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5.8.8 Exercising of Individual Initiative

1. Allow for Individual Initiative – “Individual initiative and independent action at the tactical level was critical to success in the first 36 hours of the incidents. Respondents made a distinction between this and freelancing.
   
   Respondents felt independent action had pros and cons, but taking action that was in the best interest of their leaders had a far better outcome than when respondents took no action and waited for further guidance.”
   Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

2. Allow Others to Speak Up – “Speaking up to offer alternatives or break error chains contributed to the overall ability of senior leaders to make better decisions under stress and prevents accidents.”
   Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

3. Delegate Responsibility within the Guidance Provided – “From the top, leaders enabled safe and effective independent action by giving leader’s intent, objectives, risk criteria, and limitations, and delegated responsibility to act within that guidance.”
   Southern California Firestorm 2003: Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

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February 7, 2006
Publication #FHWA–HOP-08-015