Leadership Resources for ARFF Professionals [Being Chief]

Being Chief: Leadership Principles for the ARFF Professional, is the first book of its kind, dedicated solely to leadership in the aircraft rescue and firefighting field. More than thirty ARFF chiefs and leaders were interviewed for this book. Read more about the book in this post and this post.

One of the questions asked was what is a book or resource that they would recommend for continued leadership development. There were a lot of similar answers. The books below were the most frequently cited by these ARFF leaders. These are their recommendations for continued education and professional development.

Holy Bible - The CSB Heroes Bibles feature the highly reliable, highly readable text of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), which stays as literal as possible to the Bible’s original meaning without sacrificing clarity. The CSB’s optimal blend of accuracy and readability makes Scripture more moving, more memorable, and more motivating to read it today and share it always.

First In, Last Out, John Salka - What does it take to lead people into a burning building? How do the leaders of the New York City Fire Department develop so much loyalty, trust, and grace under pressure that their subordinates will risk their very lives for them? As a high-ranking officer of the FDNY, John Salka is an expert at both practicing and teaching high-stakes leadership. He explains the department’s unique strategies and how they can be adopted by leaders in any field

It’s Your Ship, Michael Abrashoff- When Captain Abrashoff took over as commander of USS Benfold, it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity. Knowing that responsibility for improving performance rested with him, he realized he had to improve his own leadership skills before he could improve his ship. Within months, he created a crew of confident and inspired problem-solvers eager to take the initiative and responsibility for their actions. The slogan on board became "It's your ship," and Benfold was soon recognized far and wide as a model of naval efficiency. Abrashoff shares his secrets of successful management

Pride and Ownership, Rick Lasky - Chief Rick Lasky gives an upfront and honest criticism about the need to reignite the love of the job on every level, from chiefs and on down. Learn what you can do to drive your members to take pride in their job and assume ownership. 

 

Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service, Alan Brunacini - This text explains the application of common-sense customer service concepts to the fire service. Written in a humorous conversational style, Chief Alan Brunacini of the Phoenix Fire Department provides the reader with an enjoyable reading experience and vital information on how we can better serve our customers.

From Buddy to Boss, Chase Sargent - Whether you're a new officer or in need of a mentor, From Buddy to Boss: Effective Fire Service Leadership, is a must-have management book you'll turn to over and over again. Fire service veteran Chase Sargent has taken his popular course and written a no-holds-barred leadership book for the fire service in a conversational and easy-to-read style. He tells you how to accept and survive politics, deal with the fringe employees, and keep your cool -- tricks of the trade that usually take years to acquire

The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge - Senge describes how companies can rid themselves of the learning blocks that threaten their productivity and success by adopting the strategies of learning organizations, in which new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, collective aspiration is set free, and people are continually learning how to create the results they truly desire.

Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink - Detailing the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, Extreme Ownership shows how to apply them to any team, family or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment.

The Dichotomy of Leadership, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Jocko and Leif dive even deeper into the uncharted and complex waters of a concept first introduced in Extreme Ownership: finding balance between the opposing forces that pull every leader in different directions. Here, Willink and Babin get granular in the nuances that every successful leader must navigate. Mastering the Dichotomy of Leadership requires understanding when to lead and when to follow; when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop; when to detach and let the team run and when to dive into the details and micromanage.

The "All In" Approach to Firefighting

Photo courtesy of BLMOregon

I recently finished reading the book All In: The Education of General David Petraeus. Written by Paula Broadwell, and published in 2012, the book chronicles the General’s “career, his intellectual development as a military officer, and his impact on the U.S. military.”  The fire service is often touted as a para-military organization and I have found it  increasingly beneficial to read books on military strategy, leadership, and personalities.  These resources provide a broad variety of lessons that can be readily applied to what we do in the fire service.

Among many other accomplishments, Petraeus is known for answering the call of President Obama to provide leadership of the war in Afghanistan. He had previously penned “King David’s Bible”, the Counterinsurgency Field Manual (COIN).  COIN provided guidance to all military forces on how to win the battle in Afghanistan.  Early in his leadership of these forces, he sent out a four-page counterinsurgency guidance letter, that boiled the COIN down to “24 Commandments”.  These are what Petraeus felt were essential to victory in this war.

Here are six that stand out and their application to the fire service.

• Secure and serve the population.  The decisive terrain is the human terrain. The people are the center of gravity.  Only by providing them security and earning their trust and confidence can the Afghan government and ISAF prevail.

People are why we do what we do.  Maintaining relationships with the people of our community, and our community leaders, is what allows us to be effective in what we do. Our first duty is to “secure and serve the population”.  Do what is best for the community and its members.  Keeping in mind, that sometimes this might not be what’s best for ‘us’.

• Live with the people. We can’t commute to the fight. Position joint bases and combat outposts as close to those we’re seeking to secure as feasible.  Decide on locations with input from our partners and after consultation with local citizens and informed by intelligence and security assessments.

If to “secure and serve the population” is our objective, to “live with the people” is our strategy.  How can we best secure and serve? What is it that our population needs most from us, and how can we provide that? How can we be proactive, provide a service to the many, and not just reactive, responding to issues of the few?

• Pursue the enemy relentlessly. Together with our Afghan partners, get your teeth into the insurgents and don’t let go. When the extremists fight, make them pay. Seek out and eliminate those who threaten the population. Don’t let them intimidate the innocent. Target the whole network, not just individuals.

Our enemy is those natural and man-made disasters and incidents that threaten to destroy the lives, property, and prosperity of the members of our community.  It is more than just fire, we now take an “all-hazards” approach to the work we do. We pursue this ‘enemy’ through prevention, mitigation, and public education. We fight this ‘enemy’ with the most current use of tools, technology, and personnel training.

• Walk. Stop by, don’t drive by. Patrol on foot whenever possible and engage the population. Take off your sunglasses. Situational awareness can only be gained by interacting face-to-face, not separated by ballistic glass or Oakleys.

Leadership expert, John Maxwell, says “Walk slowly through the halls. One of the greatest mistakes leaders make is spending too much time in their offices and not enough time out among the people.” There is a need and true value in getting out of the office, out of the station, and walking through the community (and for more than just the daily grocery run). Walk through the buildings in your industrial areas, walk through the shopping malls, walk through the new communities and construction, walk down the streets at community events.  Walking gives a new perspective on structures, systems, and processes.  Walking is welcoming, it allows people the opportunity to stop, engage, and communicate.

• Be first with the truth. Beat the insurgents and malign actors to the headlines. Preempt rumors. Get accurate information to the chain of command, to Afghan leaders, to the people, and to the press as soon as possible.  Integrity is critical to this fight.  Avoid spinning, and don’t try to “dress up” an ugly situation.  Acknowledge setbacks and failures, including civilian casualties, and then state how we’ll respond and what we’ve learned.

Address problems, concerns, issues, and failings head on. There have been multiple times when a decision made could have been detrimental, however, I directly went to the leaders of my organization, explained the issue, how I went wrong, and what I was doing to fix and prevent. Address issues quickly and head on, and most importantly, provide a solution for how to do better in the future.

• Live our values. Stay true to the values we hold dear. This is what distinguishes us from our enemies. We are engaged in a tough endeavor. It is often brutal, physically demanding, and frustrating. All of us experience moments of anger, but we must not give in to dark impulses or tolerate unacceptable actions by others.

Today’s fire departments provide a blend of generations, cultures, beliefs, backgrounds, and ethics.  Our values on the job, are what the departments we work for value.  When we show up to work, we put our beliefs, ethics, and values to the side and we take on those of our employer. Several years ago, the USFA produced a firefighter code of ethics.  This is a document that members of our profession can look to and know what this business is all about, and what it stands for.  These are the values we must live.

 Firefighter Code of Ethics

Fire Service Reputation Management - white paper

“This isn’t double down, Mr. President. It’s all in.”

-Gen. David Petraeus

A New Kind of Chief

The fire service has a chief for almost everything, Chief of Adminstration, Chief of EMS, Chief of Fire Prevention, Chief of Logistics, Assistant Chiefs, and Battalion Chiefs.  However, I want to add one more to the list, Chief Customer Officer.  This designation had its rise in the business community in the late 1990's and functioned as an advocate for customers.

Perhaps this is just the thing that our departments need.  A dedicated position that advocates for the customer (our citizens).  A Chief position that is not primarily concerned with politics, strategy, finances, union negotiations, or SOP's, but is solely focused on ensuring that the members of our community have a voice, and that their voice is being heard by the Fire Department. 

I know the reality is that no department is going to create this Chief's position, but the truth is that we should all be functioning as chief customer officers.  Especially those of us who work in fire prevention role as we typically experience more exposure to the public (our customer base).  We should always remember that we exist for our community, we should take every voice seriously, and we should be a constant advocate for those we have sworn to serve.