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Get Everyone On Board

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Hilton Head's Engine 1 company using Truck 6 in training.

Hilton Head's Engine 1 company using Truck 6 in training.

There comes a point in every organization where evaluation must be made of the over-arching vision and determination made if that is the direction that is desired, or if not, does it need to be recalibrated.  While that recalibration is really incumbent on the legally controlling entity (city or county council, commissions, or boards), it is the issue of recalibrating the organizational culture that I wanted to discuss today.  Because regardless of your organization, you are going to have personnel who are resistant to change, and while the troops may or may not decide to go willingly, it is a requirement that your officers or supervisors are.  If your small unit leaders aren’t on board, don’t count on the personnel they supervise joining in to resist them.  It will be much easier on those troops if they can get along with their misdirected officer than if they embrace the change, so you can count on the message not getting through when it is most needed.

If you have officers who are unwilling to evolve, they must make a decision (as do you) as to whether their personal contribution (or lack thereof) to the mission is causing a bigger problem. People are going to disagree on issues for a number of different reasons.  They may disagree on how the overall vision is met.  But if both the supervisor and the subordinate can work to capitalize on their personal views and collaborate (or develop by consensus) on solutions that take us to that goal, then that is positive and constructive.  If you simply don’t agree as to the mission, or you can’t work with others to develop solutions, then maybe that’s your signal to start looking elsewhere.

There will also be those who just won’t let the past go.  That total distrust in authority can be chalked up to a lack of maturity.  It’s easy to hold on to fear, it’s hard to make that leap again and trust.  But for some, it’s a game.  It’s cool to be the rebel.  It’s easy to make fun of what you yourself are incapable of creating.  If you are rebelling for a just cause, that commendable.  If you are rebelling to make fun and to be “cool”, you’re a tool.

Vision must be shared to make it effective.  If you ask your team what their vision of team success is, if you get an answer other than what you desire, you have conflicting vision.  Teams all the time make assumptions that their individual visions are one.  That’s all fine on issues where concessions can be made, but if these decisions affect the core values of individuals, you will find irreconcilable differences.  If these issues become counter to your values, this is where the team will break apart or survive.  These are your true watershed moments.

It is important that vision is shared.  Otherwise, the desired result will not be what comes out.  You can have the most charismatic leader in the world out in front, but when you reach that waypoint where visions are divergent, there will be a strong oppositional pull.  Several things can happen: They will go one way or another, or they will split the team, or there will be such a struggle for control that we go nowhere, or the team will go off on a path no one wants, or people will pull together and reach for a common goal.  When those power struggles occur, these are the points where a leadership vacuum occurs.  Like it or not, when it does, something will fill that, sometimes to the detriment of the team’s overall goal.

If you are the legitimate leader and it really is your position to say, “THIS vision is your reality”, then you need to do so.  If others don’t (or won’t) share that vision, they need to get on board or get off.  You can’t deal with incompatible vision.  Conflict management and resolution is imperative.  You must either accept their way, convince them of your way, or accept a compromise- which may make everyone upset.

Each of these waypoints are periods to stop and evaluate our direction and reconfirm that we are doing what is important to us, as well as that this is the direction in which we want to go.  This provides people a place to jump off if they aren’t comfortable with the direction.

While not all of us can be inspiring, we can at least strive to be transformational.  We can know what qualities that entails, we can identify and point people toward those resources, we can listen and empower our people.  We can be open to others’ ideas, permit change when change is needed, and especially when others are strong in talent, encourage their strengths and passions to benefit the whole team.  When you can do this, it permits others to trust you.  When people have been burned so many times, you have to earn that trust and it won’t happen overnight.  You have to keep doing it and keep reinforcing it, even when it is frustrating.

Posted by truck6alpha on February 28, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Training & Development, change, customer service, leadership, motivation, officership, professionalism, rebellion, revolution • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Almost Good Enough

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Pseudoladder. Could pass as a truck company in some places.

Pseudoladder. Could pass as a truck company in some places.

What does it mean to be “good enough”? Is being good enough sufficient to meet the needs of our customers? Is it good enough to meet safety requirements? Is being “good enough” good enough to keep civilians from being killed, much less firefighters?

When we establish a standard, the document is a minimum definition of what is “good enough”.  While standards may prove irksome to people, those standards keep what is featured in the attached picture from being termed a “truck company” in some communities.  When we have standards it keeps the old “five bubbas, a pound hound and a pickup truck” example that I like to use from time to time from being called an “urban search and rescue task force”.

As an officer, and more accurately, a leader, what is “good enough” for you to proclaim that title?  Is it a minimum standard of education and experience?  Or was it that you had the lowest social security number?  Or even worse, was it because you are a “nice guy”?  That would be the ol’ elected standard, in some places.

In most businesses, unless you are related to the boss by blood or marriage, there are certain standards required for achieving the pinnacle of success in your company.  It may very well have been that you were the person who lasted the longest, but chances are that you had some kind of a spark of leadership somewhere if someone decided to put you in charge.  Fogging a mirror might not be the only criteria, but if you fogged it the best, maybe that was the deciding factor.

As a leader in emergency services, “good enough” gets personnel injured or killed.  ”Good enough” costs the public millions of dollars in waste.  ”Good enough” is the price for an annual fire loss that leads all industrialized nations.  So long as we continue to settle for the status quo, “good enough” is good enough.

If you fail to recognize that just being good enough isn’t, take this as a call to achieve more than that.  By establishing vision, promoting core values, declaring a mission and goals, and doing something to tie all those things together, you take your team from existing to succeeding.   By seeking innovation and more effective practices, we strive for excellence.  By observing the mistakes of others and instead of ridiculing those people, learning constructively from their experience, we avoid having to make the hard (and painful) mistakes ourselves.

No one reading this probably feels like “good enough” is the answer to anything; by reading this, it shows you are probably interested in motivating yourself and your team and are looking for answers.  If anything, be reassured, “good enough” has killed and injured more of us than any one factor, by way of heart attacks, falls, drownings, vehicle accidents, and any other number of causes of firefighter deaths.  It shows itself in complacency and in acceptance that what the current situation is cannot be altered.  I challenge you to look into your soul and wonder if by standing around and doing nothing, you were leading, or simply accepting your role in the line.

Be excellent and strive for being the best.  It will keep you and your crew alive and it will better serve the public you are charged with protecting.

Posted by truck6alpha on February 18, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, Media Relations, Training & Development, change, customer service, fire service, government, leadership, officership, planning, politics, professionalism, revolution, safety • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Values

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Hilton Head and Bluffton Firefighters practicing FLAG drills.

Hilton Head and Bluffton Firefighters practicing FLAG drills.

In the wake of the Toyota recall disaster (that’s about the best description for that event), it brings us around to thinking about the values you might have in your organization, especially when having to make tough decisions.  The author and motivational speaker Bud Bilanich has said about values:

“Values ground an organization- providing direction for people who find themselves in ambiguous situations.  They are guides for decision making.”

If your organization doesn’t have agreed-upon values, it’s a good time to get your people together and discuss some.  Even if your organization fails to enact some, the team you control should put together a value statement that provides direction to those who have to make a watershed decision at some point with little guidance otherwise.

While remaining true to your core values aren’t always easy.  It may even cost you at some point, like the instance in which Johnson & Johnson had to pull Tylenol off the shelves in the wake of a cyanide poisoning scandal.  The decision cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, but ultimately, the company prospered because of the ultimate consumer confidence that sprang from sticking to their values: “…our first responsibility is…to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products.”

As an emergency response organization, your core values may involve treating the people who call you for assistance with compassion and dignity.  I’ve been in the situation before where that has been difficult, for whatever reason (like when they are abusing you verbally at 0400 hours) but ultimately, the decisions you must make in serving that citizen (or visitor, in our case) should be based on that value and subsequently, those values will protect you in the event that things get nasty.  Like when they decide to call a councilman or make a media event out of their situation.

While there are those out there who struggle with calling the people who call for our services “customers”, that shouldn’t preclude you from believing that these people are the reason for your existence, whatever you choose to call them, and they should be treated with dignity, respect, and empathy.  Just because you don’t perceive them as having a choice in who provides their service, it doesn’t keep them from raising a royal stink over the attitude you present, regardless of “who started it”.  You’ll still look like the bad guy in the media.

It is imperative that not only does your organization recruit and retain people who embrace your values, but that the culture holds those values dear, that people are rewarded for upholding those values, and that deviation from those values are redirected.  When the going gets tough, those values will carry your organization through the tough scrutiny of a media frenzy and by standing close to those values, it will keep you all together though the storm.

Posted by truck6alpha on February 14, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Media Relations, News, Training & Development, change, customer service, government, leadership, motivation, officership, politics, professionalism, revolution • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Prove Yourself

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a federal qDon’t waste your time thinking that opportunity is going to come find you.  The value of your network is extremely important.  Many jobs in the private sector get awarded to people who know someone within the company.  Referrals are worth their weight in gold.  But this also goes toward obtaining opportunities to prove yourself.

The chief of department, when he has a sexy project, isn’t going to come hunting you down unless he is familiar with your track record.  If you are some firefighter toiling away in obscurity at your designated “vacation station”, no matter how clever and innovative you think you are, the choice projects aren’t going to you.  Why should they?  The chief knows there’s a dozen guys who will kill for this opportunity; why search someone out and reward them with the plum assignment?

If you want those good assignments, you are going to have to sniff out and handle some unpopular ones first.  If you can prove your worth on one of those, the next time a less-horrible project comes up, you could possibly end up on the list for that.  If you handle THAT one well, expect a bump up on the list.  This is called developing political capital.  It spends, just like money.  As you gain this capital, what is really happening is that you are building a relationship between you and the chief, and the relationship is evidenced in the trust he has that you will be the right one for that challenging, but rewarding position.

I don’t care who you are, how long you have worked here, or how smart you think you are, if you can’t handle a small assignment, why should I stake my reputation on whether or not you are reliable, and the only way I can know that is by having some evidence in my pocket.

Can’t get the powers that be to feed you even the most lousy of projects?  Go out in the community and make yourself valuable.  By that, I mean, find some non-profit or civic group and join up.  These guys are ALWAYS looking for able bodied people, especially those who want to help for free.  For FREE? That’s what I said.  This, however, is an investment you are making.

The experience you gain from managing projects in the community will pay you back multi-fold, and in addition, you build up people in your network, people that later in your career you will be comfortable calling up directly on the phone and having a conversation with them.  A genuine conversation, not, “Hi, remember me?  Can I get you to give me a reference…?”

When opportunity comes knocking, if you aren’t prepared by being qualified to be the one to take it, don’t expect everyone to be knocking down your door to appoint you the next best thing since sliced bread.

Posted by truck6alpha on February 1, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Training & Development, change, leadership, motivation, officership, politics, professionalism • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Get Your Facts Straight

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DSC00043As usual, Dave Statter is hard at work getting us News from the Beltway, where there always seems like something is going on (it’s a happening place).  In this case, crews were on scene preparing to extricate a patient declared deceased when it was determined that the victim was in fact, alive.  While I was not there, nor are all the facts out there for examination yet, it makes for a very graphic illustration of today’s discussion: What facts may seem to be in evidence right now may not always be accurate, thus the need for continual re-evaluation of your situation.

I’m not advocating continual monitoring of the “pre-hospital dead”, although I would hope that this is a good case for the medically affiliated that we need to insure pulslessness and apnea, and confirm asystole in three leads (and print it).  That is called triangulating your facts and documenting them in the hopes things don’t change later (like the person is actually alive).

No, what I want to discuss is that in all kinds of places where we need to make a decision, even though something appears to be true right now, it might not be in a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days.  Conditions change and regardless of the origin of the facts you hold dear, they might not always be accurate facts.  The response to this ever-changing environment isn’t to throw up your hands in frustration (like my children and firefighters seem to do sometimes), but to re-evaluate your situation and to flex with the new conditions.  There’s a quote attributed to Whitey Ford I heard years ago (and of course, I can’t find my source now) and I have to paraphrase it because I don’t remember it exactly: “Don’t make up your mind about something until the moment you absolutely have to; it may be that by the time for coming to a conclusion occurs, the conditions may have changed.”

People who worked with me closely before I made Chief probably recall my frustration with schedule changes, personnel changes, equipment and apparatus changes that occurred over the course of a shift, often with no warning.  Now as a Chief Officer, I have a different perspective on the situation because I now have to step back and look at “the whole forest”.  I now understand how and why some of those “course changes” have come about and I also see why frustration with those changes is counterproductive.

As firefighters, we deal with changing conditions on scene without too much drama.  We know Murphy is a constant companion and if anything, we are surprised if everything goes RIGHT on a scene.  No incident is “textbook”.  But because we are good at our jobs, we flex with the new situation, understand it, and make whatever we have work.  Why we can’t do that in our daily operations, I guess, is my question.

If there’s anything I know about myself, it’s that I know I am not a patient man.  In fact, I’m probably one of the least patient people I know.  I also know I don’t have a lot of tolerance for less-than-excellent performance.  But part of maturing and growing involves experience, and experience shows us that there are many changing elements that occur over the course of a day, and a life, and reacting to them rather than soaking them in and understanding them (and then solving the problem) isn’t productive.  In fact, it is stressful and irritating to those who we have to live with.

I have a lot of personal growth and understanding to continue working toward and I wish some of this stuff would have been shared with me when I was a firefighter and a young officer, but it wasn’t.  I now have that benefit of experience, though, and it is my responsibility to share it with you all.  Take the time to understand the situation and instead of criticizing, find benefit in the lessons we learn and resolve not to let mistakes happen again, or at least in the environment we personally control.

Get facts before making critical decisions and don’t dwell on them too long, because in many cases, the facts will change before you even get a chance to decide on them.  Take decisive action when necessary, and when not, take considered action, and always, always, continue to re-evaluate the situation. By understanding your surroundings, you will be safer and your life richer for it.

Posted by truck6alpha on January 28, 2010 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Firefighter Nation, News, Patient Management, Rescues, change, customer service, leadership, officership, planning, professionalism, revolution, safety, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Taking FHZ to Wayne County, PA

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taskforceone logoAs a quick aside, if any of you are interested, I’ll be in Wayne County, PA on January 30-31, teaching at the Browndale Fire Department.  I don’t know if there are any open spots left, but contact info is on the flier.

Whether you are a seasoned officer, one newly promoted or just are aspiring to become an officer, this program will provided
you with the tools you need to meet that challenge. A company officer’s job is difficult, especially if you have not
been prepared for the transition from firefighter to company officer. This program, through a series of interactive exercises,
role playing and problem solving activities will provide you the tools needed to succeed in the station and on the fire
ground. Through computer simulation exercises and other interactive activities, students will have to opportunity to participate
in several emergencies under the watchful eyes of our instructors. Our faculty will share their “best practices”
showing the way it is really done in today’s challenging and ever changing fire service.

The course will be “Command for Company Officers” and as Ron Richards, of Task Force 1, Inc. describes it:  ”A company officer’s job is difficult, especially if you have not been prepared for the transition from firefighter to company officer. This program will provide you the tools needed to succeed in the station and on the fire ground.”  So if you’ve got the time and you are in the neighborhood, come on by.

Posted by truck6alpha on January 17, 2010 • Filed under: Training & Development, officership • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Urban Search and Rescue – Rockbreaking 101

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SC-TF1, GA, and MD-TF2 working with St. Bernard, LA at Katrina

SC-TF1, GA, and MD-TF2 working with St. Bernard, LA at Katrina

Since there seems to be a huge lean forward from people who want to know more about US&R, and since US&R is (and has been) one of my main projects for over twenty years, I figure I’ll take the opportunity to point you all in some directions for information, as well as provide some useful links other than the standard FEMA sites.  I’ll start off with one or two and add some more as time permits.

Also, if I have missed a good link (or source), please add it, because any errors or omissions are likely just my failure to remember someone while sitting here for a moment, rather than deliberate exclusion.

I’ll start of course with my baby: the South Carolina US&R Task Force, which is a state-sponsored NIMS Type 1 equivalent US&R Task Force.  Our deployment to St. Tammany and St. Bernard Parishes during Hurricane Katrina established us on the map as a viable response asset.  While I am no longer the Director of this organization but serve as Deputy Director in an advisory role, it is still my pride and joy.

There is another US&R project of which I am very fond: the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance, better known by its acronym, “SUSAR”.  This began as a consortium of 19 states, including Puerto Rico, meeting for the first time in July 2005 at the South Carolina Fire Academy in Columbia, SC.  Now it has representatives from over 41 states and we have earned the consideration by many other affiliated organizations as we help to advocate for these state teams which previously had no voice.

One Firefighter Nation there are several US&R “social” groups: Urban Search and Rescue, of course; USAR/FEMA; and USAR.  You can join into the discussions there and say your piece, or at least get to meet other like-minded individuals.  There is also the Cancel The Engine site on there, which has a lot of rockbreakers hanging out looking for something to tear up.

I’ll take the time to add some more later, but if you have a link near and dear to you, feel free to add it on a comment, and if it is appropriate, I’ll add it in.

Posted by truck6alpha on January 15, 2010 • Filed under: DHS, FEMA, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, NIMS, News, Rescues, SAR, Special Operations, US&R, USAR, government, leadership, politics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vigilance and Haiti

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South Carolina US&R Task Force at Vigilant Guard

South Carolina US&R Task Force at Vigilant Guard

As is always the case in times like these, fire and emergency service providers stand ready to send whatever relief is necessary to aid the survivors of disasters.   While we continue to keep the residents and visitors to Haiti in our thoughts and prayers, an open letter to the fire and emergency service community from FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino reminds the response community that self-deployment to the disaster areas is not advisable.  For a number of reasons, there needs to be a coordinated response so that well-meaning people and resources don’t ultimately overwhelm what is already bedlam.

While it may seem counterintuitive to some not to send EVERYTHING to the region, I’m reminded of the scenario that presents itself in football when the defensive end is told repeatedly, “Seal the ends and don’t let anyone out” and after being told that twenty times (and having no backs running around the end), he decides to “get involved” and leaves his assigned area, only to be left in the dust by a screen or a reverse.  His job was to protect the flanks from just such a move, and failing that, this weakness was not only recognized by the offense, but exploited.

It is imperative that we take this opportunity to recognize that these disasters also affect our own communities, and this is the time when increased education of your customers is important: what to do if something like this happens here, who will respond, what your capabilities are and how you plan to address your needs in a disaster, and so on.  This is the time when you contact your representatives and reinforce to them that we have emergency operation plans in place and resources, and educate local responders what to do and how to obtain these resources.

Most importantly, someone needs to be watching the outside, anticipating that at any time, events can also happen at home.  In that event, teams selected to move into the Caribbean to aid Haiti may need reinforcement back in their home jurisdictions and we should be ready to help in those situations as well.

Everyone has a part on the team.  Take this unfortunate situation and at least turn it into a “teachable moment”.  If you fail to do this while it is fresh in the minds of the public, I can reassure you, look at past disasters and see how fast those moments faded from view.  We can prevent death and injury often by educating people as to what we do and how to get us when they need us.  But in order to do all of this, we need support, not just during the disasters, but in the times in between.

Keep our fellow US&R teams in your prayers as well as the citizens and other responders in this most distressing of situations and make sure we are ready if anything else goes down on our watch.

Posted by truck6alpha on January 14, 2010 • Filed under: DHS, FEMA, Firefighter Nation, Funding & Staffing, Rescues, Special Operations, US&R, USAR, fire service, government, politics, rescue • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fire/EMS Blog of the Year. Hmmm.

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webIMG_2025I’m flattered that we (okay, at FHZ, there’s  just me, actually) here at FHZ put up just enough smoke and mirrors that we were nominated over on The Fire Critic for Fire/EMS Blog of the Year.  While I am honored, I count myself as humbly fortunate to simply be on the same network as some of the heavy hitters in Fire/EMS blogdom and submit that if you haven’t taken the time yet, take a ride over to some of these other excellent blogs and give them a little of your feedback.

These folks work hard in their regular jobs then turn around and put something out there for you to read on a semi-regular basis.  I’m not even going to attempt the screw-up I pulled off a few months ago on Firefighter Nation and try to name a few of them, only to realize how many I left off (see guys, thought you’d catch me again).

We have stuff for the aspiring company officer, chief officer, or backstep firefighter, as well as for the paramedic and for the “ambulance driver”.  We can get hard news, we can get hard news as seen in the digital day room, and we can get even opinion and fiction all interspersed throughout one blog.  There are ratings of other blogs and sites, observations and links to others, and discussion of wildland firefighting, marketing your department, training, safety and leadership.  There is everything EMS from aimless tweeting to scenario based reading, stories of brotherhood no ocean could separate, and views of rural, suburban, and even urban EMS.

I have my own opinion as to which sites are deserving of this award, but I also pose that there are also many other sites out there that aren’t a member of FireEMSBlogs.com that are excellent as well.  Some I hope to see join us over here in the future (look down my own blogroll and check out some of those; the ones I’ve listed are pretty good, and there are even some others I haven’t added on yet).  Some are probably happy where they are.  And some of them are toiling away in relative obscurity, not because they aren’t very good, but because they just simply haven’t gotten the exposure yet.  They’re like nuggets of gold hidden in the mud, waiting to be panned out and shined up. I encourage you to take the advantage of reading the other blogs from my colleagues; they have some amazing stuff.  Let them know I sent you.

But while you’re at it, take some opportunities to look at the rest of the blogroll on some of these pages.  There are some up and coming bloggers who I think have the right ideas, they are witty, fresh, and entertaining.  Of course, some are not.  But my point is that there is a wealth of information and perspectives out there that we should all be looking at, to learn and to understand, in this new year. And while you’re at it, swing on by The Fire Critic, throw him some props, and give him your opinion on the Blog of The Year.  And as appreciative as I am for being considered, I think I’d rather you look hard at some of these other blogs and consider how much more they are deserving of such an honor, because they truly are “good stuff”.

Posted by truck6alpha on January 3, 2010 • Filed under: leadership • Tagged: , , , , ,

Taking The Plunge

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webIMG_2005Happy New Year!

Recently I was on my way to work and marveling at the sunrise (I get a good shot of it going over the Cross Island bridge on the way to my station) and got to remembering one call where a person dove off that very same bridge.  I was thinking, if you’re going to pick someplace to move on from, that’s a pretty scenic spot to do so.  It also brought up to me the dichotomy of risk vs. reward.

While the individual I was remembering had a reputation for making daring but risky decisions, you have to understand the motivator for someone like that.  If you can pull it off, you’re a God.  A stunt like that makes for a lot of interesting conversation later in life.  The downside, however, is when you fail, you fail catastrophically.

When we choose to forgo a risk/benefit analysis, we do just that.  In fire/rescue, the risk we take also involves death-defying heroism if you can pull it off, or grave consequences if you don’t.  While diving off a bridge seems to be the start of interesting cocktail party conversation, failing to appreciate the impact when you hit the water (literally) or the swiftness of the current below indicates a lack of total understanding of the problem.  When we plunge headlong into a fire with no idea of the conditions or into a rescue without considering the hazards that exist, we aren’t being professional.  We are choosing bravado over intellect.

I’ll keep it short because I’m juggling a few projects, but appropriate risk/benefit analysis requires a total understanding of the situation.  Failing that, at least a brief contemplation of the major risk involved is required.  There are people in our business who don’t even think when they go into harm’s way.  How many times in a media interview with “the hero” have you heard someone say, “I didn’t even think about it”.  I’d be curious to know if we were able to interview those who didn’t make it; would they say the same thing?

Understand your situation and make intelligent decisions, not irrational ones. It’s the difference between the steadfast and respected commander and the impulsive private.  If you want to be a leader, act like a leader.

Posted by truck6alpha on January 1, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Nation, leadership, motivation, officership, professionalism • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

As 2009 Ends

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Hilton Head Island Engine 1I took some time to be with my family over the holiday so I have a little catching up to do.  I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and now we continue to ready ourselves for a New Year.  Since this might be my last post for 2009, I thought I’d leave you with some thoughts toward something we all seem to do at the end of the year; that is, set goals for the upcoming year.

While we may not necessarily care for the structure of a goal-driven life, our lives demand some organization in order to achieve the things we desire.  If we wanted to get to a destination, we would reasonably choose the best route to get there depending upon what it is we hope to achieve.  If we wanted to get there in the fastest, most expeditious route possible, we should choose a straight route with little to distract us.  If we wanted to take a scenic route and experience the drive, we could look to see what way might provide a view of the scenery.  In either case, the route is of your choosing, but regardless, it still exists as a route to get from Point “A” to Point “B”.

Having no course is a choice we make sometimes as well, but the goal might just be to relax a little while, which is a goal in itself.  Just letting things happen and striking out on the road, in my much younger days, was something I’d do with a few days off.  I’d just get on the ol’ Suzuki GS750E (she was a beautiful bike) and just drive.  But to say there is absolutely NO goal would not be very accurate.  At some point I had to return home and go to work (thus, the goal would be to have fun until I had to go back to work).  I guess if I had no job, no home, and no family or friends, I could go aimlessly anywhere, but short of pushing around a shopping cart with my life’s possessions in it, I think you can understand that in order to have the things you want in life, at some point, a goal will be required.  Even then, the goal is to survive.  You may choose to simply exist (in which your goal might be relatively easy to fulfill, if say, someone was supporting you), but even if you chose to do nothing and die, it’s still something you are in pursuit of and as a result, is the target to which you aspire.

Since most of us have a computer on which we are reading this, and a requirement to pay the power bill to keep it running, or at least have to buy the coffee at the free internet cafe, you probably need to help others achieve their goals as part of a job.  While personally, you can choose the route that fits your needs, your goals must also fit the needs of those who are around you (spouse, family, friends, employer, community) .  If your spouse has a need (like replacing the car, or taking courses to advance their career, or anything, really) and sets goals to achieve that need, and you continually undermine those goals, I can reassure you that it won’t be a matter of “if”, but “when” your spouse ditches you.  Likewise, your team has needs as well, and those needs must be factored in whenever setting our personal goals.

Wandering aimlessly through the highways of America may be romantic and very appealing to you, but at some point, someone is going to have to put gas in the bike, lest we end up back at the shopping cart scenario again (And, yes, shopping carts require no fuel, so it’s a very achievable goal).  This all is meant to reinforce to each of you that while you may have personal goals, those around you have goals that involve you as well, and require you achieving your part of the puzzle for them to finish theirs.

Being part of a team defines you as being someone who is part of a group with some common goals.  How you get there from here may not be the same as your teammates, but your goals should not interfere with the achievement of their own goals; that’s called being selfish.  If you can’t mutually agree on how to get to the destination, then someone needs to get out, but it is always an act of assessment, negotiation, understanding, and cooperation, ending with commitment.

As part of a team, we expect you to want to do what you need to do to make your life fulfilling and we understand that as individuals, you have your own way of getting there.  But in setting goals for 2010, you each must consider strongly what it is you want in life, how you expect to achieve it, and how these decisions affect those who surround you.  Just as you need others to fulfill your goals, others depend on your reciprocal efforts as well.  In fire and emergency services, those team goals should revolve around committing to a willingness to serve others, as well as showing compassion for the people we serve.  There are many ways for us all to achieve that.  More importantly, however, as a leader, you should demonstrate to your team that the best way to get there is to always seek to do the right thing, to maintain dignity for our personnel as well as for our customers, and to excel at what we do.

All of us in the emergency service community should agree that it is never okay to just mail it in; we must agree to be THE BEST at doing our jobs.  Not only do the lives of our customers depend on our excellence, our own lives do as well.  I hear so often among our brotherhood a desire for the profession of “firefighter” to regain the trust and respect of the community that we had in the “old days”, but there must be a return to the values we held dearly then in order to regain that feeling.  So long as we allow immature and irresponsible individuals to continue to join our ranks (and be the visible face of our profession), WE CAN’T EXPECT A RETURN TO THAT SENTIMENT.

So the short form of it is this: we can all expect that we will be setting goals in our lives, in one fashion or another, so why not evaluate your needs and formalize those goals so you have a concrete vision of what it is you care to achieve in a month, a year, or five years.  After doing so, look at the people whose lives you touch, and determine whether your goals help them to meet their own goals as well. Then, set a goal of helping others, not just your families and friends and employers, but our entire profession, in an effort to bring honor and pride to our ranks again, through cooperative and meaningful pursuit of excellence.  If doing so means that you just stay out of trouble for a year, or if doing so means that you come up with a new way to fight fires, in either case, our mutual efforts toward keeping the good name of our brotherhood just that, will make us all the better.

It is my most earnest hope that each of you have a successful and blessed New Year, with health and happiness to all of your friends and family.  In any case, I hope we can all work together and re-establish our profession as one which takes the little bit that we get and uses our ingenuity and work ethic to solve the problems of our neighbors.  But we need everyone on board to be, well, on board.  Have a safe New Year.

Posted by truck6alpha on December 30, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, change, leadership, motivation, officership, planning, professionalism • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Inflammatory Language

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This was a response I placed on FFN in answer to some statements being made about the fire service:

In 2008, there were 1,148,850 firefighters in the U.S., according to Karter and Stein’s U.S. Fire Department Profile report. With three reported “noose” incidents and a certain number of “other racist” incidents that may be out there, I would hardly believe that this translates into the Fire Service deserving of a comparison to the KKK. In fact, I am, have always been, and always will, be repulsed by any racism, sexism, or any other form of bigotry within what is supposed to be a “brotherhood”. The only thing white going on my head is my leather.

While blogging is relatively informal and held to a lesser standard of editorial responsibility, writers still have to understand that comments like these (whether or not she meant to inflame the readership and drive hits) are irresponsible. I’m not calling for her job or a boycott of FIRE RESCUE, but I certainly believe she owes everyone an apology.

As a blogger, I believe I have said things to make people think, and I know I have said things that may have been controversial, but never have I said anything that would be considered an insult to the overwhelming majority of firefighters who serve this Nation on a daily basis. I know there have been moments when I have been tempted to shake things up with a statement before, to see if anyone is paying attention, but there needs to be at least a tiny bit of journalistic integrity when you are blogging, else you are just part of the “Wild Wild West” with all the other trolls and morons out there.

WC is trying to do a job, just like the rest of us. I know on some issues that sometimes things sneak by you and sometimes you catch them. Should we ban free speech? Certainly not. Should we ban shouting “fire” in a crowded theatre? Yes.

If you are writing something simply to create angry responses and overwhelmingly emotional controversy just to drive traffic, maybe you need to be banned. But since I don’t know that to be fact, I think maybe we need to all be a little more responsible with what we say, ignore the trolls, and act like grown-ups.

Posted by truck6alpha on December 17, 2009 • Filed under: leadership • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Command Presents

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Hilton Head Island Fire Station 7

Hilton Head Island Fire Station 7

It’s that time of the year that we hear the word “presents” often enough to make your ears bleed, so I was wondering if my misuse of the word “presents” got your attention. Apparently it did, or you wouldn’t be reading this now.  Or maybe you didn’t notice.   If you didn’t notice, go and look again: when we speak of “command presence”, we speak of the characteristics of the person in charge to lead from a strong, visible, and decisive point of view, not “presents” like a gift.  Having strong leader-like characteristics  as part of your daily personality could be a “present”, if your job is to be a leader.  It also could be very annoying to the people around you.

According to my family and friends, acquaintances, and the Myers-Briggs (and every other psych profile I’ve ever gone through), I exhibit decisive, directive behavior as part of my normal personality.  More often than I care to, my “command presence” comes out when I’m talking with my wife (she doesn’t like it), my kids (they’re not crazy about it either), or my colleagues (they probably think I’m insufferable anyway).  This just goes to show you there is a time and place for everything.  Explaining to your daughter the intricacies of math, for one, is probably not a good time to be strong, visible and decisive.

Likewise, when you are leading firefighters into emergency situations, it is not a time to be easy-going, reserved, and willing to compromise.  There are those out there who are; they are also the ones with crews free-lancing, poor accountability, mixed commands, and poor coordination.  These are also the ones who get people hurt and killed.

While you don’t have to be the second coming of Field Marshal Rommel, you should understand that the fireground or rescue scene is the place where only one person can be in charge.  Coupled with the observation that leadership abhors a vacuum, you can probably understand that if you fail to establish a clear picture of who is in charge, someone else will.  It’s not the act of having a fist fight to decide who that is; the only person who can be in charge is the legally responsible incident commander.  How that decision is made is pertinent to the laws of your jurisdiction, but if you have someone who can’t command, they probably shouldn’t be in that position.

All too often, I see failure in company officers who are “best buds” with their troops on a daily basis, and then can’t understand why there’s so much chaos on their incident scene.  It is simply because those people don’t necessarily see you as the “alpha dog”.  To them, you are just another “member of the pack”.  Other members of the pack don’t call the shots, the alpha dog does.  And like I said, if you aren’t filling that role, someone else is.  That person will also be the one that when things go south, everyone turns toward for the answers.

In this time of giving, give your subordinates a lesson in leadership.  Your leadership should set a positive example, a role model, if you will, for your aspiring officers.  Command and control is important on the emergency scene and failing to work with that does not instill confidence in the abilities of the IC.  It is essential that not only do your charges see you as a leader on the scene, but in the station as well, for if they do not, on the scene is a bad place for them to convince them of that.  Make it a “present” to the people you are responsible for teaching and watching over.  Give them the tools to lead others, and they will hopefully show you that they trust your leadership, and when the time comes, they will walk on that path as well.

Posted by truck6alpha on December 10, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Nation, Firefighting Operations, Major Incidents, US&R, command, education, leadership, officership, professionalism, rescue, safety • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

The Source of “IT”

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webDSC01964I think I may have found the source of “IT”.  It is a passion, a desire to elevate whatever you do to art form.  A few weekends ago I got to see it first-hand; in the form of a fourth-generation Iranian American rug importer, a sixty-year old rock musician, and a business owner/mother of three.

A few years ago, I was paid one of the highest compliments I ever experienced from a fellow fire service professional.  I was first beginning to blog and this professional said that he wanted to get to know me better because ANOTHER fire service professional who had read my posts told him that I was “someone who gets IT”.  I was pleased to hear this, but it piqued my curiosity as to what was truly “IT”.

So what is “IT” with a capital I-T?  In my opinion, IT is the headwaters, the origin, the core.  The first chapter of the Tao Te Ching describes IT as being the “unnamable source”:

The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao

The name that can be named is not the eternal name

The unnamable is the eternally real.

Naming is the origin of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.

Caught in desire, you only see the ramifications.

Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source.

This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.

The gateway to all understanding.

I was honored to visit with an importer of fine rugs, rugs that transcend flooring; rugs that are truly art form.  As we sat together on stacks of his family’s recent creations, I interviewed him about the origins of 200-plus year old rugs that surrounded us, accompanied by pictures of great-grandfathers and grandfathers gone by.  The rugs on his walls said more about the craftsmanship and artistry of a century of skilled designers than the many awards, in fact, the most in the industry, gracing his foyer.

I happened to attend a concert by a musician who, even after his 60thbirthday, refuses to mail it in.  I have seen thirteen of his performances over 10 years and I have never seen him take a five minute break while playing over three hour sets and jumping, sliding, running, cheering, etc.  His work ethic, he has said, can be directly attributed to his love for what he does and the examples of his working class parents.  He knew from early on he wanted to be a rock musician.  In fact, in his autobiography by Dave Marsh, he is credited with knowing as early as high school what exactly it was he wanted to do, how he committed his efforts to learning his craft.  His mother, knowing how much he wanted this, bought him a guitar when he was sixteen, which was a major sacrifice on her part.  Talk about return on investment.

A woman who, undeterred by others with less vision, put together a company to reflect her exacting eye for detail and has been considered a leader not only in her industry, but in her community as well.  Despite the lack of effort put in by others around her, she would stay at work until eight or nine in the evening trying to keep the company afloat.  She did this not out of necessity (other than keeping her job, as she had no financial stake in the company), but out of loyalty and a desire to help her colleagues remain employed.  When it was just painfully obvious that no matter what her effort, the owner would not regard her with the respect he gave to yes-men and poor performers, she left with no protection and established her own enterprise.  She is now employing others and giving to others through her efforts and her company is considered to be a standard of excellence.

Although I know only the stage persona of the musician and the rug importer has been an acquaintance for years, I know the woman as my wife, Kathleen.  In watching and somewhat studying each, I find that there are some constants in their success; those of an incredible work ethic, a devotion to what they do as art form, and a dedication to doing what is good and right in contrast to those who only do for themselves.  They also have high standards for themselves and hold themselves and the others around them to that ideal, and in doing so, elevate everyone close to them.

People become good at what they do as a result of passion.  They choose to learn all about that part of their lives and focus on learning about what is considered good and right in their profession and they know to avoid the things that are not.  They don’t associate with the things that are considered amateurish or petty, but live in the now and they note what is new and innovative, and they reject that which is not, or they weave it into something revolutionary.

When you chose this thing, firefighting, as a calling, be it career or volunteer, did it seem to be something to pass the time or was it something to invest in – and by investing, mean your time, your patience, and your passion?  Do you find yourself now in the ranks of the unconsciously competent, doing the job so well that you are on a whole other playing field than others? If so, maybe you have finally reached the unknowable, but if you are like me, you probably find yourself a lifetime student of the game.

“IT” is the unknowable, the unreachable, but it is the usefulness of the darkness.  It wants to be filled and even like in a cave, where you shine in a light, that light only illuminates what you happen to be looking at.  Yet there is the whole rest of the cave, the outer reaches unable to be covered by the light, and even with more light, there will continue to be the areas covered in shadow.  To completely illuminate the cave and to see everything is going to require an entirely amazing amount of light that we probably can’t even imagine, and even then, there will be dark places.

When you get “IT”, you understand that.  You know that there will always be more to learn and no matter what amount of light you bring in, there will still be more to learn and different sources to learn it from.  There is a certain amount of humility in someone who understands this, because they know that even in the least likely places, they might find more to comprehend.  Continue to remain open to all and you might begin to see anew.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 28, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Training & Development, change, leadership, motivation, politics, professionalism, rebellion • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Playing With Sharp Objects

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webIMG_1668Recently I was dwelling on an inventory of stupid and dangerous things I have done in the past. Since the list was way too long to go on about, I began to wonder why I did those things.  While some of them were from my youth (like jumping off a roof with an umbrella), and some were from my bachelorhood (getting my Suzuki GS750E up to very unsafe speeds), it occurred to me that a lot of them occurred during my adolescence after watching the movie “Hooper“.  At no time during any of those periods did I have a suicide wish- I didn’t WANT to die- but in my mind, I hadn’t really given it much thought.  I hadn’t fully considered the consequences.

You can put the dangers out in front of someone in back and white.  You can paint the picture for them in classes and education.  You can bore them to death with your blog, like I do.  I think that what it really comes down to, though, is that unless you have a very graphic experience with death and understand not only the implications on you, but on others, I don’t think most people can really grasp the message.

There is a lot to be said for working in our business.  I have seen my share of people ejected from vehicles to convince me that wearing a seatbelt is a good thing.  I have seen enough burned homes to understand that being fire safe will head off a lot of heartache.  But no matter what, we have people who ride in fire apparatus without seatbelts and won’t keep their fire station free of hazards, and then they wonder how they end up on the national news wire.  Risk vs. benefit doesn’t have to be limited to the fireground.

I enjoy fighting fires, but some of the fires I used to fight still baffle me.  I have literally put everything on the line for an unsavable building before and to what end?  They tore down the building later.  But we still have people charging into fires, like they just want to roll in it for a little while.  Well, the excitement of the fire is one thing, but I’ve actually seen what a fire can do to someone, so you’ll have to excuse my reluctance to get up close with it and get to know it better.

As emergency service leaders, we need to remind ourselves that just because we used to play in the street when we were kids doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.  Riding on tailboards and charging into unsafe buildings was fun until we saw people dying from those decisions.  Be the grown-up and help point out to your personnel that just because things used to be one way, we have actually learned from our mistakes and it only makes sense to avoid these problems in the future.  Revisiting them for experience’ sake isn’t fun, it’s just stupid.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 23, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Training & Development, leadership, officership, professionalism, safety • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

The Thanks of a Nation

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webDSC01875Author’s Note: I updated this post from the original due to what looked like, in hindsight, to be mostly whining.  My apologies to those of you subjected to the original garbage.

Maybe it’s the observation that many of the politicians who are quick to take credit for the nation’s preparedness are slow to ever visit a fire station, or maybe it’s my expectation that instead of having to beg for the table scraps that our law enforcement brethren leave for us, we might also get a seat at the main table, but I just don’t see the fire service gaining the amount of respect that we deserve for the sacrifices we make.  And if you’ve been following this blog for any period of time, you’ll know that I am fully cognizant of the reason why.

We have friends in high places that can help us.  Despite your individual politics, Vice-President Joe Biden has long proven his support of the fire service, and there are others out there who are as well.  If you don’t want the fire service to continually get what’s left over; if you are tired of watching FIRE and SAFER grants get thinner and thinner; if you expect that the fire service should be considered for a bigger piece of the decision-making that goes on in our homeland defense, I’d suggest you get involved.  Learn what legislation is pending that affects the fire service, what is beneficial and what is detrimental, and call your Representatives and Senators.  Join the Congressional Fire Services Institute and support our efforts to get help from the government in furthering our mission.  Participate at the National Fire Academy and make sure your elected officials know how valuable it is to us.

While we speak here on Firehouse Zen about change and progress, tradition is good when it comes down to the meaningful things, like our history and our preservation of the courage and sacrifice of our brothers who have gone before us.  One of the beautiful traditions of our service is the recognition of a job well done and award of something meaningful to most of us.  I knew this method of conveying our certificate upon us was going to happen, so it wasn’t a surprise.  And regardless, the best thing I honestly took away from this experience was the friendship and the sharing with some of the finest people I will ever know, which in and of itself is one of the best traditions of our job.  But over the last ten years, the current method of awarding you your certificate says to me that our government thinks so much of our efforts that they wad up a certificate in a cardboard tube and ship it off.

What do we need to do to end this and other shots at the fire service?  Get involved and show them we are here.  We need to work together and stop shooting ourselves in our collective feet in order to agree on some basic principles and move forward.  We need to agree on at least some things, and put them out there, and not pull everything off the table when our pet project doesn’t get funded.  We need to work together as a team, and get our government to understand that we will not be going away anytime soon.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 19, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, DHS, FEMA, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Funding & Staffing, National Fire Academy, change, fire service, government, leadership, motivation, politics, professionalism • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

An Atmosphere of Trust

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webMen of Iron BW 2

You want that hole WHERE?

Having worked my normal 24 hour shift, I got up at 0530 and went to the station’s kitchen to make a pot of coffee.  As I stood there, filling the pot with water, I realized that the crew’s dinner kitty was still sitting there on the counter.  Although it wasn’t much, it made me think about the trust that you find (or don’t find) in some firehouses.  It contrasted with a discussion I overheard about one shift raiding the other shift’s fridge just the day before.  Now while most of our stations are “hardened” facilities and require an ID card for entry, I remember when we could leave the place wide open and never have to worry about anything being touched.  In this day and age, not only do we need to worry about some mutt walking in while we were on a call and stealing a laptop (it happened to one of our guys), we have to worry about the criminal elements who want our ID, uniforms, or even a vehicle, so they can pose as a firefighter.

Trust, however, is a pretty interesting concept of its own.  As a leader, you have to earn the trust of the troops.  And as I pointed out, twenty years of being their buddy can go right out the window if you hose them on one thing.  I’ve found that it’s better to be circumspect than to lie to another firefighter.  If you just can’t talk about it, you might as well lead off by saying that, because if you try to act like you are bringing them in on “the scoop” but you can’t tell them the full details, your credibility is shot.

I look at the way my crews trust me in differing degrees.  Do they trust me to command them going into a burning building or to guide them at a building collapse or a confined space incident?  I’d guess most of them do since I’ve never had them second-guess me on a scene.  Do they trust me on most things?  I’d guess they do.  Do they trust that I’ll get the roster right in the morning.  I’d bet much less so (I’m notorious for having to re-send everyone the “amended” roster).  But whatever you do, you had best build credibility in the areas you want them to find you credible in, because if you don’t, your word is crap.

I know company officers (and chief officers) who simply aren’t trusted.  The guys may like them, they may have a beer with them, but get them aside and they’ll tell you, “This officer isn’t trustworthy”.  They may feel like the officer has got their back on daily things but just can’t trust them to make the right decision on the fireground.  And on the fireground, when people have the possibility of being injured or killed, you’d better bet that if you are leading a crew, a section, or the entire incident, you’d better have some credibility.  Because do you know what happens when you don’t have credibility?  No one will listen to you.

When elements of mistrust exist on a regular basis between the troops and the brass, those factors simply add to frustration levels that always exist anyway between these two dynamics.  If you are an officer trying to increase team morale and trying to slow down the rampant rumor mill, you’ll find that deep at the seat of these sentiments lies that mistrust.  Be it that the previous leaders were untrustworthy, or that others have continued to fuel the conspiracy theories for their own amusement, in any case, so long as your people fail to trust you, no amount of money, new trucks, etc. will stop the train.  It requires making that leap to show them that you can be trusted.  In exhibiting your faith in them, hopefully they can begin to have some faith in you.

Maintaining this kind of relationship requires a lot of work.  From first-hand knowledge, it can often be frustrating.  I am a “firefighter’s firefighter” (or at least I hope that’s how my people see me) and I still walk the walk as much as talk the talk.  Yet when I pinned on those chief’s bugles, it didn’t matter that some of these individuals have known me and what I am about for decades: I’m a chief now.  The whole element of trust seemed to have to begin from scratch and work its way back to the same level it was at when I was a Captain, I guess.

The problem is that for as much as you try to show these people that you are only interested in doing the right thing, because of years of mistrusting anyone in a white helmet, they don’t feel comfortable putting their trust in you.  Firefighters pride themselves in being a cynical bunch; show me one firefighter worth his or her salt and I’ll show you that they have a skeptical eye about pretty much any subject that presents itself.  It’s a survival mechanism.  While others pride themselves in seeing a half-full glass, we fully expect that the glass is half-full alright: with an unknown toxic.  Firefighters require everyone and every incident to prove it is safe to trust first, and only then will they dip their toes into the pool.  So an understanding of that culture requires actually living it because the lack of “street cred” automatically targets you as being an outsider and unable to be trusted.

We as leaders must work hard to develop a space of trust.  Of all of the qualities of a leader, trust is most important.  Frankly, no one is going to follow you if they don’t trust that you’re going to take them someplace they want to go.  While you may have all kinds of degrees and certificates, there’s nothing other than setting an example for your troops that is going to teach them that they can follow you and that they can trust that they’ll survive the experience.  If you are trying to change your organizational culture and continually meeting resistance, chances are that your either personnel aren’t mature enough to appreciate that individuals are different and new  leadership isn’t automatically to be distrusted (until you’ve done something to break that trust already), or because no one has ever given them a reason in the past to let go of their fears and follow you.  In both cases, it’s going to require you to stand in front and establish that relationship or understand that you need to develop a thick skin, because the sniping will never end.  Standing up and setting an example seems to be the most productive means of accomplishing the mission.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 15, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Training & Development, command, customer service, government, leadership, officership, professionalism, revolution, safety • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Fixers

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webIMG_1675

How can we help you today?

Are you a fire department or are you an EMS service?  Do you do both?  The knee-jerk reaction I sometimes get was one coined by a previous chief, “We are an EMS agency providing fire service”.  In fact, it sounds so clever that there are a vocal few who like to throw that out there time and time again, like they were the ones who originally came up with the concept (they’re paramedics, so they’re a little biased, I’m sure).

Something I said in a much earlier blog bears repeating:  customer relations are essential for any department operating in this day and age.  There are those who continue to disagree with the use of the word “customer” when referring to those who use our service.  Respectfully, I also continue to insist that just because they don’t walk into your shop and buy something doesn’t mean they don’t have a choice in using your service.  Taxpayers may not be able to change providers, but with enough votes, they can radically change your organization.

The world can change overnight.  If you think the current model of how we provide service is going to last another 200 years, think again.  As our customers become more educated and expect more innovation from government, look for them to insist on ways we can do things better.  We need to continuously and constantly evaluate our direction and possibly even reinvent  our concepts in order to stay out front.  Good customer service revolves around recognizing the needs of our customers and using our skills, abilities and past experience to improve service quality and to provide excellent service.

As has happened over really the last thirty years, our industry has evolved into one that defies definition, one that more and more reflects all-hazard response.  I’m going to go on record to say that I’m even confused as to what to call us anymore.  There’s a famous paragraph in Report From Engine 82 (Dennis Smith) that I’ll paraphrase, because I can’t remember it exactly.

In this city, when you turn on a wall switch, you may or may not get a light.  When you turn a faucet, you may or may not get water.  If you pick up a phone, you may or may not get a dial tone.  But everybody knows that if you pull the handle on that red box, you WILL get a fire truck.

The purpose of my poorly remembered paraphrasing of that statement was to illustrate that times have not changed from when the book was published in 1972; just substitute “call 9-1-1″ for “pull the handle on that red box”.  But what we have become has, as we become EMTs and HAZMAT Technicians and Water Rescue Technicians and etc., etc.  I read “Report” cover to cover when it first came out (I was eight- I’m a good reader) and the context of that paragraph has stuck with me forever.  Dennis Smith points out in his story how the fire department was used to handle plumbing issues, to handle overdoses, and to handle pretty much anything up to and including, things that happen to be burning.

So back to customer service; what is our mission?  Why do we exist?  If your answer is, “To protect people from fire” or “To help the sick and injured”, I’d suggest that maybe you should reconsider all of those calls that don’t meet that definition as distracting you from that mission.  If you’re anything like me and the organization I work for, I’d say that not handling those calls is probably counter to the needs of your community.  And what your mission should really be, is defined by those needs.

When someone dials 9-1-1 (or whatever they dial in your community), they do so because they have a problem they can’t handle themselves (or should I say they don’t know how to handle), they don’t have the resources to handle the problem, and they don’t have anywhere to turn for an answer.  Obviously, you are saying, “Well, if my pipes are leaking, why wouldn’t I call the plumber?”  Again, think about the ENTIRE situation.  Maybe they can’t afford a plumber.  Maybe they can’t find a plumber to come out.  Maybe they are totally freaked out by the situation and not thinking clearly.  There are many answers to the question, but the long and short of it is, they trust YOU to help them solve the problem and YOU are the people they call.

So what I’m telling you is that our job REALLY is to respond to a request for help, gather facts about the problem, analyze the options, apply a solution, and ultimately, stabilize the situation.  We may not FIX the problem, but when we leave, things should at least be stable.  We really don’t need doctor-wannabes or adrenaline junkies for our job, what we need are people who can look at any situation and understand the situation, then apply creativity using the resources at hand (either on site or on that BRT you brought) to stabilize their situation.  And further along that line, we’re not asking these individuals to rebuild the house, we’re asking them to stop the forward progress of the damaging element (or disease process or whatever it is) and return some means of order to chaos.  We’re not building a piano here, we’re improvising and hopefully we’ll come out with something that can at least pass for a musical instrument of some sort.

What should our business be called?  What is it that we do?  How can we possibly have meaning in our life if we don’t have a label or title for our life’s ambition?  When I hear of the trash guy being called a “Sanitation Technician”  or a dog-walker a “Pet Care Specialist”, I wonder what title really defines what it is we do.  What it really comes down to is that everyone recognizes the title for your job more than you could ever know.  When someone asks me what I do for a living, I answer, “I’m a Firefighter”.  The knowing look on their faces and the subsequent questions about my job, my worst call, my most stupid call, etc. confirm for me that most everyone understands what our job is really all about.  Now the bigger goal is to get those of us who do it to understand that as well.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 12, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, HazMat, Major Incidents, Media Relations, Special Operations, Training & Development, US&R, change, customer service, fire service, firefighting, leadership, motivation, officership, politics, professionalism, rescue, revolution • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

You

1 comment
Be Yourself.

Be Yourself.

A friend of mine posted this quote from Eckhart Tolle on Facebook the other day and it seemed appropriate for the times:

“The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, person and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you.”

I know of officers who seem like they have to go overboard in order to satisfy their ego.  Then in thinking about it, is it ego or insecurity?  Do they feel like they need to compensate for their lack or knowledge, their fears, or their timidity?  Is it a gender or race issue?

I tell my children all the time: “Be yourself”. It’s the one thing that is genuine and no one can take it away from you unless you give them permission to.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 10, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, change, leadership, motivation, officership, professionalism • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Being On The Top

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bomb reducedWhile reading the ongoing saga in PG County last week, Dave Statter’s interview with Jerry Engle brought forth a quote that honestly, made me cringe: “When you are the best fireman in the county and you come from Kentland, I mean, yeah, everyone’s going to try to knock you off the pedestal.”

Although I have a lot of pride in my contributions to the fire service and I continuously strive to be as good as I can be, I certainly have no delusions that I am the best, and even if I were, I certainly wouldn’t make a quote like that, knowing what kind of fire that will draw on you.   Although I am no psychoanalyst, it is this type of personality who we see from time to time in our business that really worries me.  These types seem to exhibit a serious need for being the center of attention, just like with the clown haircut, the clown car, and the clown attitude.   But there’s a big difference from being “on top” and being “over the top”.

There’s a reason why people can’t stand showboating. It’s a graphic statement of “it’s my world and you are just living in it.” Maybe some of you love Chad Ochocinco and T.O. Most of us (like I do) think it would be nice if they just disappear. Especially when you consider for as much talent as they might have, if not for the blocking of the line, the accuracy of the pass, and the playcalling of the coach, that talent is useless. If you think you’re a fire service God, think again. This job is as much about team as any job, if not much, much, more. A lack of teamwork on the field means someone doesn’t succeed. Lack of teamwork on our part might mean that one of us dies.

Personally, I’d rather be a good player on a team of good players, where our collective efforts produce excellent results. I like sharing that feeling of accomplishment with others. But being on top alone is, well, lonely. And when things go bad, if you are alone on top, regardless of how good you are, people are a lot less likely to throw you a rope on your way to the bottom. After all, you’re the best, remember? Let’s see how you get out of this one alone.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 9, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, News, leadership • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Use of Faith-Based NGOs As Disaster Response Partners

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tfcc_pano1For some of the new readers here, not only is Firehouse Zen about enlightened leadership, it is about management issues and creative solutions to ongoing problems in the emergency service industry.  If you are a long-time reader, you may recall our discussions in the past regarding disaster response and credentialing, and in an effort to dip back into some of the issues of disaster management, I’d like to point you all toward the excellent website of the Natural Hazards Research Center at the University of Colorado – Boulder.

In their latest issue of Disaster Research, there is an article regarding government response and recovery and the increase in governmental partnerships with faith- and community-based organizations to assist in cleaning up catastrophes.  In the recent past, we have seen ineffective response from certain portions of government that have assumed responsibility for this service at the local, state and federal levels.  I don’t think anyone who works in our field and  is taken seriously about their views on the subject feels like “government” alone can deliver an entire package of assistance to a disaster-stricken community.  However, there is plenty of debate about how to most effectively coordinate assistance in the wake of a calamity.

Of all things in our industry, our frustration with failure of some politicians to continue to apply heat (and funding) to the problem BEFORE disaster strikes is only compounded by the political “outrage” when disaster occurs and we are accused with not properly preparing in advance (still with limited or no budget or legislative action on our behalf).

In an answer to some of these challenges, some state and local governments are forming coalitions that guide organizations providing emergency response. Missouri, Florida, Texas, and a few others have, according to a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, begun to develop alliances between emergency managers and NGOs.

There are many discussions regarding the potential for blurred church and state separation which can’t even begin to be adequately addressed in a short blog post.  However, those issues aside, NGOs over the past decade have been efficiently providing disaster recovery assistance and have been successful in finding resources that governmental bodies can’t seem to scare up.

This discussion doesn’t also begin to factor in the entire over-reliance on “outside” help in the event of disaster.  This was a point made by Alan Kirschenbaum in earlier works referring to the growth of the disaster response community that seem to be related to the decline in perception of individual responsibility for preparedness.

While this all has some serious discussion ahead of it, I have less of a problem with this type of assistance than I do with pseudo-qualified responders self deploying to events with little or no capability or self-sufficiency.  I think there are plenty of avenues for a person with altruistic motives to get involved with an organized response; it’s the poseurs and con-men I’m interested in keeping away.

I’m open to some observations on the subject.  I think if managed correctly, these NGOs have access to resources currently limited to those of us charged with response, and we should take advantage of creative partnerships, as the organizations I am affliliated have already done.  Look around your community and identify capability that lies outside of the conventional response.  You’ll be surprised by the resources that lie out there and I think you’ll find that instead of spending essential funds on assets that already exist, you can find better uses for that money in areas that are currently underserved.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 4, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, DHS, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Funding & Staffing, Major Incidents, NIMS, National Fire Academy, Special Operations, US&R, USAR, credentialing, government, leadership, planning, politics, revolution • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Distance Separates Us

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ladder talk webDistance separates us.  Of course it does, you are probably thinking.  That’s not that much of a revelation.  But distance separates us all the more so because by being distant, or more so, by not being alike, it also indicates a schism between you and I.  The fire and emergency services are united in our history, but at some point we evolved into many different representations of the same idea: service to others.  As to whether that space can be broached or not is the big question.  While we can all claim brotherhood and a desire to do this job, whether we are career or not; whether we are urban or not; whether we provide EMS or not; and a whole host of other differences keep us from effectively saying “We Are One”.

Over the past decade, the efforts Dave Iannone and Chris Hebert have put together brought a lot of us old crusties to the digital age.  These innovative experiences took firefighters (and non-firefighters) from around the world and brought us closer together.   But while this has been a good thing because I now know and can better understand the perspectives of a volunteer firefighter in Moosejaw, AK as well as a firie in New South Wales, Australia, it is saddening because I see some of what I had hoped not to see.

Although I was first promoted to officer rank in 1985, I’m afraid I wasn’t a very good officer.  Sure I could run tactics and make sure people were doing their jobs, but I lacked maturity and looking back on it, depth.   In 1988, my eyes were opened.  During a weekend seminar on Fire Service Leadership, Chief Harry Diezel (Ret, Virginia Beach Fire Department) opened my eyes and put me on the path that I have since continued along.  Twenty years ago, this guy said that networking was one of the single most important elements of leading. Yes, twenty years ago.

I quickly found out what firefighting was and was not about.  In that one class, I realized that there was firefighting, there was being a fire officer, and there was fire service leadership.  While I never had the opportunity to work with Chief Diezel, his words have never left me.  Although some of his ideas still are met with resistance from some of our colleagues and did that weekend from people in the class, the ideas have only been confirmed over the years to me as his concept of emergency service delivery made Virginia Beach one of the model departments of the Eighties.  Over the years, people like Howard Cross, a legendary instructor at the National Fire Academy, have also reinforced those concepts to me.

Like these individuals did for me, I have always wanted to do for others.  Firehouse Zen is part of that legacy.  I want others to look at this job with renewed perspective, to comprehend, rather than simply demonstrate knowledge.  To understand, rather than to just repeat memorized information.  To seek alternatives, to improve, and to be about positive change rather than to be about the status quo.

FireEMSBlogs.com is just a natural evolution of sharing this body of knowledge.  Dave and Chris have done a tremendous job to bring us together and to allow us to share experiences, to bond, and to better appreciate the situation each of us must face daily.  We have, however, light years ahead of us and so long as we refuse to acknowledge that our differences are actually a good thing, we will never be united.

To effect change, we must seek to understand.  To understand, we have to be presented with knowledge and that knowledge comes from others.  As the internet bridges the miles and brings our world closer together, we are finding that we share a lot more than we thought we had in common, and yet we also find ourselves unwilling to accept the views of others and even assault those who happen to share a contrarian view.  In order to grow, it is imperative that we open our minds and take the tools we are given, and use them to the best advantage.  Do us all a favor this year; point a colleague toward some of the networking opportunities out there, especially the one afforded by FireEMSBlogs.com, and tell them that there’s no time like the present to start working toward tomorrow.

Posted by truck6alpha on November 4, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Firefighter Nation, National Fire Academy, Training & Development, change, education, leadership, politics, professionalism, revolution • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Engagement

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hose reducedI was going through back issues of T+D Magazine and came upon an article by Paula Ketter, “What’s The Big Deal (About Employee Engagement)” .  In it, Ketter states: “Engagement is all about creating a culture where people do not feel misused, overused, underused, or abused”.  That’s a pretty tall order for the cultures of some organizations, it seems. Doesn’t  it seem like there’s a always a certain amount of frustration from people in the fire service regarding their own organization and how their department meets one of these criteria? It’s always a case of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, but when you work around agencies other than your own for any period of time, you find they have their downsides as well.

Ketter explains that engagement can be directly related to individual, group, and organizational performance.   We as leaders are challenged constantly to improve our service in regard to productivity, retention, turnover, customer service, and loyalty.  Maybe it’s time we paid more attention to how we can motivate our personnel and get them passionate about their jobs, to the point where they feel the organization values their participation.

People become dissatisfied with their current situation (job, home life, friends, etc.) when they feel like they meet those descriptors (misused, overused, underused, or abused).  Suffice it to say, people who feel like the leadership of their organization doesn’t respect or value them are probably experiencing the same situation as someone contemplating a divorce.  If some of your personnel feel like they are in one of these dysfunctional situations, they may be inclined to make that leap away from the organization.  In a time where people are trying to keep their jobs, you’d think that it would be easy to keep personnel. I’d suggest to you otherwise, that especially in this economy, since the disengaged people won’t leave, they’ll just continue to stay.  When the situation becomes toxic enough, they’ll also poison others as well.

If you are a volunteer, you’ve been trying to recruit and retain personnel for the last decade.  It’s even more important for the volunteer fire service to engage your people (or perspective members) because really, that positive environment is the only real compensation they’re getting anyway.  Since there is no real financial loss to these people for leaving, within a period of their unhappiness with the situation, they’ll find something out there that is more rewarding to them in one way or another.

Those of us who still have employment in this economy I’m sure are grateful we still have jobs and don’t need to be reminded about how lucky we are.  If the culture was bad to begin with and even now, continues to be intolerable, “Be glad you are still here”, isn’t what we want to hear and inevitably, the result is going to be disengaged personnel.  Regardless of what anyone thinks, individuals will always have options.  They may not be pleasant options, but you do have them, just the same.  The situation that becomes a problem though, is that when the heat gets so high that those less-pleasant options look more and more palatable, you will see turnover.  That turnover could very well be catastrophic turnover, especially if the people you lose are key players.  Once one person makes the leap, they give “permission” to others to make that leap.  As a leader, we really need to understand that if people are willing to make major changes in their life to get away from our team, there is likely a bigger problem than what lies on the surface, especially if we start seeing the numbers multiplying.

Part of the challenge of engagement is insuring that work is rewarding and fulfilling.  If all we are doing is punching a clock twice a day and our existence can’t be seen as contributing to society, we become disinterested and begin to feel like we have no value to others.  Furthermore, if we are banking on transactional leadership to sustain any hope of keeping the best people around, I suggest to you that at some point, it won’t be about the reward if they are that miserable.  When individuals feel like they are valued, they will do anything for you.  When individuals feel like they are valued, they will be reluctant to leave, even when better offers come around (it’s no guarantee they’ll stay, but they’ll be more apt to stay at least).

During the time I worked for one fire department, I used to hear some employees complain about the organization and the leadership regularly.  Yet when that Chief retired, those same individuals could be regularly referring to the “good old days” and how the previous Chief’s administration “treated us like family”.  While I wasn’t unhappy at that organization in either administration, I did observe that there wasn’t as much of the camraderie and friendship as had been in the past, but in retrospect, how much of that was now that we were a much larger department and while much of the leadership of the first administration was still there, they had to spread their “love” around to six stations now instead of two?  Of course there was resentment- the employees no longer felt like they had value.  For all those years of constant reinforcement, now they had to share it with even more “siblings”.  I think the biggest part of that feeling came from the employees getting less and less strokes and less and less positive reinforcement.  Individuals began to feel as if their work was not essential.  Furthermore, when people don’t live in the community in which they work, they can’t see the tangible results of their efforts, and likewise begin to experience a disconnect with their contributions.

Good leaders will add heat to the fire to motivate and challenge their personnel, while reinforcing their values and showing them that their efforts do matter.  The biggest part of creating an effective team is getting members to feel like they are part of a team.  If being part of an organization has no meaning to them, don’t be surprised if they are less engaged and subsequently less productive and passionate about their jobs.  To get people to buy into the culture, you have to be engaged yourself and show them that you value the positive environment, and instead of losing people, you give them permission to join you to achieve success.

Posted by truck6alpha on October 23, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , ,

Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative and Exclamatory

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I was helping my oldest daughter with her English homework and we were having a discussion of the four kinds of sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory.  In light of all of the rhetoric lately on a few items, (you know, the Chester Flag Incident, the DCFEMS Live Burn Incident, etc.- and it is just by sheer coincidence each of these are on STATter911, okay Dave?) it seems that maybe we need a little lesson in the different types of sentences in order to help everyone through these crises.

As a little refresher for some of us, here is what I’m talking about:

1. Declarative sentences make a statement.  They end in a period.

2. Imperative sentences can end in a period or in an exclamation point.

3. Interrogative sentences end in a question mark.

4. Exclamatory sentences end in an exclamation point, or for some of you out there, ALL CAPS.

Now understand, these are pretty general.  There are always exceptions to rules (like my sarcastically phrased interrogative statement that is actually an imperative statement; Standing in front of an obviously open compartment door while the driver is not paying attention to the fact that he has left the compartment door open, saying, “You did remember to shut that door, didn’t you?”).

Now for the most part, we here at FHZ like to use plenty of the interrogative when discussing items with you all.  I am really not in any position to discuss things with you declaratively, because I am not an expert on anything.  I do, however, have a lot of experience, so I like to use the Socratic method of teaching, that is, to throw out open questions to you like softballs and let you think about them as you slam them into the outfield.  Very rarely will you see me word anything in the exclamatory.  I’m an old-school kind of officer; I like for you to realize I am yelling at you without necessarily having to raise my voice (although from my earlier post about yelling, I’m sure you understand that this isn’t feasible all the time).  When writing though, I consider myself a master of the deftly-worded semi-sarcastic statement that makes you read it, then go back again and say, “I wonder if he’s calling me an idiot?”

Think of it as a little verbal Aikido.  If you know anything about the art of Aikido, you know that the underlying concept is to use the attacker’s momentum and redirect it, while also having deeper concern for the well-being of the attacker.  Most of the time when someone is being nasty, I really don’t wish you bad, I just wish you’d go away.  And while you’re at it, take this broken humerus as a reminder of this lesson.

But one thing I really can’t stomach is a bully, and for some reason, the internet brings them out of the closet in droves.  Honestly, to me, I think it has been said repeatedly (and I am in full agreement) that the relative anonymity of the internet gives some of these trolls courage.  It’s really the same way with society in general.  It’s when you know these people, I mean really know them, like they are your neighbor, or your co-worker, when you find a lot of that “courage” goes out the window.  Just like your basic road rage; while we are all probably tempted to flip off that terrible driver, it’s a whole different ballgame if you see him four pews over from your family in church every Sunday.

These bullies like to speak in the declarative and the imperative and often in the exclamatory, when really, they should be listening and speaking in the interrogative language, especially when we find out the “resident expert” has been on the job for three and a half years and has run a hundred calls in that time.  When someone like me, who has plenty of cred to back up anything I would like to proclaim in this business, says to you, “I’d like to hear what YOU think about it”, maybe some of you blue-light bandits or red-light raiders, or whatever you call your resident whacker, should take that as a hint that even with thirty years on the job, I’m still learning, and I take pride in saying that I can learn from anyone and on any day (sometimes its what NOT to do, but you see my point).  And it’s not a vollie thing or a career thing, it’s a “professional” thing.  I know plenty of vollies that can eat the career guys up on a fireground, but I know of plenty of vollies who like to talk a good game but can’t back it up when the excrement is flying, if you know what I mean.

When everyone in our business starts realizing that they don’t have all the answers, maybe then we’ll be a little more civil to one another and stop pontificating like some blowhard hypocrite politician or preacher, not that there are any of those out there.  But until then, plan on more of the same every year around the fire service, where something blows up and forty guys and gals sit around Monday Morning Quarterbacking it, not ever having actually faced that situation themselves.  And in the event that the day comes, those same trolls will probably be standing out by the engine with a wet spot in their bunkers, watching the rest of us doing our thing.

We need a little more understanding, not just in our business, but in society.  I’m one of the worst cynics there are out there, but I’m trying, I mean, I’m really TRYING to give people the benefit of the doubt, and some of these trolls just make it damned difficult.

Let’s just try to make one of those buddy pacts; like if I find myself getting ready to flame someone, I can call on you and you’ll talk me out of it, and vice-versa (”Hi, I’m Mick, and I’m a cynic.  I’ve gone 45 minutes without swearing under my breath and calling someone a total idiot.”).

It’s time we work together in our industry and work harder to educate everyone, not just in the basics of firefighting or rescue or EMS, or even in incident command, or anything fancy like that.  Just educate everyone in being better “brothers” and better co-workers and asking more questions and less telling people what to do or how they should think.  When you have unbelievable access to authors and bloggers like the ones here in FireEMSblogs.com and all over the internet (and in your library, etc.), why not take advantage of it?  There’s a lot to be gained from looking at different approaches to the same problems and learning if there is something we have in common, rather than shooting each other when things go wrong.

Posted by truck6alpha on October 20, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Qualities of a Leader

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Fire Critic this morning posted on top ten desired qualities of officers.   It links a lot of the ideas I have put forth to you in regard to leading and you should check it out and expound on it.  Enjoy.

Posted by truck6alpha on October 19, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership • Tagged: , , ,