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The Command and Company Officer

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The Company; The Brotherhood

The Company; The Brotherhood

Company and Command Officers are crucial to the mission critical effectiveness and safety of company level operations, crew integrity and incident command management and successful mitigation.

What are the key elements that set apart those that can be considered “average” officers from those that are exceptional?

What key knowledge, skills, abilities and traits do they have that sets them apart?What knowledge, skills, abilities and traits do you have that contribute towards your effectiveness as an officer or those that you wish to aspire to?

How are you viewed by your personnel, by your peers, by your self? Are there area(s) for improvement?

Leadership, character, fortitude, skills, training, abilities, quality, temperament, strength, vision, courage, humility, modesty, compassion, authority, empathy……

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are” John Wooden

Posted by on December 29, 2009 • Filed under: christopher naum, command-leadership, company officer, leadership, Officer, skills • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Company Officer and Leadership

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captain-john-miller-150x150Leadership; It certainly isn’t about the number of bars or collar brass horns you have on your collar, the color of your helmet, or the “title” you have. Although there are many who would argue that point and feel that they are THE Leader specificially because they DO have the title, rank and brass. Some do and some don’t, stop and think about those that do (and why) and those that do not (and why)…..

An interesting take on leadership came from the acclaimed cinema Director Robert Altman’s 2006 Lifetime Achievement Oscar acceptance speech, in which he stated simply; “The director allows an actor to become more than they’ve ever dreamed of being.”

How do you think this applies to the Fire Service?

Take a few minutes to look at management guru Tom Peter’s video on The Definition of Leadership.

The transcript of the Tom Peters video clip is available HERE.

Some Leadership Definitions HERE.

What are your definitions of leadership?
Where does your Leadership start and stop?
What about those around you?

Posted by on December 29, 2009 • Filed under: christopher naum, command-leadership, company officer, leadership, Officer, skills • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Shaping the Future “Creating Leaders in our Youth” Part III

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Leadership part IIIKnowledge is Power… Share It !!! This statement is often used by many including myself. So what does it truly mean? It means that you will freely give of your knowledge and wisdom to others withholding nothing. It never fails, I will see a leader of an organization trying to hold information and knowledge from the next generation because they are afraid that this up and coming group will end up smarter than they are and as a leader they will loose control.

Well take a reality check…for as long as I can remember each generation has obviously gotten smarter, more technologically advanced and has superceded the generation before them. So what makes that so bad. I thought we were trying to make things better? I am sure this will hurt a few toes but the truth is the truth. The folks doing the withholding are the dumb ones. If you combine knowledge everyone gets better even yourself! (Ouch!!)

That’s right I took a jab at a few of you out there, but if we want to progress and if we are going to make progress we have to share our knowledge both good and bad with our youthful leaders to be. There future depends on it. In sharing this knowledge we have to be dynamic instructors creating engaging learning environments. A leader / instructor profile needs to encompass several areas to be able to meet these challenges and changes that we will face. First, we must find new motivation. Motivation that exceeds all levels previous. We must bring newfound excitement to the leadership programs we deliver. The excitement level that comes with the leader carries over and motivates the student to the same level or higher.

 
We as leaders must enter the education setting that instruction is to take place with a true teaching attitude not one of just doing the minimum. Leaders need to develop the right attitude about instructing. Attitude starts with evaluating whether you are meeting the mission statement of the fire service, truly developing future leaders and your department through the training that you are performing. Secondly, you must evaluate whether your training is realistic. That is, realistic for your situation, operations, equipment, etc. Higher levels of training are great and have their place, but are we meeting all the basic needs of the future leaders we serve. If not, we need to reevaluate what and how we are teaching / mentoring.
As we begin developing these new leaders we must assure that we are creating level appropriate environments for their mentoring. Nothing can frustrate an individual more than to be placed above there capabilities. (Better known as the Peter Principal). We need to evaluate each person and be brutally honest with them.

I think it can be best said that for use to reach the attitude of “Everyone Goes Home” we must do the right things. Leadership plays the most significant role in this. As future leaders begin to develop they need to address the issues, learn from our mistakes, make educated and calculated risk / benefit analysis assessments and be brutally honest when necessary.

I see this where as I had a discussion with a fellow collegue on seat belt laws as to whether or not firefighters are exempt. Point is who cares if we are exempt or not!!! We know that some things just don’t add up to being good risk benefit analysis decisions. We have witnessed multiple firefighter injuries and deaths from ejections from motor vehicle crashes over the past few years. If they were belted they probably would not have been ejected and would have maybe survived. It has nothing to do with a slogan. The slogan “Everyone Goes Home” is an attitude…an attitude within a fire department and a leader that boldly says we will do all we can to try and bring all of our firefighters home. It should be everyone’s attitude.

I challenge the young and old alike, if you are a current leader in the fire service…stand up get a backbone, polish your bugles, take a stance and be a true leader. If you are the youth of today, I challenge you to develop yourselves and be the leaders of tomorrow. I personally believe Chief Dennis Compton states it the best, “Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way”. Fellow fire service brothers and sisters, tomorrow hinges on what you do today. THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO PREPARE FOR IT!

Be a leader who shapes our future by preparing our youth of today.
 
Chief Doug Cline
Posted by on December 29, 2009 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, company officer, Doug Cline, leadership, Officer, skills, Succession Planning • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything is a Possibility: Do It Anyways

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Everyone has idealisms, dreams, goals, aspirations, ideas and purpose. Everything is a Possibility, IF you strive to persevere and keep at it. Whatever the cause, need or reasons; regardless of the roadblocks, disappointment, disenchantment, frustration or regret-Dream it Anyways, Do it Anyways… You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach, and you know it might not ever come your way- dream it anyway; the possibilities before you are endless…

You CAN spend your whole life buildin’
Something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You CAN chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And it’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all YOUR heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
love em anyway

Do It Anyway Lyrics Artist: Martina McBride

Posted by on December 16, 2009 • Filed under: administration-leadership, christopher naum, command-leadership, Future, leadership, Officer, skills, Succession Planning • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Shaping the Future “Creating Leaders in our Youth” Part II

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12-16-2009 10-56-12 AMIn Doug Cline’s previous posting: Shaping the Future “Creating Leaders in our Youth”  Part I he ended the with a question, “So officers are you shaping the fire service’s future?” Here’s his latest installment.

I hope this prompted fire officers to intra-inspect themselves to see if they were shaping the fire service’s future. I further hope this generated a lot of discussion in your fire house. Asking this question is the first step, however many may not know exactly how to embark on the efforts of shaping our youth to be the next generation of leaders. The next two parts of shaping the Fire Service’s Future will focus on the how component.

So where do we start this development process? We start by not accepting anything less than the best in everything we do. We further need to teach and share with our youth our experiences, even the ones which were not victories. Albert Einstein never viewed any unsuccessful attempt as a failure, rather a win in knowing one more way that didn’t work. These experiences will carry lifelong lessons learned.

I frequently today find myself referring to situations, problems, successes and lessons learned as it relates to similar issues they are facing, as I mentor to younger fire service members. To make it as simple as I know how my father used to call this the “school of hard knocks education of life”. But today many fire officers never take time to share, mentor and teach our future leaders.

As we begin this process we must create an appealing environment. I always remember Chief Dan Jones of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina Fire Department being positive even when the chips didn’t fall the way he wanted them. He could make any black cloud have a silver lining. As I travel and have the opportunity to spend time with department leaders from across the county it never fails that someone is always negative. Nothing is ever positive. They can’t make a win-win situation out of anything. These folks are destined to make the same type of leaders.

We must present helpful teaching. Making the learning dynamics one of which we constantly learn by utilizing the three learning domains. Fire service leaders can really impact teaching with the affective mode of learning as students or future leaders learn basic concepts but can ultimately apply them to situations and affect outcomes. This is true learning and understanding. This concept is usually accomplished by current leaders sharing knowledge, experiences and allowing for mistakes.

Knowledge is Power… Share It!!! This statement is often used by many fire service people including myself. So what does it truly mean? It means that you will freely give of your knowledge and wisdom to others withholding nothing. It never fails, no matter where I may go, I will see a leader of an organization trying to hold information and knowledge from the next generation because they are afraid, intimidated or upset that this up and coming group will end up smarter than they are and as a leader they will lose control. This is one of the most asinine practices I have ever witnessed. Reality check…if you are in a position you are most likely not going to lose that position. If you have people around you who have a diverse knowledge and strong skills, they will only enhance what you are doing. Thus making you look good. This is a no brainer. My challenge to you is share the knowledge you have and place the nonsense in a box and get rid of it!

Chief Doug Cline

 

Posted by on December 16, 2009 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, company officer, Doug Cline, Future, KSA, leadership, Officer, skills, Succession Planning, training-development • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Shaping the Future; “Creating Leaders in our Youth” Part I

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11-19-2008 7-08-09 PM

As we quickly approach a time when much of the fire service leadership will be retiring we are destine to face the loss of great leadership in the fire service. This could prove to be a tragedy for our profession or we can make it a positive bench mark. A lot is going to depend upon several generations working closely together. That is the baby boomers and the generation Y and X coming together and realizing that the future belongs to those who prepare.

For years I would see the slogan, “The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare For It”, posted on the training class room wall of the Henderson North Carolina Fire Department. Chief Danny Wilkerson several times over used to say these same words to many of the young firefighters and officers that walked into that setting. As an instructor and a part-time member of that department it always struck me as an encouragement to continue to push to make a difference. Often times I personally struggled with just what that slogan really was saying. Well, for the first time as I write this article it has become crystal clear. The entire slogan was driven home with just one email blast from a great fire service colleague…Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder with a recent secret list publication. Below is a small component of what was contained in that blast I would like to share: “Sometimes….not everyone goes home. In the discussions, one of the young firefighters who was involved with the rescue told me that he now HATED the term “everyone goes home” because, obviously, Kevin did not. It made me start to think. Was the slogan a problem?


It has nothing to do with a slogan. The slogan “Everyone Goes Home” is an attitude…an attitude within a fire department that we’ll do all we can to try and bring all of our firefighters home. It was and still is an attitude. Some of the younger firefighters understandably, just didn’t get it at the time.

-It means that if we don’t drive like idiots, we’ll probably make it home.

-It means if we follow standards such as NFPA 1403, firefighter trainees will probably make it home.

-It means if we put our seat belts on and we collide on the way to a fire, we’ll probably make it home.

-It means if we weigh 100 lbs too much, and we eat more salads, we’ll probably make it home.

-It means that if it is obvious the building will collapse and we stay out of the way, we’ll probably make it home.

-It means if we have the right amount of trained staffing and good bosses at a fire, we’ll probably make it home.

…..and it means that if we drill and train on the stuff we need to do regularly, such as the ability to quickly get water on the fire, we’ll probably make it home.”

The above excerpt really drives me to focus on this blog’s topic “Shaping the Future”. We as leaders today will face the end of our careers. Many of my mentors are at that point currently. However, the leadership lessons they can still share are countless. Thank God, that these folks took an interest in us the leaders of the current fire service when we were youthful firefighters. As I look over the fire service today and especially after spending time at the Congressional Fire Service Institute recently, I can see that our fields are full of ripe future leaders just waiting to be harvested. Consequently we often scorn at the work ethic or analytical decision making that these individuals use as they make critical decisions.

I can see clearly where my first mentors Jerry Green and Rick Rice, both officers with the department I began my fire service career with in Mullens, West Virginia, could see a ripening prospect as they made extra efforts to shape the future through shaping me for the future. As I see it, the old practice of using our youth to accomplish our work is the base preparation needed to make them tomorrow’s leader. So officer’s are you Shaping the Fire Service’s Future?

Chief Doug Cline

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Posted by on December 16, 2009 • Filed under: command-leadership, company officer, Doug Cline, firefighting-operations, Future, KSA, leadership, Officer, skills, Succession Planning, training-development • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,