The ink on the brand-new Hectic Harmony is barely dry, and we already have an expansion pack ready for crisis teams. This is in response to the growing demand for stress management training for crisis teams. The expansion is an add-on to the base game, which makes fundamental principles of stress management discussable in the context of workplace well-being. With the expansion, the game now also serves as an excellent conversation starter to better understand oneself and crisis team members, as well as to understand and manage our behavior under stress.
That stress management for crisis teams is important requires little convincing. Aside from the long-term effects caused by high stress or traumatic events on an individual’s mental well-being, too much stress can hinder effective crisis management. For example, stress can reduce our mental bandwidth. When this happens, we have less capacity for ‘System 2’ thinking (slow and deliberate) (Kahneman, 2011), and we more quickly switch to ‘System 1’ thinking (fast, automatic, emotional, and subconscious). As a result, we become more susceptible to cognitive biases such as framing, tunnel vision, recency bias, etc. If we want to safeguard the physical and mental health of crisis team members on the one hand and the quality of crisis management on the other, stress management cannot be overlooked.
In the standard version of Hectic Harmony, players are faced with a stressful day. They encounter various stressors and must manage them as best as they can by monitoring their mood and employing coping mechanisms. These have been borrowed from Hobfoll et al. (2007) and include coping types such as rest, control, perspective, connectedness, and safety. The base game contains a deck of cards with dozens of original coping mechanisms.
The expansion follows the same rules as the base game, but players are suddenly confronted with a crisis situation during the game. From that point on, they face specific stressors and triggers unique to crises and crisis teams, such as an outdated crisis plan or an important stakeholder who is unreachable. The expansion pack also offers specific coping mechanisms to bring calm to the chaos. Examples include installing a meeting clock or finding a replacement for a crisis role. We drew inspiration from an interactive workshop with crisis experts during the CIP Institute expert meeting held in 2023 in Antwerp.
Hectic Harmony is already available for individual purchase from PM and CrisisCare.eu or under license and is more relevant than ever for crisis teams. If you’re interested in getting started with the game, don’t hesitate to contact us without obligation.
