HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE
I have a new theory to share with you my friends. I think that we have to encourage a new way of thinking among the people who aspire to be our leaders in the future. However, this new theory requires us to sacrifice a great part of the current generation of fire service leaders.
My visit with you this week comes courtesy of a buddy out on the West Coast, Division Chief Andy Shapiro of the Stockton, California Fire Department. Andy and I have been chatting back and forth for months now about the state of leadership and training in fire departments all across America. We have agreed that many in the seats of power across our great land do not have a clue when it comes to dealing with people.
A recent incident in the south summed up how many people choose to lead their people. A nameless correspondent shared the story with me about the furor brought on by one of my articles that was circulated within their department.
It seems that some creative soul within that agency thought that my message had great meaning for them. That person felt compelled to share my wisdom with the leader of that organization. They also felt that the cloak of anonymity would serve them well as the vehicle for sharing my words with their leader.
In line with this, my words were printed out of someone’s printer, spirited quietly to the outside of the leader’s office, and slid gently under the Chief’s door. We cannot say with any certainty what the true nature of their motives was. We can only hope that it was to share some serious knowledge with a fellow traveler in the emergency service world.
Those of us who labor in the vineyards of knowledge have long been aware of the power that an idea whose time has come can really have on events. Unfortunately, we are rarely able to gauge the power of any potential reaction that exposure to fresh knowledge might cause. This particular case apparently led to some serious consequences.
Apparently the occupant of the front office was not in the market for any fresh ideas that day. This gesture of literary illumination from an anonymous subordinate was met by what can only be imagined by this writer as a literal firestorm of reaction on the part of that chief. It was a time for the hunting of witches and the placing of blame. There may also have been talk of the melting of tar and the plucking of chickens. My correspondent tells me that anger was the order of the day.
Now there was a real enlightened response if ever I heard of one. It has long been my opinion that a leader should constantly be on guard for signs that all is not well within the walls of the fort. An anonymous article like that, slipped under my door, would surely have raised questions in my mind, and not just who did it. The word "why" would have been uppermost in my mind. Rest assured that in my career, the only things that people ever slipped under my door were menus for local restaurants, and the occasional note begging me to stop playing my tuba.
My anonymous Internet correspondent noted that their shift had been pinned down as the culprits by whatever criteria was the order of the day, and that their Internet privileges had been limited. Now there is a brilliant plan of attack. I guess this fearless (fearful) leader presumes that the only place firefighters can find my words are on the computers at work. Wake up and smell the coffee (or herbal tea) Chief! Your people have brains and can think. You have missed an opportunity to build bridges, rather than fences.
I would offer another thought to that southern chief, a simple thought really. An opportunity has been missed. Perhaps if you had laughed along with the troops, and not become angry, you could have made a breakthrough. As my dear departed grandmother used to tell me, " … Sticks and stones can break your bones, but names will never hurt you."
That chief should have sought out the informal leader who had the courage to challenge them. They could then have challenged that person to help make the department better. That person would then have had to put up or shut up, so to speak. But, that cannot happen now.
I am afraid that far too many of our so-called leaders are unable to consider the concept of delegation. They are afraid that someone else might do something good, which would make them look bad. I am not talking about abdicating power. I am talking about sharing it with the troops, thereby empowering them to help you lead your organization.
How many different people have you personally seen, met, or read about that are members of the Phoenix Fire Department? I could literally fill many pages with the names of the people that I know, or have known who call the Phoenix Fire department home (in the best sense of those words). How far do you think my personal hero, Allen Brunacini, would have gotten if it were not his choice to allow his people to fully develop? He is great because of the great people that have developed on his watch.
He is my hero because of the way in which he has allowed people to succeed. The better each member performs, the higher the success level of a department will be.
Personally, I have done poorly in this arena. But that doesn’t mean that I would not like to become better at sharing. Like any other weakness, I am working on it. Sort of like the listening problem I identified in 1979, or the weight problem that was first hinted at by my dear departed Dad in about 1951. Nonetheless, I have recognized these things as some of my weak points, and am working to do better at sharing, listening and losing weight.
As my west coast associate mentioned in his email message to me recently, we need to give greater voice and credence to the informal leaders in our organizations. While some of these people may also hold formal positions of leadership, many do not. If we are to truly succeed, we need to include a wider range of opinions in out departmental strategic planning operations.
Many of the problems within in our fire service come from an ignorance of the true potential that lies within our most important resource: our people. I would venture to say that this same disease afflicts the private sector as well.
A line from an old James Cagney movie, the 1940 epic, The Fighting 69th, says it all. " ...Smart boys can take care of themselves." How many people out there think that they can do it all? How many have tried and failed? But most important of all, how many don’t even have a clue?
Given the horror stories coming into my website, there are a lot of so-called "smart people (boys is sexist)" out there in our fire service. They may think that they really are so smart that they can do it all themselves, or they fear having to interact with people. Either way, the result is not pleasing to look at.
Let me urge all of you in positions of leadership to begin actively looking at garnering the support of your informal leadership networks. See these people, who are respected by their peers, as a resource, rather than a threat. Advisory committees can be extremely useful, if you appoint a wide range of knowledgeable, caring, and concerned people.
Bear in mind that there are negative people out there. Do not let the naysayers deter you from trying. My philosophy has long held that it is better to try and fail, then never to have tried at all. Some of my greatest successes have come about as a result of some of my most spectacular failures. That has never stopped me from trying again.
I am a realist though. These words, like many others will fall upon deaf ears in certain circles. As a writer, words are my tools. I do what I can and leave the rest to you, the reader.
Let me leave you with a philosophy that was espoused by my professional associate out west. He gave me the kernel of thought. Let me now share the rule I have created.
Andy and I want to urge you - don’t be dazzled by the glory of being a chief. Be humbled by the responsibility associated with the golden emblem of your position. Stand ready to take care of your people. They will look to you for your support. Be a servant leader to do just that.
