This past December marked the 72nd anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. There were countless acts of heroism and tragedy that infamous day. I believe there is one particular story that illustrates a meaningful lesson that applies to local government management.

Like all the ships of the Pacific Fleet that morning, the destroyer USS Aylwin was moored at the dock. Since it was a Sunday, half of the crew, all senior officers, and the ship’s commanding officer were enjoying liberty on shore. As a result, the officer in charge of the Aylwin that day was a young ensign named Stanley B. Caplan, who had a grand total of eight months of prior sea experience.

When the Japanese attack began, Ensign Caplan suddenly found himself in the middle of an unexpected war, with only a skeleton crew and no commanding officer. He was now the person who had to make the decisions and he had to make them fast.

The first thing Ensign Caplan did, without being told by any superior officer, was to order the ship’s boilers started so that they could get under way. Some 30 minutes later, he received formal orders to get the ship steaming and out of Pearl Harbor as soon as possible.

Since the boilers had already been started, the Aylwin was able to start moving, avoiding a nearby bomb blast in the process. In fact, the ship left the mooring pier so quickly that the anchor chain and a stern line were torn off. Other ships were not so fortunate that day.

Faced With a Decision

As the ship was leaving the harbor, under full aerial attack, the crew saw a strange sight. Trailing about a thousand yards behind the ship was a small motorboat carrying the Aylwin’s commanding officer and the other senior officers, who had scrambled after the attack began to join their shipmates.

The officers were waiving frantically for the ship to stop so they could get on board and resume command. (If you’ve ever watched the 1965 movie In Harm’s Way starring John Wayne, there is an early scene in it that’s based on this event.)

So what did the inexperienced young officer do when faced with this situation? Did he stop and wait for his commander to get on board? Under normal conditions, that decision would not have required much thought, especially if Ensign Caplan valued his future Navy career. In this circumstance, however, doing so would have jeopardized both the ship and the lives of the crew.

As a result, Ensign Caplan never hesitated in making his decision and continued at full speed toward the ocean, leaving the motorboat and its occupants bouncing around helplessly in his wake. The officers eventually had to quit the chase and later unceremoniously boarded another ship.

We can only guess, but it’s probably a safe bet that the commander and his senior officers used some choice language while watching their young subordinate leave them all behind without a second thought. Unlike many ships that day, however, the Aylwin made it safely out of Pearl Harbor, survived the attack unscathed, and was ready for further combat operations in the Pacific Ocean.

Hard Decisions

The scenario that played out aboard the Aylwin is similar to those that local government managers can face. No matter how much a manager might plan on overseeing projects or supervising staff and daily routine tasks, unexpected changes can and will occur. And when they do, they usually happen suddenly, with little or no warning.

The person faced with these situations will often be thrust into the immediate role of making critical and timely decisions. The consequences for not making the right decisions can be steep. As a result, the safe route that is normally a no-brainer simply cannot be followed.

Perhaps unsettling to local government managers is the fact that they might not even be available to help out when everything unravels. They might be out inspecting a project in the field, conducting an executive retreat with elected officials, attending a meeting at the fire headquarters, out of town for a state conference, or maybe they just happened to call in sick that day.

The result? Without the manager present, other people in these moments may find themselves responsible for making spot judgments, rendering important decisions, and taking fast action, all of which could be while under stress.

In order to be successful in these situations, these people will need to rely on their intuition, knowledge, prior training, and experience. They might be a younger management team member, someone from another department, a frontline employee, or a new hire.

Neither you nor they might have ever anticipated that person being placed in that position, but they are, all the same. As the manager, you’re now the one figuratively chasing the ship while someone else is running the show.

Can you think of an example from your career? We’ve probably all either personally experienced these moments firsthand, or have seen others thrust into the role of dealing with them: The neighborhood association meeting that was supposed to be a simple meet-and-greet ends up going sideways. An extremely angry resident shows up at the counter, demanding that a zoning violation fine be waived or he’s going to sue the city.

Or, a routine project update presentation at the chamber of commerce turns into a heated debate on a local policy. A journalist calls out of the blue and needs an immediate interview. The list can go on and on, but all such situations have a similar trait: The senior manager isn’t there and a junior subordinate may need to make important decisions, quite literally on the spot.

Here are ways that managers can help train and prepare junior management team members to better handle these types of situations:

Create leadership academies. A good number of local governments have created internal leadership academies. These can be great opportunities for a city or county to grow their own in-house talent and can be done in ways that are easy on the budget.

As a senior manager, find ways to share your insights with others. It’s also a great way to retain organizational knowledge, plus it can be a fun way for staff members to connect together and build camaraderie. Menlo Park, California, was featured on a CAL-ICMA webinar last year for its innovative municipal leadership academy for staff.

Menlo Park is a relatively small municipal organization that has taken the initiative to create an in-house leadership academy for its staff. Operating for six years, it is not limited to only managers and executive personnel but is open to all employees. By emphasizing leadership development for a diverse range of employees and allowing their organization to become stronger on multiple levels, it has produced positive results for the city’s management team. If you’re thinking of starting a leadership academy, it’s an interesting example to learn from.

The October 17, 2013, webinar titled “Managing Human Capital — Best Practices,” which features the academy, is available on the “Agendas and Archives” tab of the CAL-ICMA Coaches Corner website at http://icma.org/en/ca/programs/coaching.

Support professional development. Such opportunities as conferences, state chapter meetings, educational sessions, webinars, and others provide an excellent opportunity for employees to keep up with current topics, trends, and best practices. They also are a way to network with peers from other communities, which can be a tremendous asset.

Learning how others successfully handled a particular situation, or sometimes more importantly, the lessons they may have learned from their mistakes, can provide major dividends later down the road for your staff.

Take time to mentor. Simply taking time to talk with junior employees on an individual basis can make a huge difference. Chances are, any seasoned manager has a wide number of stories to tell—both funny and cautionary—and nuggets of advice to share. Finding time to stop by and check in with employees can be a great opportunity for them not only to learn from your wisdom and experiences, but for you to coach them as well.

These are lessons that can be valuable and often have a lasting impact on people’s careers. I can speak from experience; I have often used the advice passed down to me many years ago by a former city manager for whom I worked.

There is no magic bullet, but the basic formula is easy enough to find: Taking the time to invest in assistants and aides early and often is extremely important. Not only will it help them learn, develop, and grow in their careers, but it can also mean the difference when things are on the line and these same people need to make important decisions on the spot.

So, what happened to Ensign Caplan? His commanding officer, the same one left behind waving and yelling for him to stop, recommended him for special commendation. He specifically cited Ensign Caplan for “superbly taking command” and his conduct aboard the USS Aylwin as “a most amazing and outstanding achievement.”

Hopefully, you will be able to use the same words when describing the actions of assistants and aides when their time to be tested comes.