Ineffective Team Response in a Crisis: Lessons from 9-11

Effective response to the aftermath of a coordinated terrorist attack will necessarily involve the cooperation of a number of teams each bringing their expertise and capabilities to bear. In the attack on the world trade center, though, the overall response was hindered by a number of problems that occurred when each of the responding teams interacted on such a grand scale, even though each team individually was quite effective in following their own procedures and protocols. Although some of these problems have technical roots, such as the fire fighters and police using incompatible communications systems, some of the more pronounced degradations in team effectiveness were the results of the culture, philosophy and history of the organization involved. Purely technical solutions, such as procuring new communications equipment, do not address the unique synergies that occur when teams interact with technology and with each other. If solutions are viewed one dimensionally, such as proposing a purely technical solution, then results can and will be different from what´s expected. Engineers and other decision makers must recognize that the dimension of team culture and philosophy is just as important in understanding the response of the team. Any solution proposed must critically juxtapose technology with team culture, an effect even more pronounced when dealing with the interplay of multiple teams. In this paper, the world trade center response will be examined to identify the critical failures that resulted from the symbiosis of the interacting teams, their technology and their individual cultures.