At Bertek, celebrating our 10th anniversary means not only looking back, but also sharing what we’ve learned. As part of our jubilee events, we hosted a series of expert webinars, featuring professionals who work daily in some of the most demanding areas of IT.
One of these sessions was a webinar on Incident Management, led by Izabela Zakabłukowska a practitioner with years of experience running critical incident processes in the financial and technology sectors. She has a unique gift for talking about stress, crisis, and technology in a way that feels like listening to a really good story.
This article is dedicated to IT leaders, CTOs, and decision-makers who want to build resilient organizations.
Below the key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
1. Incident vs. Problem or… the Badger and the Hole in the Fence
One of the most vivid metaphors from the webinar was this one:
“An incident is a badger that regularly sneaks into your neighborhood.
A problem is the hole in the fence the badger squeezes through.”
Izabela has used this analogy for years, explaining the difference between an incident (the effect) and a problem (the cause).
It’s simple and brilliant:
Incidents are fires you put out here and now.
Problems are structural issues you fix so the fires don’t return.
Most organizations still confuse the two.
2. Communication vs. Technology: Why a Critical Incident Is 50% IT and 50% Human Emotions
In many companies, an Incident Manager is viewed as a “procedure person.” But as Izabela repeatedly emphasizes - that simply doesn’t work.
“Technology is only half the success. The other half is people and their emotions.”
During a major outage, two crises unfold simultaneously:
technology crisis - the system, service, server, database…
communication crisis - stress, pressure, information chaos.
It is the communication layer, not the technical one, that usually determines whether the organization experiences the incident like a mild cold… or a serious case of pneumonia.
3. Stress? Natural. But It Must Be Managed
Izabela reminded us many times:
“We are not robots. Stress is always part of an incident.”
During critical failures, pressure comes from:
the board,
customers,
technical teams,
end users.
This is where Incident Management truly begins: not with collecting logs, but with managing people’s emotions, bringing teams together, and sometimes… telling everyone to hold on for 5 minutes so the experts can think.
4. Neuropsychology in the War Room: Why an Incident Manager Must Understand Stress Patterns
Few people combine technical expertise with psychology. Izabela is one of the exceptions - she invested in psychological and neuropsychological studies to supplement her operational experience.
Why?
Because in incidents, the key elements are:
stress responses,
the way teams process information,
communication patterns,
interdepartmental tensions and conflicts.
These factors decide whether a team works effectively or descends into chaos.
5. The Position of the Incident Manager: Why Critical Decisions Must Sit One Step Below the CEO
This was one of the most controversial - and most accurate - points:
“My role is too low in the hierarchy to act effectively.
The Incident Manager should be almost directly under the CEO.”
Why?
Because in a crisis, what matters is:
rapid decision-making,
the ability to escalate instantly,
real authority across the organization.
Without this, the Incident Manager becomes a “procedural pawn.”
6. The Incident Is Only the Beginning: Why Fixing the Outage Is Just Step One (Lessons Learned)
In most companies, an incident “ends” when the system is back online.
For Izabela, that’s only the starting point.
“An incident ends only when we draw conclusions.”
This means:
a conversation with the team,
an analysis of emotions and behavior,
reflecting on decisions,
determining what will be done differently next time.
Without this process, an organization never truly matures.
7. Careers in Incident Management: Which Soft Skills Make the Best Crisis Leaders?
During the webinar, Izabela shared a memorable story:
A young graduate dreaming of becoming a systems administrator was encouraged by her to move toward processes and communication. Today, he works as an Incident Manager covering Europe, Africa, and the United States.
The takeaway?
“It’s not only about technology. It’s soft skills - empathy, communication, resilience under pressure.”
These skills can be developed.
Summary
Incidents will always happen - that’s unavoidable.
The real question is: How does your organization move through them?
The webinar showed that:
strong procedures are only the foundation,
the real challenge is people,
and the most critical tool is communication.
An Incident Manager is often the “quiet leader” holding the company together while everyone else is looking at the clock at 17:11.
