The Key Take Away
Having good situational awareness is a necessity to being a high performer. Possessing physical, emotional and social situational awareness allows the individual to better predict outcomes. If the average person develops this skill to a high standard it can be a force multiplier, increasing their achievements exponentially.
What is Personal Situational Awareness?
A person is situationally aware when they are in tune with the environment around them and the behaviours of people or things interacting within that environment. To be situationally aware a person must first be aware that there are cues and then be able to observe and interpret these cues. If a person is able to understand the meaning of the cues then they are in a better position to make a prediction of the future.
The “Cues”
This is the foundation of which situational awareness is based. The following cues come together to provide a holistic picture of the environment.
- Topographical information, or streetscape, or room layout etc.
- Position of objects, dead spaces, heights and depths, hidden areas.
- Climatic effects associated with the environment.
- Movement of objects and their speed in relation to other objects.
- The behavioural actions of individuals or groups.
- Equipment and operating systems and the stimulus they represent (radios, dashboards, information).