In any messy situation, look for who’s quietly fixing things. That’s who to learn from.

Chaos hands attention to whoever is loudest, which is almost never the person solving it. Somewhere at the edge of it is somebody getting the mop, calling the right person, taking the frightened kid outside, and they generate no noise at all, which is why they are easy to miss. Competence is quiet by nature.

Next time something goes wrong at work or on a trip, find that person on purpose. Watch what they do first, and copy that specific thing rather than their whole personality. If you can, tell them you noticed, because almost nobody does and they are usually the least thanked person there.