When I started working for Colorado Outward Bound my biggest worry was that one of my students would get hurt on a backpacking trip. I lay awake at night imagining nightmare scenarios: rock fall, lightning, stream crossings, careless students, sprained ankles, broken femurs, helicopter evacuations. I worried constantly between the time I was hired and the day I arrived for training.
I felt like a little kid worrying about unseen monsters under my bed. I didn’t know what they looked like or when they would attack or what they would do, but I knew that dangerous, scary monsters were there – and they were coming to get my students in the Colorado wilderness. Looking back, my fears were completely normal because I did not yet have a framework to define and manage risk. The monsters I imagined were big and scary and – worst of all – unknown. Then I learned to identify specific hazards. Once I learned the hazards, I could assess the risks. Once I understood risks, my co-instructors and I could manage them. Risks that can be defined and managed are not nearly as scary as the imaginary monster risks under your bed. It is worth developing risk management systems to improve your program and calm your mind – and this is an excellent time of year to do just that because risk management learning opportunities abound:
I can say from experience that risk management monsters are scariest when you ignore them during the day and worry about them at night. Shine some light on your monsters this month. What are you afraid of? Share your risk management monsters in the comments below this post for a chance to win FREE enrollment in RM101* ($95 value). * If you’re already enrolled in the course, think of what a great holiday gift it would be for your boss. I’ll draw the winner on Tuesday, November 29th- the day right before the world’s greatest risk management webinar trilogy. 11/29/2016 03:27:29 pm
One of the issues with the word risk is that it is often equated with something stupid / foolhardy. However, to me it means pay attention, focus, concentrate, assess, decide and draw upon resources and grow from the experience.
Angie
11/30/2016 04:31:15 pm
Thanks for your insight, Ken. Your comments about the level of experience of incoming instructors are insightful. The data suggest that young people are spending less time outdoors now than they did when we were kids, so the supply of new instructors with a ton of experience is necessarily dwindling. And you are right that we need to keep young instructors in the field of outdoor education so they can become the sage leaders that teach 21-day rock courses. 11/30/2016 02:10:51 pm
Risk Management "monster" - fatal van accident with full group of participants.
Angie
11/30/2016 04:35:20 pm
I have that one too! I think it might be a recurring flashback from the van driver training videos they made us watch in graduate school. The worst version is when I am sitting in the passenger seat and the van spins out of control. Comments are closed.
|
Angie Moline, Ph.D.
|
UA-74416781-1