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The Halo System

When the stakes are high

When the stakes are high, what do you do to make sure your teams are safe, supported, aware, compassionate and equipped to deal with the situation?

At the Hive we have come up with a system to help us recognise where we are and where we want to be in any given situation. It’s called HALO. This system outlines 5 states of alert: Thrive, Look Alive, Strive, Deep Dive and Survive. It’s a bit like the US military DEFCON system only on a slightly smaller scale! With our system, instead of escalating the need for incrementally larger attack and defence strategies, it escalates the necessity to be more aware, to recognise our own behaviour and that of our teams, in order to maintain a supportive calm, focussed environment whilst efficiently finding solutions.

We are able to hold each other accountable safely, understand who is best placed to make decisions, translate behaviours and work our way round things without judgement, blame and misunderstandings.  We trust each other to do the best we can with what we’ve got at the time.

Crucially, it also helps us to de-escalate high stakes situations once things are dealt with. Instead of operating for weeks on end in a state of ‘survive’ we can wrap it up in 10 mins take a deep breath and go back to ‘Look Alive’.

Never underestimate the importance of simply checking in with each other; of finding out where everyone is at. That way, you get clarity on the best route to a good outcome.

Stabilise, Organise, Mobilise, High Fives!

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