LEADERS, YOUR TEAM IS ONLY AS READY AS THEIR FAMILIES
- Karen Gregory
- 7 minutes ago
- 2 min read
September is National Emergency Preparedness Month—the perfect time to strengthen more than operations. It’s time to strengthen people.
When outages, storms, or regional disasters happen, great leaders don’t just worry about continuity plans and uptime—they consider the emotional load on their teams. Many employees must keep working through events that disrupt their home life (think utilities, healthcare, public safety, essential retail, transportation). If their family isn’t prepared, they’re distracted at best—and distressed at worst.
Calm at home = focus at work. Prepared families create steadier teams.
Credibility from the front lines
At LIA Training, this isn’t theoretical. Ian Gregory spent over 27 years in the fire service retiring as a captain/paramedic. He’s seen first-hand how family readiness impacts responder performance—and how proactive planning reduces stress for everyone involved.
Why leaders should care about family preparedness
Reduced anxiety → better decision-making. Team members can focus when they know their families have a plan.
Faster recovery. Households with grab-and-go kits and contact plans bounce back quicker.
Stronger culture. When leaders champion practical readiness, it signals, “We care about you as people, not just as roles.”
Five practical actions to take this month
Share a simple family plan template (see resource below) and encourage every employee to complete it at home.
Run a 15-minute “what if” huddle: power outage, road closures, school evacuation—what’s the family plan?
Promote two safe meeting points: one near home, one out of the neighborhood.
Encourage a basic grab-and-go kit: meds, copies of IDs/insurance, chargers, cash, pet needs.
Collect emergency numbers: utility, local alert systems, school/daycare evacuation sites.
Free resource for your team
To make this easy, we’re offering our Emergency Preparation for Households—a 67-page, fillable workbook that helps families:
Map evacuation routes and shelter options
List medical info, insurance, contacts, and school/daycare plans
Build a practical grab-and-go kit and log home inventory
Print wallet-size emergency cards for each family member
👉 Download it here: https://liatraining.gumroad.com/l/emergency-preparation-guide
Leaders develop people. Sometimes that means skill-building; sometimes it means stability-building. Do both—and watch your team’s confidence and performance rise.
P.S. If you’re a department or organization that wants to roll this out broadly, reach out—we can help you implement it with your teams.