Chow was finished. The dishes washed, dried and put away. The floors were swept and mopped. It is during this time that some of my favorite moments take place at the fire house. It is this time when the fire house actually acts more like a family then any other.
This is also when some of the best joking around and ribbing takes place. There is always the firefighter that grabs his/her coffee and comments how every one's culinary skills are horrible. There is the firefighter that attempts to get lost in a small kitchen with 5 other firefighters and seems to never wash a dish. And then there is everyone in between...
I wouldn't want it or have it any other way. I do love these men/women like I do my own family. They put the FUN in dysFUNctional.
As we mature and grow into the senior firefighters, company officers, and chiefs, we hope we have given the younger firefighters everything they need to do well in their career. But how do we know? Is the training they received (that we have given them) been effective in their development? Has our leadership been effective? If not why?
Some of you will read this and say "This doesn't pertain to me, I'm not an officer or a chief." Well your wrong, this is especially for you. If you have been in longer then another firefighter, then you have the responsibility and duty to teach and lead. It may be just by your actions and you may not even know your leading or training. These younger firefighters will look to you and watch you. If you have a attitude that doesn't care about anything and just wants to get by, they will copy what they see. And so the cycle begins...
So how do we know if our leadership and training is effective? Well you can get feedback from other officers and firefighters in the field. But remember these reviews may be tainted by personal feelings, so be careful. In all actuality your imprint or impression on a firefighter can be seen before they ever leave your company or command. You must be willing to let them grow, develop, and understand what you have given them. You must give them the room to apply that knowledge on their own. Unfortunately this also means they will make mistakes. We must understand that it may be a failure in our training and or teaching that led to the mistake. This is called accountability.
By allowing these firefighters and young officers to develop through the use of solid guidelines, training, and trust, we will create excellent opportunities for them to develop their decision making skills and build self confidence. Again we must be willing to accept their mistakes, when made, as our own.
In order to let these men and women become the firefighters and leaders they want to be and we need them to be, there has to be an environment conducive to surviving our mistakes long enough to improve them.
Imagine this, an organization that prepares you to take the place of those who lead you, give you ample time to develop into a extremely competent professional, actually gives you the room to progress, provides guidelines and constant mentoring to help you along the way. Sounds like something out of a fairy tale book right? Well it isn't. What I just described is what the Fire Service Organization could be, if we allow it.
When a mistake is met with ridicule and punishment the only development that is occurring is one of mis-guided management. We must find the teachable moments and teach.
Now I hear alot about this new generation. This younger generation is just way to different. Questions about how to bridge the generation gap and the sometimes loss of focus and purpose with this younger generation seems to always pop up. Ok, they do seem to act like they are "entitled" to something and they come across a little arrogant. Maybe they don't embrace all the traditions of the fire service. BUT with good strong leadership, mentoring, and applicable traditions this generation seems to respond really well.
Although if you lead them from behind a desk or from a recliner in front of a television, then yeah that is what you will get in return. Game players and TV watchers...
It is up to us, not just the officers and chiefs, but us to find a way to fix the problems and create a culture of change and development. These men and women will represent us one day when we are gone.
So let's give our young firefighters and especially our young officers the opportunity to take the lead. Let's give them a lot of rope to play with, let's demonstrate confidence in their ability but still be there in support. Let's not back seat drive though. Give them the opportunity to succeed, with the possibility to fail. Will you be putting yourself on the line? Absolutely, but you trained them. Or you should have. And if you trained them and taught them well enough, they will be ready.
It is time for change and time for new younger leaders with new ideas to take the forefront. In this service to stay stagnant is to get left behind...
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