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Crying For Help

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Over the past few days I have seen some news items that really point out the need for more comprehensive mental health assistance.  Between the situations with the firefighter threatening his co-workers in Kansas City and the police standoff with ex-Notre Dame defensive coordinator Corwin Brown at his home near South Bend, the subject seems to come up again and again.

Without a doubt, issues of mental health seem to  have always been one of those sensitive issues that no one would talk about.  However, there was an article in Sports Illustrated this past week about the Miami Dolphins' Brandon Marshall in which he has been candid about his mental health challenges.  His bravery in discussing the subject openly has been refreshing, as it is a message to others who have issues that they are not alone, and that seeking help is not a sign of weakness.

Any admission of mental incapacity is traditionally stigmatized but it really shouldn't be.  Mental health problems originate from a number of different sources, but especially now in our nation, everyone is subject to being overwhelmed.  The stress that I can personally sense with a number of people I know is higher than I have ever known it to be and I'm positive that anyone reading this probably knows their share of individuals who are struggling as well.  Between the roller coaster ride our economy is on, the overwhelming number of jobless, foreclosures, environmental disasters, terrorism, and other world wide concerns, even if you are normally pretty stable, in these times pretty much anything could be the final straw.

We spoke of inordinate stress reactions before in this forum, like back with the massacre in Arizona where a firefighter failed to respond to this incident.  There were plenty of people who were quick to judge but had no idea what the basic issues were.  I don't even know that we still have all the answers.  But while today you may feel like you have a grip on things, tomorrow could be the beginning of the end of your current world.  I heard a figure the other day that said that one out of every seven Americans right now is on the food stamp program.  I'm watching Dateline NBC as I am writing this, where Lester Holt is doing a piece on three women in Millen, GA and the effect the economic recession is having on this small town.

It's easy to be smug about how good your life is when things are going well.  It's easy to think that someone who is having a major crisis should just suck it up, because really, how bad can it be? Well, it is a testament to the maturity level of some of the trolls who prowl the web as to how quick they question someone's integrity because, say, they aren't half the Superman they happen to be.  Frankly, I have met some of the individuals who make statements that parallel the "We fight what you fear" mentality and you know, I question their sanity and their ability to fight fire more than anyone who has the courage to admit they need some help.

There is a dividing line between those who need institutional care and those who are in the midst of a crisis.  And while the grand arena is "mental health" and I am in no way qualified or knowledgeable to discuss the differences, there is an obvious need for people to be compassionate and understanding, because today's bad day could be tomorrow's nightmare.  Don't be so quick to make statements that question someone's dignity just because they have hit a wall.  I hope to never face those challenges myself and I hope you don't ever have to either.  If you need help, get help. And if you know someone who needs help, be a real leader and do what you can do to compassionately point them in the right direction.

Posted by on August 15, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, leadership • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Zen Zone #12

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The dichotomy of being "part of the gang" and being the leader the other day reminded me of a story: A student sought a teacher to instruct on the path to enlightenment. When the teacher agreed and indicated a meeting time, the student informed the teacher that he had a conflict, as he had another appointment with another teacher on that day.

The teacher then told the student he could not instruct him. "If you are hunting rabbits", the master told him, "and chase two, you can be sure to catch none."

Posted by on July 27, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, leadership • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Zen Zone #8

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I could make a case for purchasing snow removal equipment for our community based upon the "Blizzard of 1989".  We had six inches of snowfall on sunny Hilton Head Island over the Christmas weekend.  I could put chains on our apparatus.  I could even purchase a snow blower for my home.  Realistically, though, we never had such a significant snowfall before that day, nor have we seen it in over twenty years since.  

We have to carefully balance risk versus the likelihood of occurrence.  Of course, if it snows and I calculated that we didn't need snow removal gear, some will be quick to point out that I have no idea of what I'm doing.  If I buy snow removal gear, those same individuals will be quick to point out again that I have no idea what I am doing.  There are those who understand and there are those who do not.  If you are going to be the Chief, it helps to have thick skin.  But in the long run, do what is best for your customers; making decisions based on observation and experience is the key.

Posted by on July 19, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, leadership • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buddy or Boss?

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Occasionally in a new batch of officers, that dilemma is brought up.  "How can I be that officer I always looked up to, yet not alienate my friends?"  Well, here's the down and dirty; It can never be the same again.  A friendship is built upon a foundation of equality and trust.  And depending on the level of leadership you happen to be in, there are differences between the leader and the follower that transcend the ability to appreciate strategic vs. tactical decision making.  On a day to day basis, this relationship may not be an issue.  In the long run, however, I can guarantee you that you will be required to make a decision in the best interest of the whole that isn't going to sit well with a particular outlook, and that friendship will undergo some serious challenges.  

 I have heard all the arguments.  While you may be saying, "I'm currently friends with my supervisor and everything is fine", my response is that if this is the case, you are doing well.  Many bosses say they can remain objective, and fail miserably.  If your "friend/boss" would still call you in the office and read you the riot act just like he or she would to anyone else when you deserve it, then perhaps you are onto something.  And if you have that kind of relationship with your officer, I think it is great.  But it's like I have alluded to in a number of posts, these three simple rules of supervisor/subordinate relations must come to bear:

  1. I am your boss.
  2. If we can maintain that relationship and we can both be objective when it comes time to be, great, I'll be your friend too.  
  3. If not, see Rule 1.

If you are the informal leader of a group and suddenly, you are the boss, it is going to put an amazing strain on your relationships with these individuals unless you are willing to stand back from the emotion and do your job.  

Let's go back to a little comparison and contrast.  Think about being a parent of young children.  You can be a parent and make the occasionally tough decisions that leave your children angry with you and while it hurts, you know you are doing the right thing.  But you can't be their friend and do that: friends are equals, contemporaries, peers.  If you were to approach a sticky issue with your child as a friend, do you really believe for a second that they will respect your authority?  

If you are a truly enlightened leader, the whole point in having authority is to use it to lead, coach, educate, and direct others.  If you don't believe that to be true then maybe you should take a long look at your relationships in that regard.  That's not to say, again, that you can't be a friend to your child.  As individuals mature emotionally, they recognize logic and the difference between right and wrong.  They have experiences that permit you to engage them and they can learn on their own.  But in dealing with those who are ambivalent about the difference, or have immature tendencies, or simply lack experience in understanding the difference, if you act as a friend rather than as a parent, don't be overly surprised if your children make the wrong choices because you were overly permissive in the attempt to be their friend.

I have myself been guilty of allowing a friendly relationship to cloud my view of how an individual is performing, or in some cases, even in how I respond to their actions when I give them news they don't care to hear, or challenge them with a task they think is objectionable.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for team cohesion and I understand and encourage cohesion as a force multiplier.  But there is a delicate balancing point between cohesion and fraternization.  In an emotionally mature adult, the lines can blur a little more because individuals can process the logic.  In the less mature adult, sometimes what seems to be logical is instead addressed with a great deal of emotion.

As a boss, you will have to make decisions that are occasionally not well recieved by the troops, especially if you are the one who is pushing for change in organizational culture.  As we have also said repeatedly, change is not something that comes easily in a lot of cases.  If it were, it would happen all the time and without resistance.  Consider the fact that you can be an honest, fair, and educated boss that people like to work with, have a lot of respect for, and consider a "friend".  But ultimately, when the hard part of the job comes into view, part of having integrity as a leader is reaffirming to the troops that you will always act in the best interest not of the organization or the personnel, but in the interest of the customers you serve.  If you can do that, no decision you make will be wrong, and people may disagree, but will have to do so respectfully, because service to the customers is the ultimate objective.  

Do yourself a favor as well as your subordinates. Choose what is best to serve the customers you are charged with providing for.

Posted by on July 16, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, change, Command & Leadership, leadership • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Prankster As Leader – It Doesn’t Work

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As a follow up to some issues I discussed on my last post, I submit to you this case study:  I have never called our Dispatch to have anyone sent to a false alarm.  Years ago, however, I was prompted about the crew on one of our medic units at another station complaining all day about being the next on rotation for any out-of-town transports. When I called the station to ask a question on another matter, the officer asked me to call back and inform the medic crew that one of these transports were getting ready to go. Ultimately, when the prank was revealed, everyone had a good laugh.

A few shifts later, we did end up with one of these transports and the same crew was back on rotation.  I called the station to let the crew know what was going on.  I hung up from that and went back to my computer.  After a few minutes, I still hadn't heard the medic unit check in on the radio.  When I called the station to find out what was going on, I'll bet you know what the answer was. That day I learned a lesson the hard way.  The lesson: Don't give someone an order and then, when something unusual comes up, expect your orders to be followed without question.

Individuals who become supervisors, and subsequently leaders, must understand that when they play pranks like that, the result is that people don't see you as credible. I do have examples of officers who have been able to be pranksters and be credible, but they are VERY far and few between.  In retrospect, a friend and colleague who I consider one of the best officers I have ever worked with was one of those.  But my observation is that he had the ability to pull off pranks that didn't require his active involvement.  And while never calling attention to his ability to pull a fast one, he wasn't the class clown either.  

Conversely, there are those who when they pull off the joke, they have to be in the middle of it.  This obviously detracts from their respectability.  They are not seen as credible.  The crew just sees them as an extension of themselves, with some added paperwork responsibilities.  When it comes to playtime, these characters are right there in the mix, setting someone up for a "bunny tail", throwing someone else's car keys into a bowl of water bound for the freezer, or throwing a bucket of cold water over top of the shower door on some unsuspecting boot.  And what's even worse is that when the officer engages in this behavior, it also means that to be a good sport, you must be okay with being the mark in some of the practical jokes. Otherwise, the argument is that you can dish it out, but can't take it, and depending on how you react, you may very well end up looking foolish, which certainly isn't going to do anything for your respect.

There are ways to not be a prankster and not be seen as a tight-ass either.  We have a long standing "tradition" of wetting individuals with ice cold buckets of water when they get promoted.  The day I got the official letter, I overheard some of the crew debating the wisdom of wetting me, since I don't engage in that nonsense.  But when all the work was done that day, I finished up a report, walked out into the kitchen and said, "Okay, if you're going to do this, let's do it and get it over with."  

Each of the other six guys at Station 6 that day got a shot at pouring ice water on a newly minted chief officer (see the picture).  I'll admit it was cold and that it took my breath away.  But I sat there and when they exhausted their last bucket and they were all standing around, I shook the ice off my shirt and stood up.  I then asked, "You guys done?"  They all acknowledged that they were, I simply said "Thank You", went inside to my rack and changed into a dry uniform.  Then I went back to my office to finish up my evening reports with a smile and a business as usual attitude.

Likewise, if you have that kind of attitude and someone does take a chance to pull one over on you, the best bet is to maintain a sense of humor about it, but remind the entire crew that it isn't smart to prank the chief.  I've said something like, "Are you sure turning the heater on high in the chief's car is a good career move?", which gets some light laughter, but everyone gets the point.  Later you can take the individual aside and actually use it to discuss this very same lesson here with them, so that perhaps they learn from it for when they become an officer. 

When you are a leader, it requires you to not take yourself too seriously.  But if you are busy dreaming up new practical jokes rather than dreaming up new training scenarios, the likelihood that you will be given the respect you desire as an officer is going to be slim. Officers who engage in practical joking with their subordinates are only asking for reciprocation; the biggest downside is that reaction may come at the time you least want it to.  Best to leave the funny stuff to the kids and stick to being the responsible adult. 

Posted by on July 5, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, News, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Grow Up

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Photo taken from imdb.orgLet me begin by saying, I am the number one fan of Animal House.  I would never do anything to disparage the film or any of its characters.  And I am not being Dean Wormer here.  But it's time to put that little part of our lives behind us for a moment, although it is a part of me I can never quite leave behind.  So here's a little test.

Consider the events in Holyoke, MA over the past week or so. If the action you are about to take would cause undue embarrassment to you or your organization, or your family and loved ones, would you still do it? If your action was the cause of something that makes the front page, or the national news, and it's not something you are proud of, would you do it? If the action you are about to take would invoke criminal or civil penalties against you, would you still do it?

What happened here was a very innocent practical joke on the part of an interim chief.  I feel badly for him and I really don't believe this chief to be an idiot (as some have stated) or a criminal (as others have), or even a bad guy.  I don't even know the man.  But what he did, especially in the anti-public servant climate within which we are currently suffering, was not exercising good judgment.

There is nothing about this incident that suggests that anything happened here other than an attempt at a little levity, albeit at the expense of violating the laws about calling in false alarms.  Am I judging the man or his actions?  No.  I don't know all the facts, although they seem pretty apparent on their face.  Do I understand the mentality?  Yes.  I have moved a fire engine parked at the supermarket to the other side of the parking lot along with a few other practical jokes. But the next blog post will be all about THAT angle regarding leadership, so stay tuned.  I don't believe anything other than that this was a practical joke gone wrong. 

But in light of this incident, maybe instead of testing someone's physical fitness, their aptitude for reading a sentence, or the many other things we should be testing and aren't, maybe we should put at the top of the priority list, a test for maturity.  Because other than the only test that seems to be important in some departments these days – that would be the ability to fog a mirror – we insist on knowing all these important things about how much someone can lift, or how fast they can run stairs, or how fast can they calculate 2+2 and we miss out on what seems to be the heart of our industry's problem.  If you haven't picked up on it, that would be a test for whether or not the individual we are about to hire or promote is capable of objectively separating their inner teenager from the responsibilities of adulthood.

Again, lest you think this is all about pranksterism, there are actually many examples of where a certain level of maturity is important, and why it's not a good idea to have people associate with us that think it is okay to video someone lighting fireworks out of your ass.  The public perception these days is swinging toward the "bunch of overgrown kids pretending to be important" side and away from the "upstanding citizen who is here to keep us safe" side.  While some of our colleagues might not see that as being important, the public, when choosing to spend their hard earned dollars, are really not interested in sending money in the direction of waste and frivolous behavior.  They want to be reassured that the individuals to whom they are entrusting their tax dollars are responsible, thoughtful, and perceptive.  People who are making the news wire for setting fires, calling in prank false alarms, stealing from treasuries, and any other number of violations of society, are NOT considered as being responsible, thoughtful or perceptive.  In fact, if this is news to you, haven't you probably ALSO been the ones complaining because the public doesn't love you anymore?  Acting like you are still a member of Delta Tau Chi is not okay when you pin bugles on your collar (and I am the number one Animal House fan, remember?)  Sophomoric behavior is best left to sophomores. 

There are a number of us who are frustrated with the eroding public trust that comes about when certain participants in our field act like a bunch of day care refugees.  The failure for some to consider the ripple effect their actions have on others is incredible.  We are in a real struggle to define the fire and emergency services.  There are daily reports of communities downsizing departments, "renting" them out (that would be privatizing them), or simply reallocating funds that would have been spent on fire and emergency services to other competing interests.  We are at war here for our very existence, and every negative report is used against us, implicitly or not, to give rationale as to why we (fire and emergency services) shouldn't get the support we need.

There is no need to comment that I'm sucking the fun out of the job.  Right now, we need to be working harder than ever to save our standing in the community, be it as a career or volunteer professional.  We definitely don't need our own people shooting our efforts in the feet.  Fun is when we can come out of a good worker safely, with a smile on our face because we did a good job; or high-fiving in the nurse's lounge because we just pulled an asystolic patient out of their nose-dive and they are sitting up talking in Bed 2.  Fun is when we are on the training ground joking around with each other while resting after a particularly challenging evolution.  

Grow up. Fun doesn't come unless you earn it.  It's not fun being a loser.  You can have fun all day long, but in the end, if you haven't accomplished anything, you're just one more clown among many.  When you are truly professional, you can work hard and have fun at it too.

Posted by on July 2, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, leadership, News, Training & Development, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Scary Rhetoric and Hypocrisy

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I can't imagine that there are much louder events than the crashing noise a meteor makes when it is hitting a planetary object.  To look at a crater made by a meteoric impact leads me to assume it is a horrible train wreck of an event.  So when the high and mighty go to ground, the noise seems to be equally stunning, especially if you believe in the individual beforehand.

People love to hate hypocrites. When a person or a group allows their reputation to be portrayed as one of honor and good, and then that trust is betrayed, then their actions can be seen as patently hypocritical.  Those are the people who do things like run on a platform of family values, only to be shacking up in South America on taxpayer funds.  Or doggedly pursuing impeachment of a President for being adulterous while engaging in their own adulterous affair. Or the religious who rail about the wrongs of homosexuality, only to be having a few of those relationships on their own.  One of my least favorite college football coaches, who has led under the premise of being forthright and wholesome after his claims that he knew nothing; Well, maybe he knew a little more than nothing.  And of course, there is this Weiner saga that continues to keep playing.  

Since the firefighter is held to be an example of virtue, bravery, and service in the name of the community good, when one of us fails, we can expect it to get serious play.  And in this day and age where so many people are looking for heroes, when we get it wrong, we get it wrong in a big way.  The backlash continues to flow as it seems like from one day to the next, one or more of our own pulls a new rabbit out of the hat and ends up with their mug shot splashed across the front page.

I also like to read the comments in the stories as Statter and Firegeezer where a number of our brethren sanctimoniously proclaim the fallen as garbage and a disgrace to the uniform.  But really, here's where it really gets ugly.  Check out the comments on this article from the Las Vegas Sun.  You can also check out the whole story there as well, but one look at the comments and you can see that the idea of the public singing our praises as "heroes" has been replaced by angry, bitter tirades against what we do not only while not running alarms, but even while providing our service.  And I don't even know what it is that these guys may or may not have done to draw this kind of fire.  I don't know that they did anything wrong or they have just found themselves poorly positioned in the center of a taxpayer backlash against spending.

Just yesterday, my own organization happened to be fighting a decent sized brush fire in a residential area.  With all of the coverage of the devastation in the Arizona wildfires you'd think citizens would be praising a fast, aggressive response; instead, at least one TV news report (not the one cited) pointed out the "inconvenience" of residents not being allowed to their homes until the fire was declared under control, and I corresponded and talked with a few people with very similar complaints.  Fortunately, all of my interactions were positive and once explained, the individuals were at least a little more grateful.  But what we have always taken for granted (that the citizens see us as positive, upstanding members of the community), has been replaced in many jurisdictions as our being selfish, lazy, and out-of-control.

There's enough ugly to go around right now without our own people bringing it down upon us.  It is up to each and every one of us to weed out those who continue to give emergency service a bad name with their negative attitudes, their arrogant behavior, and their me-first mentalities.  The good name and the "hero" portrait of emergency service, like it or not, came about because we put it on the line for our neighbors, we genuinely cared about our community and serving others, and because we were always seen as hard-working, blue collar people.  When a firefighter said something, they shot straight, but it was said with concern and compassion.  We have always been about getting the job done, no matter what, no matter how dirty or dangerous, but without bitching or complaining or pointing out each others' faults.  This is not how we work today.

Let the politicians, TV preachers, Wall Street CEOs and the other scumbags be the hypocrites and punching bags.  Each of us should be serving as a positive example of how to do this job, volunteer or career, and without acting like a bunch or amateurs and whackers.  Man up (that includes our sister firefighters as well) and do the job, and while you need to educate the public in what we do and how they interact with us to provide a team approach, don't call attention to yourself for doing it.  Just do the right thing and we'll all be fine.

Posted by on June 15, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, leadership, News, Wildland • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuscon – There But For The Grace of God Go I

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We get facts before making knee-jerk decisions on the incident scene. Why do we fail to do this everywhere else?

I sat down to write this not to defend the man’s actions, but to reflect on the collective anger of the masses.  I actually picked up the story of the firefighter refusing to respond to the Tuscon shooting incident not off of Statter, as many of you may have, but from a news aggregator on Twitter.  I immediately went to the story and while I had to wince at what occurred, I was even more disappointed in the troll activity, which didn’t take long to build.

Before I even went to see what our beloved Fire News blogs like Statter, Fire Daily, Fire Critic, et al had to say (and what you all had to say), I felt it important to say this piece about what went on in that fire station that day.

Unless you are a Tuscon firefighter or officer who happened to be in the room at the time, YOU DON’T KNOW.  You can speculate, you can imagine, you can insinuate, and you can opinionate, but the long and short of it is that YOU DON’T KNOW.

Was the firefighter wrong for not responding?  Given what I have read so far, and in my opinion, yes, as I believe that it is important as a professional responder to put my personal feelings aside when called to duty.  But I wasn’t there.  I have no idea what was going on in the station.  I don’t know what was going through the firefighter’s head when he got the call.  I don’t know what he knew, or what he believed he knew, and I don’t profess to understand what he was going through.  But we are dealing with human beings, and not machines, and on occasion, events transpire which cause even the most hardened “hero” to individualize the situation and for whatever reason, experience emotions that we can’t assume are rational or even explainable.

There have been many documented cases where someone froze in the heat of battle because of some emotional trigger.  There is a great piece on the differences between choking and panicking that Malcolm Gladwell writes about in What The Dog Saw.  Conversely, there are those who were emotionally triggered and acted WAY out of character when faced with a traumatic event, by charging suicidally up a hill to single-handedly take on a machine gun nest, or diving on a grenade, or lifting a heavy object off of someone, when none of those actions were really planned or even considered.  The human mind is an amazing place; some of you should visit it sometime.

Those of you so quick to judge should consider walking a mile in someone else’s shoes sometime.  For all we know, the individual involved may have been short-timing it.  But you know, on the other hand, he might not have, either.  When you know for sure what was going on, feel free to share it with us.  Until then, maybe you should STFU in the hopes that if this, God forbid, happens to you someday, you won’t have your guts pulled out and spread to the four corners of the planet like some many of you are willing to do on a regular basis.

I’m willing to hear what happened and keep my opinion to myself instead of trying the guy on the World Wide Web.  Kangaroo courts went out of vogue back around the time lynching was considered to be a crime against humanity. Get the facts before making a judgment.  It’ll pay off in more ways than one.

Posted by on February 18, 2011 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, customer service, Fire Rescue Topics, fire service, government, leadership, motivation, News, professionalism • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finding Art in Unexpected Places

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The phalanx was an example of artform, of excellent teamwork.

The phalanx was an example of artform, of excellent teamwork.

Firegeezer posted a very recent article that reminds us art, as in beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.  I found this interesting, especially since I just finished writing this post as well and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect (and the image he posted I’m sure attracted a lot of curiosity as well).

While there are individuals out there who think that art is only art if it speaks equally to everyone who views it, there are those of us who see things differently and can see beauty and form in things ranging from a symphony to that of graffiti. It’s a matter of being open to what constitutes art.

Now before you think I’m one of those people who think throwing a bucket of paint on a canvas is art (I don’t),  I think there’s a quote that defines it very nicely, from my own perspective, of course: “Art should not have to be explained”.  There are individuals who think that anything is art, and yet, to me, if it is ambiguous and requires explanation, then it hasn’t conveyed any message at all.

Art in its most basic form, to me, has to send a message.  If you can examine a piece of art, even some of the most hallucinogenic pieces, and at least grasp the concept, or can see or smell or feel something about it (even revulsion, I guess, if that’s what you are trying to convey) then to me, you are creating art.  Whether I should have to FUND your wild-ass version of art, we might have a discussion about later, but I digress.

Just as a musician composes her artwork, or a painter his, or a photographer, or a chef, we as leaders should consider our masterpiece in people and in developing the synergy of teams.  We should have vision and an understanding of what it is we want to convey when others engage our artwork; we should choose objectives like colors and use those directions to define our artwork; we should compose our piece by insuring that the people, their output, and their interactions work together like colors and the perspective and the proportion work together.

Leading is an art form.  There are those of us who can appreciate a well-orchestrated, professional team and conversely, we can recognize bad art, that is, thrown-together, amateurish, and discordant “teams”.  Does your team reflect art or is it haphazard and lack thought?  Is it a free-for-all like a bucket of paint thrown up on the wall (that even my three-year old could do) or has it gone under the microscope and been honed into perfection?

Treat your teams like a masterpiece and appreciate what you can do if you take the time and refine your people.  Step back and take in what each part lends to the orchestra and realize that if you conduct it, and shape it, you can take even the most out-of-tune elements and weave them into a concerto that amazes all who behold it.  While not every element sounds in tune alone, together, and with the right synchronization, it can be plugged in to create greatness. When you can do this, others will see you as a true leader rather than one who just so happens to be playing along with the band.

Posted by on April 21, 2010 • Filed under: US&R • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Daily Values vs. Emergency Ops Values

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webDSC_0162A while back, Chris Naum at TheCompanyOfficer.com discussed briefly the New Rules of Engagement for Structural Firefighting.  This is, of course, a work in progress, but I urge you to read it and understand what these rules mean to us as practitioners.  We are called to save lives and fight fires, but to do so safely and responsibly, understanding that our resources are finite (you just can’t keep throwing firefighters into fires until one comes out safely with the victim).

If you search this blog for discussion about leading with values (I even linked the search to make it easy for you),  you’ll see that values were specifically mentioned in at least eight articles, not to mention all of the other times values were a peripheral part of the discussion.   Like it or not, organizational values define organizational culture.  These values help guide you in times when hard decisions must be made under ambiguous situations.  When organizations lack defined values, or personnel don’t understand them as the gospel truth, they don’t always reflect those values when challenged. If you have never implicitly discussed your organizational values, your personnel will revert to whatever values conform with those of the group (think “B” Shift) or scarier, their own beliefs (which you have no ability to predict).

While the article by Chris suggests that the Rules should be concise and bulletized in format, it is in that suggestion related to firefighting that I see these “rules” as reflecting our values in considering the risky nature of engaging with a particularly dangerous enemy.  I challenge each of you to read more about this and ask yourself, as well as your leaders, questions that help refine what to do in those emergency situations, especially as they involve our own organizations.

While we value the service we provide to our customers as being our highest calling, there comes a defining moment where we must place the welfare of our troops at a higher level, especially when it comes down to fighting a “lost cause”.  I am willing to personally take a calculated risk to save lives, but I am NOT willing to take a risk personally, or to expose each of you to a risk for the sake of a body recovery or to fight a structure that will be written off anyway.  I am as aggressive as they come when it comes to firefighting, but I value my personnel higher than any property, and I think we all need to think that way about how we choose to engage at these incidents.

But it is in this that the problem is apparent; we have made a decision to discuss our values in regard to emergency operations, but have we defined our organizational values when they come to day-to-day operations?  In many departments, the over-arching statement seems to be, “Use common sense and logic when it comes to making decisions”.

While I agree one-hundred percent with that statement (and that approach may very well save your life some day on an emergency scene), when we have recruits (and in that, I’m lumping Juniors, new volunteer members, etc.) making value-based decisions on day-to-day things (like when they are unsupervised or in situations where they are asked to show initiative), have we really done a good job of reinforcing our belief system to them and demonstrating a positive example by living those values ourselves?

Take setting fires, for example.  While we (and society) continually insist that firefighters setting fires is wrong, is the culture around your organization such that going to fires and “fighting the red devil” is more important than community service?  Is it more apt to say that personnel walk around moping about the loss of call volume?  Are members who seek to demonstrate their commitment to the community challenged by the lack of calls to demonstrate that commitment?  Why is it that we are in this business, anyway?  If the answer is to run around in a uniform and drive fast down the road with lights and sirens on, well, we all know that only represents a finite amount of our jobs (and it’s not like I want someone who thinks that’s a good reason to be an emergency service provider anyway).

While it seems pretty intuitive that setting fires is a bad thing, when you are dealing with people who already have a less-than-mature attitude and a challenge to their belief system, you set yourself up for disaster.  If you really want to avoid this type of incident occurring in your organization, one of the basic things that should be done is to engage personnel in activities OTHER than fighting fires/running calls.  If you want to find out how committed these personnel are to the community, give them day-to-day assignments that include non-emergency prevention or participation duties- just have them man an engine and go show the flag at the local high school football game, or go spray water for the kids on a hot day.  Anything to have them prove their worth OTHER than running hot and exerting their “auth-or-it-tie” (it always loses something unless you hear Cartman saying it).

Organizations who find themselves struggling to recruit or to get people to do their jobs must evaluate if there is a gap between what the leadership defines as valued behavior and what the membership (or potential membership) defines as a valued behavior.  If there is a gap, someone had better define the expectations, or the expectation will be that everyone is entitled to define the organizational mission according to his or her own needs.  If that is the case, I’d expect to be reading about you on STAT911 or Firegeezer some morning soon, and not in a good way.

Posted by on April 16, 2010 • Filed under: change, Command & Leadership, customer service, education, Fire Rescue Topics, fire service, Fires, Funding & Staffing, leadership, motivation, News, officership, professionalism, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,