Hidden Leadership Lesson | With Coffee?

Every once and awhile we all have one of those lightbulb moments. This video discusses one of those moments for me. During the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy you get the chance to listen to some great minds and truly have the time needed to dedicate yourself to some critical thinking processes. In one of those discussions the topic of reading a room came up and how identifying key stakeholders within a room are critically important.

At the firehouse kitchen table you can do this. You can literally push yourself back from the table and look around the room during a conversation, just be observant. You will start to realize the “who’s who” in the room and this will give you the information you need to start building relationships and gaining trust. In the disorganization of a firehouse kitchen table conversation it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. When you want to move forward with new ideas or evaluate current tactics don’t lean in, lean back. You have to be able to observe your surroundings and identify the stakeholders in the room. This gives you the information you need to talk to those stakeholders and ultimately unlock the the progress you are looking to achieve.

Dead Ringer

Dead Ringer - a person or thing that seems exactly like someone or something else.

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Have you ever heard a statement in the firehouse that strikes a chord with you, one that makes you cringe, frustrated or even motivates you? Today's fire service is a well connected network of some of the most driven and strong personalities you will ever meet. While many of us push to move forward many others look for reasons to justify their inability to perform. With that being said let's look at a statement you have probably heard before:

 "WE" don't do it like that because "WE" are not like "THEM"... 

 I want you to really evaluate if "WE" are actually that different from one another.

Last time I checked the vast majority of fire departments in the United States perform the exact same functions at every single fire. Whether you pull up to a single story residential structure fire or a high-rise with fire on the 20th floor you must perform the same functions. Will you need more equipment and more manpower? Absolutely, but the same functions must be performed regardless of the size of the fire or complexity of the fire. The "functions" I am speaking of are Fire Attack, Water Supply, Ventilation, Search and Rescue and Overhaul.

I often reference other departments when teaching and discussing tactics because we have so much to learn from each other. For example: When the FDNY arrives on scene of a residential structure fire they perform Fire Attack nearly the exact same way as every single fire department in the country. They stretch a hose line with an engine company and they put water on the fire. Do they use 47 firefighters to move the hose? Nope. They use the firefighters on the engine to take the initial attack line to the fire. However, while many of us work with limited staffing to complete the other complimentary functions (ventilation, search and rescue, etc.) the FDNY has the ability to perform these functions much more quickly or even simultaneously because of their response size. If you are on a smaller department you still have to perform the same functions as the big guys you just have to prioritize when and how you are going to accomplish those functions.

Hose lines get stretched at every fire! Ventilation takes place at every fire! Water Supply is a priority at every fire! Search and Rescue is of utmost importance at every single fire! Get out and practice these functions!

Do not try to justify your inability to execute by trying to distance yourself from other fire departments or tactics. We are much more alike than we are different. Learn from each other and move forward together. We all need the practice regardless of where our current competency levels are.

I am learning more and more about many skills that I once believed to be simple and automatic. I used to stretch hoses without evaluation, throw ladders without purpose and even search without confidence. Study the craft of firefighting, learn about yourself, your crew and your responsibilities to the ones we serve.

Do not Train to Learn, Drill to Master!

What is Your Definition of Leadership?

Defining Leadership

How often do we discuss leadership issues?  In the fire service you will find yourself pulled into conversations about leadership capabilities on a regular basis.  You can read books, take courses, and study well known leaders but until you decide what type of leader you will be then you cannot move forward.

I believe there are many types of leaders each of which have their own personalities.  These leadership types, or styles, provide the leaders with a direction to move forward.  When you are struggling with finding an identity as a leader you must first ask yourself what your own definition of leadership will be.

Many years ago I heard this definition of leadership, "Leadership is taking someone to a place they normally wouldn't go to by themselves".  That message solidified what came to be my own leadership identity.  We become firefighters to serve others and if you follow a servant style leadership path you will serve other firefighters in order to ultimately provide the citizens you protect with the best service possible.  I have chosen a path in my fire service career to emphasize training other firefighters in order to ultimately serve my community as best I can.  I have to continue to remind myself to focus on this definition of leadership I have chosen.  This definition drives me to perform in the classroom, the training grounds and on the fire scene.

Once you identify your leadership definition you will be able to focus on refining your skills as a leader.  There are many lessons I learn everyday that help guide me to become a better leader.  I constantly analyze other firefighter's leadership styles looking for traits that I gravitate toward.  I can only hope that one day in my fire service career someone else will find a leadership trait of mine that they gravitate toward.

KEEP CALM and FOLLOW ME,

Matt