"How to Choose Teammates Who Shine in the Chaos of Live Broadcast"

szymborskipiotr
Jan 2
3 min read

As the founder of #UTV (University of Television), I’ve learned something very simple over the years:

I don’t choose people based on how impressive they look when everything runs smoothly.

I choose people based on who they become when everything turns into a total mess.

Because live broadcast doesn’t test you in the easy moments. It tests you when the chain reaction hits: the plan changes mid-flight, comms get overloaded, something breaks, time is collapsing, and everyone is trying to solve five problems at once.

That’s the moment where real professionals separate themselves from the rest.

What I look for when I choose people I can trust

When the show is under pressure, I watch for two things:

1) Focus instead of noise

The right person doesn’t freeze, doesn’t drift, and doesn’t get pulled into emotions.

They lock in. They keep their brain online. They stay useful.

They don’t need perfect conditions to perform. They create stability inside unstable conditions.

2) A real team player — even in chaos

I trust people who, in the middle of stress, still behave like part of one unit.

They don’t hunt for a culprit.

They don’t build narratives.

They don’t waste oxygen on “who did what”.

They go straight to:

“What’s the fastest path to fix this?”
“What do you need from me?”
“What can I take off your plate?”

That’s a person who protects the production — and protects the team.

Chain of command matters — especially when it’s messy

When everything falls apart, the control room needs structure. Clear commands. Clear execution. No hesitation.

A good team understands hierarchy and respects it — not because of titles, but because speed and clarity keep the show alive.

The best people don’t argue with the process in the middle of a crisis.

They execute, stabilize, and then review it after.

The Iraq / Afghanistan analogy — and why it matters

I sometimes explain it with an extreme comparison, because it makes the point instantly:

Imagine you’re a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan. Insurgents approach. The situation collapses fast. You don’t have time for ego, drama, or panic.

In that moment, you want the person behind your back to do one thing:

Stay clear — and keep your cover fire steady — so you can change position, relocate to safety, and protect the whole team.

That’s what trust looks like under pressure. Not big speeches. Not emotions. Just reliability.

But now imagine the opposite:

Instead of covering you, your “friend” panics and starts shooting randomly all around you — unpredictable, chaotic, dangerous to everyone nearby.

You don’t want that person behind your back.

Not because they’re “bad” — but because under pressure, they become unsafe.

That is exactly how I think about live broadcast teams.

When the show is under pressure, some people give “cover fire” with:

calm execution
clean communication
fast problem-solving
reducing chaos
protecting focus

And some people “shoot randomly” with:

emotional reactions
confusion
unnecessary commentary
impulsive decisions
creating friction inside the team

I build teams with the first group.

Trust in broadcast is operational

Trust isn’t a compliment. Trust is a performance characteristic.

Trust means:

When everything goes wrong, you don’t become a second emergency.

You become part of the solution.

That’s the kind of professional I want next to me in a truck, in a gallery, or in any high-pressure production environment.

Because in the end, our job isn’t only to deliver the show.

Our job is to deliver the show — together.

And if you really want to chill out and make sure you never lose your nerves… maybe live broadcast isn’t for you 😄

No shame — you can always run “Rybka MiniMini Śpi” (MiniMini Fish Sleeps) for 12 hours straight when the broadcast is off-air… like we do in Poland.