2026 Schedule

Will outline how effective incident leadership requires shifting from technical expert to facilitator, illustrating this transition by describing the need to intervene in a chaotic bridge call to enforce limits and establish order. By creating this calm structure, the leader builds confidence and radical respect by ensuring every team member's voice is heard, regardless of rank. Crucially, this internal control enables the leader to effectively manage up, shielding the resolution team by providing stakeholders only with timely, controlled, high-level context, proving that clear, confident human management, not technical genius, is the key to unifying a chaotic response.

Takeaway

1. Shift your role into a leader: Your primary job is to ensure the right team members are working on the right issues and to remove roadblocks
2. Set clear limits to restore order: When chaos erupts (like people talking over each other), the leader must immediately and calmly intervene to enforce a clear process.
3. Create an environment of respect for all: By enforcing structure and ensuring that all team member's input is heard, you establish an environment of respect, which keeps the team focused, empowered, and confident in the process.
4. Manage up in high pressure situations: The leader controls external communication, providing high-level context—not raw, conflicting data—to senior stakeholders.