10 Tips to Become a Great Disaster Relief Team Lead

Disaster relief team lead Person outside of group of people

You’ve made it. After months or maybe years, you feel you have enough experience to be a disaster relief team lead. Or more than likely, you got a field promotion and have been instantly promoted to your new role as a disaster relief team lead. All of which began with about 30 seconds’ notice. 

Leading a disaster relief team is a big role to fill. However, with just a few tips, I’ll get you up to speed. Apply these ten tips and you’ll look like you know what you’re doing, not like you accidentally made eye contact with the site lead at the wrong time. 

As a disaster recovery team lead myself, I’ve learned some lessons the hard way, some through trial and error, and still more by watching other team leads. Volunteering during a disaster can be hard work. Effectively managing volunteers as a team lead can be even more challenging.

Working in a disaster ensures your day will rarely go according to plan. That said, here are 10 tips to help you become one of the best disaster relief team leads out there!

Disaster Relief Team Lead: Planning Ahead

Team leadership can take many forms in disaster relief. You may coordinate a mudout/muck out job, or maybe you’re helping the chainsaw team or putting tarps on homes. 

Organizing and planning beforehand can smooth out a lot of problems before they happen.  

1. Bring a hard-copy of the paperwork.

Every disaster response team I have worked/volunteered with has required, at a minimum, a signed paper releasing them from liability and allowing them to work on the property. If you arrive at a home and don’t have this, you may have a full team ready to go but will have to wait for the paperwork. I keep several copies of the work requests with me. Anything that needs to be signed by a homeowner goes into a folder in the vehicle. 

Few things are worse than paperwork. However, one thing that is worse is not having it when needed. It’s nice to keep a spare for other team leads in case they’re in the area and need additional paperwork, too.

“Few things are worse than paperwork. However, one thing that is worse is not having it when needed.”

-Red Sky Ready

2. Line up tomorrow’s job the night before.

Call the night before to ensure the homeowner will be there the next day. Let them know what time you plan to show up as well. Not every homeowner will want to meet you before 9 on a Saturday. (Keep in mind they’ve been dealing with the devastation since it happened.)

As your job is wrapping up, try contacting the next homeowner to let them know what time you might get there. It’s a good idea to bring the tools and paperwork for the next job or two, just in case.

Depending on your organization, you may be allowed to work without the owner present. If that’s the case, ask about accessing the house/job site and what you need to do on your way out. 

3. Have a good first aid kit.

Disaster recovery work is dangerous work. It often involves rusty nails, sagging floors, chainsaws, climbing on roofs, and a lot of strenuous work. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. Make sure you have a good first aid kit.

Keep it stocked with disinfectants like alcohol (hand sanitizer), peroxide, over-the-counter meds, bandages, gauze and bleeding control (I’d recommend at least one or two tourniquets). 

Pro Tip: Know the nearest location for a tetanus shot.  

4. Music! Pack a Bluetooth speaker & an epic playlist! 

A good playlist and Bluetooth speaker are a must for any disaster relief team lead. You can energize the volunteers with the push of a button. Use it to pump up the crowd or just for some gentle background noise while you work. 

You can use your own playlist or hand it off to a volunteer for additional variety. 

Disaster Relief Team Lead On-site Leadership

Congratulations! You’ve made it to your first site. The situation and plan for the day have probably changed multiple times already, but you’re here and if you counted right, most of your teammates may have made it into the van. Was that 10 or 11 volunteers I was supposed to have on my team? 

5. Lead by example. 

One of the quickest ways to earn respect is to jump right in and start working. There are a lot of dirty jobs in a disaster. It speaks volumes to the volunteers when their leader will work the dirty jobs, too. 

6. Negative feedback comes to me.

I try to intercept as much negative feedback as possible. 

Volunteering can be a blissful experience until it isn’t. Be prepared to take negative feedback, and also an occasional angry outburst from homeowners or others affected by the disaster.

Sometimes a volunteer makes a mistake, but most of the time the accumulated stress people are under comes out as angry outbursts that weren’t meant the way they came across. 

Nerves are shot, patience is thin, and emotions are raw. As the disaster team lead, I understand that and will do my best to keep it from being directed toward a volunteer.

7. Know what task to assign next!

This is one of my most important tips. 

Always be ready to assign a volunteer a new task. Many of them have taken time off work and away from family. They may measure the success of the week by how busy they were. This can be one of your harder tasks. It’s not uncommon to roll up on a job with a dozen people and find you only need a few volunteers.

If you have free time, walk through the job site and build a mental list of what tasks you can assign volunteers next. 

One of the best ways I’ve found to “assign jobs” is to just start working on the next task myself. As they finish up their other tasks, they’ll wander around looking for more work. When they find you working on a new task, most of the time they’ll just jump in and join you. It’s an easy way to “assign jobs” without even having to ask! 

8. Take breaks and hydrate! 

Taking breaks can be a great morale booster and is a good way to get to know your volunteers better. Also, it’s a good time to get everyone to drink some water. Convincing individual team members to take a break is difficult. Putting a little peer pressure on by saying the entire team is taking a break works pretty well. 

9. Enthusiasm is contagious. It starts with you! 

Having a positive attitude about the day and work can help create a great work environment. Your good mood will lift others up and pretty soon you’ll be feeding off each other’s enthusiasm!

The saying that “people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses” can apply, especially for volunteers.  

The job of a disaster relief team lead can be challenging and exhausting, but we also have one of the best jobs in the world. We’re able to spend our day helping others.

10. Stay flexible.

Flexibility while working in disasters is crucial. About the only thing you can count on in a disaster is things changing and not going as planned. Maybe the homeowner didn’t show up this morning, or the incoming weather has halted operations, or today’s plan has changed 5 times before you’ve had breakfast.

 
Being flexible while working as a disaster relief team lead is one of the most important skills you can have. I’d be surprised if the organization you are working for doesn’t have a motto or saying specific to the word flexible.

Things change every moment. Flexibility will be required to adapt to the frequent changes. 

Bonus: Use your chaplains. 

Disasters can be challenging for anyone. Each disaster is different and can affect volunteers and disaster team leads differently. 

Non-profits have been stepping up the availability of chaplains, member care, mental health resources, and sometimes even counselors. It’s a great idea to know how to use these resources for both the volunteers and for yourself. 

For more tips on making your return home easier, check out our post Returning Home: Ten Challenges and Tips for Disaster Responders by The Resilience Resource.

Becoming an effective disaster relief team lead is a journey.

Every journey involves steps. Some steps are big and some are small. I’ve fallen on my face before, and I’ve impressed others. Stay humble and accept others’ advice. Perfection is great, but someone willing to take an opportunity no one else will is a lot more practical.   

Stepping up into a leadership role can be both exciting and a bit intimidating. It’s challenging work and mentally exhausting. Being the one to bring order to the chaos and orchestrate the relief efforts is extremely rewarding. From one disaster relief team lead to another, I wish you all the best as you step up to help and serve others! 

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