Byline: Wyles Daniel
Lifeguarding and professional risk management may operate in different environments, but they share a fundamental skill: the ability to think clearly and act decisively under pressure. Both professions demand tenets that surpass routine. They require training, composure, and the courage to make rapid decisions when lives or livelihoods are on the line.
Whether watching over swimmers or evaluating institutional risk, these roles call for awareness, preparation, and steady hands in high-stakes moments. Before building a career as a successful logistics and sales professional specializing in risk management, Garrett Gendron was known for his status as an All-American water polo athlete. He draws on his professional experience and early job as a lifeguard to discuss why thinking fast is important across careers.
Parallel Responsibilities, Shared Mindset
Lifeguards protect public safety in aquatic environments. Risk managers protect people, assets, and infrastructure across countless industries, including healthcare, finance, aviation, education, and beyond. The details may differ, but the mindset often overlaps. Lifeguards scan pools, lakes, and beaches for subtle signs of trouble. Risk managers examine data, systems, and behavior to identify vulnerabilities others might overlook.
Both professions rely heavily on prevention, rapid response, and accountability. Both are rooted in responsibility, charged with safeguarding others before harm occurs. In lifeguarding, a calm day can turn in seconds. The same applies to corporate risk management. One unchecked pattern, one delayed response, and an isolated issue can snowball into a full-blown crisis.
That’s why both fields invest in systems, train for scenarios, and commit to ongoing review. Professionals in these roles build habits, refine protocols, and practice what-if drills not because they expect daily emergencies, but because they must be ready when those moments come.
For lifeguards, the day begins with preparation long before the first swimmer arrives. They inspect rescue equipment, walk the deck for hazards, and test water quality. Once patrons arrive, they remain in constant motion, scanning for signs of fatigue, distracted guardians, or unsafe play.
Their goal is always to intervene early, gently correcting behavior or adjusting conditions to ensure everyone stays safe.
“Prevention is the lifeblood of both lifeguarding and risk management,” says Garrett Gendron. “It’s a quiet, relentless discipline that pays off when nothing dramatic happens.”
In professional risk management, the concept of prevention shows up as system design, compliance audits, scenario modeling, and threat assessments. Risk professionals are anticipating problems before they’re forced to solve them.
They ask the unasked questions: “What if the storm changes course?” “What if the vendor contract fails?” “What happens if our data systems go dark?” The work is both scientific and strategic. It requires curiosity, critical thinking, and a commitment to staying one step ahead.
From loose tiles to financial anomalies, hazards come in many forms. The professionals who manage them train themselves to detect patterns others might miss. Lifeguards study how people move in water, where tension collects in a swimmer’s body, and how posture shifts when panic sets in.
Risk managers do the same in boardrooms and data sets, tracking changes in behavior, trends, and environmental indicators. And when a problem breaks the surface, timing is everything. Lifeguards follow a streamlined process: assess, respond, communicate, and debrief.
Their actions are deliberate, fast, and guided by training. Risk managers follow similar paths, quickly gathering facts, determining scope, engaging response teams, and mitigating fallout. Both fields rely on clarity in chaos.
A key skill in both roles is effective communication under pressure. Lifeguards use whistles, hand signals, and firm but calm instructions to move people quickly. Risk managers often brief executives or direct response teams during critical events. In either case, the ability to speak clearly, cut through confusion, and restore order is central.
Fast thinking isn’t impulsive but practiced. Lifeguards train their bodies and minds to respond without hesitation. They rehearse rescues, test their reaction time, and drill over and over until their actions become second nature. Risk managers do much the same.
Through scenario planning, simulation drills, and policy design, they prepare to respond with precision when reality diverges from the plan. Many describe a kind of mental clarity in crisis which includes a narrowing of focus, a heightened awareness, and a quiet surge of purpose.
Notes Gendron, “These moments don’t happen by accident, but are built through repetition, stress inoculation, and trust in one’s training.”
Whether the call comes from the lifeguard chair or the C-suite, the question is the same: What do we do right now? The answer lies in preparation, judgment, and swift decision-making.
Preparedness, Debrief, and Team Coordination
Neither role is solo work. Lifeguards rotate stations, rely on spotting partners, and debrief after incidents. They run mock emergencies together, prepare for what-ifs, and support each other emotionally after tough shifts. Professional risk management teams operate with similar interdependence, sharing data, testing scenarios, and revising protocols as conditions evolve.
In both fields, feedback is vital. Post-incident reviews are conducted not to place blame but to refine systems. What went well? What lagged? What needs to change? That culture of learning, when maintained, builds excellence. It creates confident teams who know they can rely on one another when stress spikes.
And because burnout is a real concern in high-alert roles, teams that take care of each other perform better. Lifeguards share emotional labor. Risk teams rotate crisis coverage. Trust and communication become critical infrastructure.
Lifeguarding and risk management both help build cultures that value safety, accountability, and shared responsibility. A lifeguard chatting with kids about rest breaks or a risk manager helping train department heads on cybersecurity. They’re doing the quiet work of culture-shaping.
The goal isn’t to prevent all problems (an impossible task) but to reduce avoidable harm and respond effectively when something slips through. In this way, both professions act as guides that are subtle, persistent, and essential to the well-being of the people they serve.
Many risk professionals began their careers in high-stakes, hands-on roles like lifeguarding, EMT work, or public safety.
“It’s not surprising. These early roles teach something that textbooks don’t: how to stay calm when your heart races, how to lead under pressure, how to trust your training when there’s no time to plan,” says Gendron.
That connection is worth celebrating, not because it’s rare, but because it’s instructive. It shows how transferable the skills of urgency, clarity, and presence can be when developed early and refined across new arenas.
Lifeguarding and professional risk management are distinct fields with different environments, tools, and routines. But they are united by a shared calling to see what others don’t, to respond when others can’t, and to act decisively when the clock is ticking.
From the pool deck to the office building, these professionals protect people and possibilities. They invest in training, rely on protocols, and trust their instincts. Their work often goes unnoticed until the moment it matters most. And when that moment comes, they’re already moving.
DISCLAIMER: No part of the article was written by The Signal editorial staff.
