Episode 126 – Leading Through Tragedy, Finding Purpose

The podcast by project managers for project managers. As leaders we should bring clarity of purpose into our teams in times of crisis. Hear how to take action when things look overwhelming, stay grounded during crisis, and lead through tragedy. In times of crisis, it’s not the title you have but what you do.



Table of Contents



02:45 … Peter’s Early Career04:13 … A Forensic Investigator06:17 … Entering a Project as a Subject Matter Expert08:40 … International Assignment: Bali10:45 … Performing in a Hostile Environment15:58 … International Assignment: Thailand18:32 … Leading Through Tragedy21:59 … Four Stages of the Crisis Clock27:13 … When a Project Changes Your Perspective31:20 … Finding Purpose: Hands Across the Water34:11 … Measuring Success38:48 … Shared Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility42:56 … Food for the Soul44:19 … Find Out More45:04 … Closing



PETER BAINES: The most important stage I would suggest is that third stage where our energy is so low.  That’s when we need the leaders.  That’s when we need to understand our real clarity of purpose, or why we do what we do, the importance.  And for leaders it’s when we should be bringing that into our teams.



WENDY GROUNDS:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast for project managers by project managers.  I am Wendy Grounds, and this is the part where I usually say, “In the studio with me is Bill Yates.”  However, Bill is not with us in the studio today.  But he is joining us from home.  Welcome, Bill.



BILL YATES:  Thank you, Wendy.  Appreciate it.



WENDY GROUNDS:  Today we’re talking to Peter Baines.  We came across Peter and discovered some of the work that he is doing, an incredible story.  He was a forensic investigator, and he worked in Bali in 2002 after the terrorist bombings, as well as in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.  He went to Thailand and worked there as a forensic investigator after those disasters.  And he’s going to talk more about that on the podcast.



BILL YATES:  Yeah, Wendy, this is going to be an interesting conversation with Peter.  He has had unique experiences that kind of hit a theme that we’ve had some prior episodes on.  We had conversation with Dr. Chuck Casto about the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  We talked with Dave Gibson about the development of the MRAP team.  More recently we spoke with Matt Harper about the USS Cole bombing.  And we had a conversation with a fire chief, Mark Von Tillow, who’s been chasing wildfires.



So there’s a common thread there of times of incredible crisis that Peter can speak to, and through that he’s got a lot of wisdom to share with us.  He can help give us perspective on our projects of what actions to take when things look overwhelming, how to stay grounded during crisis, and just how to lead through it. 



WENDY GROUNDS:  Yeah, just a little more about Peter which we don’t cover in the podcast is he worked for Interpol in France, leading counterterrorism projects.  He also spent time advising the United Nations Office in Drug and Crime in Southeast Asia on leadership and counterterrorism.  And he will go on to tell us about a charity that he started called Hands Across the Water.  And we’re very excited to hear about the work that he’s been doing there.  Also he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his international humanitarian work in 2014, and in 2016 he received the Most Admirable Order of Direkgunabhorn awarded by the king of Thailand for his services to the kingdom of Thailand.  We really are so honored to have Peter with us today.



Welcome, Peter.  Thank you so much for joining us on Manage This.



PETER BAINES:  It’s so nice to join you.  Thank you for the invitation.



Peter’s Early Career



WENDY GROUNDS:  I want to go back and find out about your career, how you became a forensic investigator.  What led you into that field?



PETER BAINES:  So I joined the New South Wales Police, and I was a serving police officer here for several years.