Steep hierarchy and command authority, an information gap between leader and led, real time-and-decision pressure, conflicting values among those present, incomplete situational awareness, and far-reaching consequences if you get it wrong.

Both settings share a cluster of properties that ordinary deliberation isn't built for:

• Hierarchy / command authority (Befehlsgewalt) — someone is empowered to give orders, and others are bound to follow.
• Information asymmetry between leader and led — the person in charge often sees more (or different) information than the people executing.
• Time and decision pressure — choices must be made now, not after a comfortable debate.
• Different values and concerns among everyone involved — a surgeon, an anaesthetist and a trainee may weigh the same moment differently.
• Incomplete information / situational picture (Lagebild) — you act on a partial view of reality.
• Far-reaching consequences of a wrong decision or wrong action.

The point isn't that critical thinking is suspended here — it's that where and when it happens has to be designed around these constraints, because you can't run a leisurely open inquiry while a patient is bleeding.

Tip: "Critical thinking in a crisis" is less about thinking harder in the moment and more about having done the thinking beforehand — and knowing the right moment to raise a concern.