Critical Decision Making in High Hazard Environments
1-day Workshop
In high hazard environments, decisions are rarely straightforward. They are made under pressure, with incomplete information, and often with lives, assets, and reputations on the line. The quality of these decisions does not just affect immediate safety; it shapes long-term performance and the resilience of the whole organisation.
FidesOak®’s Critical Decision Making in High Hazard Environments is a practical, 1 day experience designed to equip leaders and teams with the tools, habits, and awareness needed to make better decisions when it matters most.
Why decision making is so critical
In safety-critical sectors, even small lapses in judgement can have disproportionate consequences. The challenges are well known:
- Time pressure and stress that limit clear thinking.
- Information overload or gaps that obscure weak signals.
- Emotional hijacking in moments of high stakes.
- Inexperience or fatigue that reduce the ability to assess risks objectively.
These factors can drive teams toward reactive choices, missed warning signs, or flawed assumptions. Without structured approaches, organisations risk repeating the same mistakes rather than learning from them.
A structured approach to critical decision making
This workshop introduces participants to different types of decision and the Critical Decision Making (CDM) Model - a systematic process for making sound choices in complex and high-pressure situations.
The model guides decision makers through five practical steps:
- Collect Information: Ask the right questions, share knowledge, and keep communication flowing.
- Assess the Situation: Understand severity, urgency, and potential consequences.
- Consider Authority: Recognise legal, policy, and organisational boundaries.
- Identify Options: Explore alternatives, weigh proportionality, and plan contingencies.
- Act, Review, Re-assess: Execute, evaluate outcomes, and adapt as new information emerges.
- The CDM model can be “spun” continuously, helping teams re-evaluate decisions in light of new information and changing conditions. This approach provides structure, prevents crucial steps from being missed, and helps explain actions after the fact.
- Reflect on the typical decision making approach within the organisation: a scenario-based activity exploring the types of decision making typically deployed that contributed to incidents.
What participants will experience
Through a mix of facilitated learning, discussion, and scenario-based exercises, participants explore the realities of decision making in uncertain environments. They practice applying the CDM model under simulated conditions of stress, distraction, and time pressure - mirroring the challenges faced in the field.
Case studies and practical activities reinforce the central message: better decisions are not about luck, but about process, awareness, and discipline.
Organisational benefits
By strengthening decision making capability, organisations gain:
- Improved safety outcomes by reducing human error and missed signals.
- Faster, more confident responses to high-pressure events.
- Greater consistency and accountability in leadership decisions.
- Enhanced learning culture, where decisions are reviewed, understood, and improved upon.
- Increased organisational resilience through teams that can adapt decisively in the face of uncertainty.
At FidesOak®, we understand that in high hazard environments, culture and process are inseparable. Decisions taken under pressure ripple across safety, performance, and trust. This workshop equips leaders and teams not just with a model, but with the confidence and discipline to apply it, ensuring that when the stakes are highest, they make decisions that safeguard people, performance, and the future.
Interested in bringing this Workshop to your Organisation?
Contact us today to discuss delivery options and receive a tailored price for your team.
The Culture-Performance Connection
How your people lead, collaborate and approach each day is led by your organisation's culture and affects the work you do and how your teams perform.
FidesOak® can help you understand this connection clearly, with behavioural insight and practical tools to help protect and grow what works, while delivering lasting, sustainable change.
