persistent barrier to leading like Jesus is a heart motivated by self interest.

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If as a leader you want to follow the mandate Jesus gave us -to serve rather than be served - you have to realize that every day you will face all kinds of challenges to your good intentions. Our adversary consistently tries to get us to be self serving. To resist the temptation to be drawn off course, we musth understand the dynamics of a self serving EGO. A self serving EGO can be defined as Edging God Out.


The mirror image of Edging God Out is Exalting God Only. The key to this transformation is altering your leadership EGO. Altering is not misspelled, that is exactly what you have to do - put your EGO on the alter and Exalt God Only.


What does seeking first the Kingdom of God mean in terms of our leadership decisions?

It means bringing an eternal perspective into the realm of practical day-to-day leadership decisions that effects better results and relationships. It means revising the way we see people, situations, and priorities as the way God sees them, and inviting the holy spirit into our relationships to infuse into our thoughts and actions two key elements of leading like Jesus - Forgiveness and Grace.


Leadership is about going somewhere. Effective leadership begins with a clear vision, whether for your personal life, your family, or an organization. If your followers don't know where you are going and where you are trying to take them, they will have a hard time getting excited about the journey.


Once people have a picture of where you want to take them and why, the leadership emphasis switches to the second role of leadership - implementation. The leader now becomes, in a sense, a servant of the vision, by serving the people who are being asked to act according to the vision and accomplish the goals.


One of the greatest services that a leader can provide to his or her followers is a consistency of purpose. When the going gets rough, or temptations and distractions come with short-term success or setbacks, people will look their mission and values, or they will give up or give in to the pressures of the moment.

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A key activity of an effective servant leader is to act as a high-performance coach. When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He pledged them His full support and guidance as they developed into "Fishers of Men." This is the duty of a servant leader - the ongoing investment of the leader's life into the lives of those who follow. There are three parts to becoming a performance coach: performance planning, day-to-day coaching and performance evaluation. When any one of the three elements is missing, everyone suffers the consequences.


To progress from being a novice to becoming a master in any role or skill, learners need someone to guide them along the way and give them what they need to advance through the learning process.


The true test of servant leadership begins when the EGO of the leader and the EGO of the follower engage one another. How well they recognize and overcome the pride and fears in their relationship determines whether they move toward mutual satisfactions of commonly held goals or share in frustrations of their own making.

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As Jesus moved through His season of earthly leadership, He was under constant pressure and temptation to get off course or respond to the failings of His friends and HIs enemies. Jesus stayed on track with His mission by applying five key habits that countered the negative forces in His life. Of the five habits, we will discuss, solitude is by far the most elusive in our modern world of business and 24-7 communication.

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If solitude is the most elusive of the habits for us to develop, prayer is the one that requires the most "un-learning" and revisions of old habits and patterns. One of the most revealing questions you could ask a leadership candidate is "How is your prayer life?" An honest answer will speak volumes about where and how the leader might lead.


It is well and good to know that the Bible is useful, reliable and valuable. It is another thing to make it your own in a practical way. The Bible is a love letter written to you and from your Father.


When you cast off your doubts and reservations about God's love and accept that you can't earn it, don't deserve it and can't add to it or lose it, you can proceed in that reality to live and lead with confidence, humility, and true freedom.


"Leadership can be a lonely business filled with great amounts of soul draining human interaction but little soul filling intimacy. Without some safe harbor relationships where we can lay down all the armor and weapons we need to face the world and relax in confidence and unguarded communion, we become vulnerable to two debilitating frames of mind and spirit - victim and the martyr."


As a philosophy of leadership, servant leadership may be considered one option among many others; but as a theology of leadership, it is a mandate for all who call Jesus their Lord. Foundational to tapping into the essence of leading like Jesus is embracing a life purpose of loving God and loving and serving people.


From a practical point of view, servant leadership best serves the dual objective of effective leadership - results and relationships.


Leading like Jesus is not a course: it is a lifestyle. Making the development of people an equal partner with performance is a decision you make. It is following the example of Jesus as a servant leader and pouring your life into the lives of others. It is about leaving a leadership legacy of service.


Leading like Jesus is a daily journey and challenge rather than a final destination. It can be done only in and through the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and committed relationships; first with God and then with others. The journey of leading like Jesus will always be filled with failures, roughly right behaviors, and out and out victories. Staying the course means frequently checking where you are and where you are headed while making the necessary course corrections.


One unique resource at the disposal of the followers of Christ is the active participation of the Holy Spirit as Counselor and Guide. Jesus promised in John 14:26, that "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you."

Responsibilities and Authority

Remember, when you have the Authority to accomplish a task, you assume the Responsibility for that task accomplishment along with the well-being of your team and the care for the equipment. You also accept and work within the established guidelines of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware.

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• Planning - predetermine a course of action• Organizing - arranging and relating work so that people can

perform it most effectively• Leading - causing people to take effective action• Controlling - assessing and regulating work in progress


• Job Description

• Christian - spiritually mature• Member of a cooperating BCMD church• Completion of Intro to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief

course• Appointed by BCMD State Director of Disaster Relief• Completion of Unit Director Training Course


• Job Description cont.• Completion of state requirements• Demonstrates Biblical management skills• Wise stewardship of resources• Demonstrates stress management• Mature Adult

SBDR Responds

• Go to App Store and Download• Use for most communication• Reports• Departure and Arrival reporting• Incidents• Assessments• Etc..

Review of Units

• BCMD Owned Units (As of January 2018)• Recovery - Chainsaw/flood• Feeding• Communication - go box• Support - shower

Review of UnitsPrimary Mission - Chainsaw

• Remove storm damaged downed trees & limbs• Safety is primary concern• PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Requirements• Chainsaw safety

Review of UnitsPrimary Mission - Flood

• Remove belongings from flooded home• Remove drywall, insulation, cabinets as required based on

water level in home• Sanitize home• Safety is primary concern• Mold• Lead based paint• PPE

Review of UnitsPrimary Mission - Feeding

• Primary Mission• Meet needs of community/volunteers as per

partnership with American Red Cross• Provide emails at on-site operations• Ensure ServSafe standards are met• Safety is primary concern• Safe food• Lifting, burns, fatigue, slipping on wet surfaces• PPE & Sanitary Operation

Review of UnitsPrimary Mission - Support

• Primary Mission• Meet the needs of community and needs of responders

in the field• Shower• Communication• Laundry• Etc.

Review of UnitsPrimary Mission - Chaplain/Spiritual Care

• The mission of the chaplain/spiritual care volunteer is to provide quality spiritual assistance to survivors of disaster and relief workers.

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Incident Command SystemUnit Leader for Single Response

Logistics

Section

AdminOps Section

Planning Section

Unit Leader

Responsible for all volunteers assigned to his or her unit during a response

Responsible for all of Incident Command System

Incident Command SystemUnit Leader for multi-unit response

LogisticsSection

AdminOps Section

Planning Section

IC

Public Information OfficerSafety

OfficerLiaisonOfficer

Command Staff:Information, Safety, and Liaison services for the entire organization.

Unit Leader is responsible for their team which falls under the authority and director of the Operations Chief.

Call Out Process

• BCMD staff (Planning) issues call out using md.disasterreliefonline.com

• Communicate with Unit leader once team is established• Unit Leader will receive contact list of team for travel

and logistic communication• Once team departs (upon approval from State Director)

Unit Leader communicates updates via SBDR Responds App.

Onsite Set-Up and Reporting

In setting up the disaster relief unit, the unit leader will need to set up the unit in accordance with the specific policies and procedures for specific unit. Some basic gridlines apply to all units:• Set up the unit to make optimum use of all equipment• Set up the unit to make optimum use of the total site.

(parking lot, office space, sleeping space, storage, garbage, drainage, etc.)• Set up the unit in a safe manner where team members

and non-team members can safely work in and around equipment. • Insure that the onsite coordinator is aware of your

septic location and mission.• Insure all team members are manifested and registered

onsite.

Situational Leadership

Skill 1 - Diagnosis: Assessing an individual’s need for direction and supportKeys - competence and commitment.

• The Enthusiastic Beginner• The Disillusioned Learner• The Capable but Cautious Performer• The Self-Reliant Achiever


Skill 2 - Flexibility - Using a variety of leadership styles comfortably. Keys - directive behavior and support behavior

• Directing• Coaching• Supportive• Delegating


Skill 3 - Partnering for Performance - reaching agreements on what the leader and the individual need from each other as they work together and then follow through on the agreement. Keys - agree on key responsibility areas, goals, and objectives.

• Concerned about the development of people• Investment of the leader’s life into the lives of those

who follow

Interpersonal Skills Training

The unit leader should have good interpersonal skills in four key areas:

• Crisis counseling• Clear communication• Conflict management• Crew consensus

Interpersonal Skills TrainingStress Management in Crisis Situations

The unit leader’s primary responsibility in stress management is to the team members. A team with all of the proper training will still not be totally prepared for the realty of an actual disaster. As a unit leader, you must apply your stress management skills toward your team members and help them as they view, assist, minister and share with the disaster survivors. While you can use your skills to help disaster survivors, your primary responsibility is to the team.

Interpersonal Skills TrainingClear Communication

Confusion, disorder, panic, and shock are all part of a disaster. In the midst of the disaster, communication often is lacking or misunderstood. The unit leader is responsible for making sure that every team member understands the mission of the unit and their specific job assignment.

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Interpersonal Skills TrainingConflict Management

There are four steps to resolving conflict:

• Sharing thoughts and feelings. Allow the parties to share their perspectives of the problem and their feelings. (A person’s perspective is their reality)• Listening to the other person’s view. Listen from their

viewpoint. We must face the fact that the other person may have a valid point. Give the other person your undivided attention. Do not plan your rebuttal mentally while someone else is speaking. • Define the problem or issue. Each party understand the issues

from their own perspective. Defining the problem will often suggest a workable solution. • Find possible solutions and try one. Pick the best solution and

see if it works. Be willing to try another solution if the first attempt does not work.

Interpersonal Skills TrainingCrew Consensus

Crew consensus is a means to bring about team unity. The best method of bringing about crew consensus is the team meeting. There should be at least two meetings a day with the team. The morning meeting (devotional, details, concerns, jobs, safety briefing, and prayer) will set the pace and agenda for the day. The evening meeting (reflection, renewal, rest, debrief, scripture and prayer) will allow the team to fellowship and build crew consensus. In a later section I will provide specific outlines and suggestions to use for the team devotions.

Managing the UnitResponding to the Mission

Your unit will have a specific responsibility in a disaster. As the unit leader, you will have to be able to adapt to your mission. The key is to be flexible, open, have a listening spirit, and decisive. The mission might change during the operation and the unit leader will have to respond to the changes.

Managing the UnitMaintaining Balance

Physical Balance - You and your team must get enough rest. We realize that doing a disaster the hours will not be your typical 9-5, but they should also not be 23 1/2 hours a day. When people are physically tired, mistakes are made, and accidents happen. A physically tired person will also become strained emotionally and spiritually, which could jeopardize the ministry.


Emotional Balance - to maintain emotional balance, crisis situations in the team must be relieved, misunderstandings cleared up, and communication must be clear. Emotional balance means being able to think clearly in the midst of disaster. Another way to establish balance is to allow team members to share their feelings daily - the evening team meeting is a good time to do this. Finally, emotional balance is allowing team members to express their emotions (sadness, anger, hurt, guilt, etc.) in the protected environment of the team meeting.


Spiritual Balance - the unit leader should set the example in his/her daily quiet time and team devotions. We should never lose sight that we are in the disaster area because of our love of Jesus. There is nothing better than a moment to read the Word of God and pray to the Father for personal spiritual refreshment. Remember with David had a disaster in Ziklag (city on fire, everyone and everything had been taken, men wanting to stone him)? What was David’s response? He encouraged himself in the Lord (! Samuel 30:6). He took the time in the middle of a disaster to maintain spiritual balance. Afterward, he could fulfill his mission to defeat his enemies and recapture that which was taken from him. A special effort will have to be made to maintain your spiritual balance during a time of disaster.

Managing the UnitDecision Making

Decision making is a skill that every until leader must practice. There are five types of decision:

• Choosing between alternatives (for or against)• Accidental (i.e., drifting to a decision)• Based on insight (through experience or training)• Progressive decision (mulling over the problem for a

period)• Based on evidence


The decision-making process can be broken down int three major operations:

• Attention phase - discussion• Analysis phase - options• Application phase - take actions


Attention phase - The first task of the unit leader is to find out what the problem is. The problem must be defined. This is usually a statement of symptoms - something is wrong, a situation needs correction, or someone is unhappy


Analysis Phase - Once the problem is defined, you enter the next phase which is analysis. This step is often neglected. Sound decisions follow intelligent analysis. To analyze the problem you must have the facts. Get as many of the facts as possible. Once you have the facts, list the possible solutions. Brainstorming solutions will help make a decision. List the various options that might solve the problem.


Application phase - Once the analysis is made, it will be time to move to the final phase, which is that of application. Make a decision and act on it! Ask yourself several questions as you make your decision: • What steps need to be taken and when? • What are the difficulties? • What could go wrong?

By anticipating possible sources of trouble, the unit leader will plan to avoid them and ensure success in the decision-making process. Remember to reply on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance. Our Lord sent Him to help us in these situations.

Devotions and Daily Meetings

Morning Devotion Plan• Praise Chorus• Welcome• Scripture/devotion (brief, about five minutes)• Prayer requests and closing prayer• https://www.namb.net/resources/mission-trip-

devotions• devotion2go app• Baptist Hymnal app

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Devotions and Daily Meetings

Evangelism Everyone’s Chosen Responsibility

C - ConnectionA - ActivitiesS - Spiritual MattersT - Transition their story to God’s story

Recovery of the Unit

One of the most difficult decisions that will be made is to recover the unit. Many factors must be considered before the decision is made to recover the unit. This decision should be under the direction of the incident commander, the affected state DR director, and any other partner that we are working with. If the unit is to be relieved, you will need to know who your relief is and when they will be on site.


Emotional Issues

In a disaster, our emotional state will have to be monitored closely. We will experience the highest and lows of those we are ministering to. The long hours may be taking their toil on us, and we simply cannot continue, yet, we feel like we must. The unit leader will need to allow each member to express his/her emotions about the recovery of the unit. The best time of this is in the evening meeting before the unit is packed up. Allow time to share inner feelings. Understand that there may be tears and sorrow over having to leave (without everything being completed). Allow these emotions to be expressed and remember to turn to God’s Word for strength and help during these times.


Packing the Unit

Every unit should be packed in accordance with the policy and procedures manual for the unit and the unit’s standard operations procedures. The Unit Leader is to make sure that all equipment is packed properly and accounted for. He will insure that all team members have packed their personal items and that all have transportation back home. The unit director should inspect the area where the unit was set up to make sure that all trash and debris is removed and the site is clean. The Unit must be packed and removed under the direction of the Incident Commander. Once the Unit is packed and you are ready to depart, you must have authorization from the Incident Commander to leave the disaster area.


Travel Home

Once your unit is packed, you need to report travel using the SBDR Responds with your ETD, ETA and contact numbers. The DOC will track the unit it returns home.


Debrief and Evaluation

After the team has returned home, you will need to debrief with your state Disaster Relief director. The state DR director will debrief the entire team, making a written report of the file. This is important to help the team members to adjust after returning from a disaster area. As the unit director, you should share freely with the state DR director your feelings, concerns, actions and corrections that need to be made before the unit has to be deployed for a disaster or drill. You need to make sure that whole team has been debriefed.

Once the debrief is complete, the unit director and the state DR director should file a written report of the operation. This report will help the local and state DR leadership be better prepared for the next deployment.

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Conclusion

The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief motto is: “Serving Christ in Crisis”

As the unit leader, you are directly responsible for the smoother operation of your unit in such a way that the people around us will know that we serve a risen and living Savior. Remember, we are working to show a lost and dying world a Savior who loves them dearly.

This is possible if we take our SBC DR motto to heart!

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Documents

BCMD Unit Leader Training - Disaster Relief Online...domains -the motivations of your heart and the leadership ... mutual satisfactions of commonly held goals or share in frustrations