A great deal of what I have read and reviewed in the leadership-related literature speaks of the importance of having strong leadership at the top of an organization. While I do not disagree with this view, I see it as being somewhat limited in its approach to creating an effective and functional organization.
From macro to micro
Not too long ago, an associate asked me to look at how an organization is structured and led. More specifically, he suggested that someone evaluate the effect of small group dynamics on the fire service. Being that we who write about fire department leadership, management and operations normally take the macro view, looking at the department as one corporate being, all-inclusive in its totality, I set out to research the topic at a more zoomed-in level.
Well, my friend, my research surely opened my eyes to an interesting, new view of how fire departments work. Speaking for many of you, we have long thought of fire departments as being large, nebulous organizations filled with people marching in lock step toward the same goals.
My recent research, along with my many decades in the fire world, suggests that this is not how things really work. Of course, each of us must work to provide the same basic leadership and managerial tasks as we always have, as we have all been taught. However, my research has identified an interesting fact: If we are to create the most effective and efficient fire department, then we need to do it in a number of different ways based upon the actual needs of our organization.
My research and experience has identified that in some cases, there are good relationships within our departments, with everyone working along together quite nicely indeed. These organizations have a vision, mission, goals and objectives that are tailored to the identified needs of the agency. However, I have found that, in other cases, such relationships do not exist. In other words, there is coordination and teamwork in some cases; others, not so much.
It has been my good fortune to have traveled widely in the United States and Canada. I have interacted with scores of fire departments over the decades, and I am here to tell you that a great deal of our success or failure as fire departments comes from the manner in which the organizational structure of these agencies is built, nurtured and maintained. Good things rarely happen by chance.
It is clear to me that our most successful fire departments are built from the bottom up. It has been my experience that fire departments are, in reality, a series of small groups that come together as the large group we call a fire department. This is not confined to the fire service. This is how it has worked with organizations of all types and sizes.
Group definitions
So just what is an organization? What is a group? What is group dynamics?
Gibson, Ivancevich and Donnelly suggest that an organization is, “... the pattern of ways in which people, too numerous to have face-to-face contact at all times and engaged in a wide range of tasks, relate to one another in a conscious, systematic manner for the accomplishment of mutually-acceptable goals.”1 In our case, the common thread revolves around the delivery of a variety of emergency services.
Donelson Forsyth tells us that, “(A) group is two or more individuals who are connected to one another by social relationships.”2 It is the nature of those relationships that define what an organization is and what it does. In far too many cases, the leaders of a fire department ignore the manner in which the constituent groups and members come together. This can lead to a fracture of the structure into competing groups.
Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (intragroup dynamics) or between social groups (intergroup dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision-making behavior, tracking the spread of diseases in society, creating effective operational techniques, and utilizing new ideas and technologies.
Group dynamics lie at the heart of understanding the nature of a variety of social interactions, such as tolerance, acceptance and other forms of social interactions. Group dynamics also form the basis for studies within the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, education and communications.
Let me also advocate that group dynamics can also be used to study how fire department groups are formed and how they work. You and I must understand that group dynamics are at the core of understanding interpersonal problems, as well as various forms of social prejudice and discrimination.
Our ability as chief fire officers to develop an understanding of these interactions, as well as an intimate interactive relationship with all subgroups within a fire department, will determine our success or failure in providing the services of our agency in an effective and efficient manner.
Group formation
How then is a group formed? There are three ways of looking at small group creation. In the first instance, it is a formal creation of the fire department. Management appoints formal teams that are intentionally organized and resourced to address a specific and important goal or need. Informal teams are usually loosely organized groups of people who come together to address a non-critical, short-term purpose. Some examples of this are engine companies and truck companies. In some instances, it is an informal creation within the structure of the department. In other cases, it may be an ad-hoc creation for a specific reason.
Many folks seem to forget that it is the whole person who joins an organization. Let me point out that more attention is usually focused on the partial person, that part of the individual actually doing their job within the structure of the organization. They are then placed within one or another of the organization’s groups so that they can perform a specific set of tasks. Research strongly suggests that a culture then forms among the members within that formal group. That culture leads to the creation of what researchers have come to call an informal group with its own leaders and norms.
A study of these informal groups and their informal leaders can help you to better understand, organize and lead your fire department. Because people have needs that extend beyond the workplace itself, informal groups develop within the formal group structure to fill certain emotional, social and psychological needs. The degree to which a group satisfies its members’ needs determines the limits within which individual members of the group will allow their behavior to be controlled by the group.
Several major functions are served by informal groups. For example, the group serves as a means of satisfying the affiliation needs of its members for friendship and support. People need to belong, to be liked and to feel a part of something. Because the informal group can withhold this attractive reward, it has a tool of its own to coerce compliance with its norms.
Groups also provide a means of developing, enhancing and confirming a person's sense of identity and self-esteem. Although many organizations attempt to recognize these higher needs, the nature of some jobs and their technology and environment sometimes precludes this from happening.
Groups can also serve as an agent for establishing and testing social reality. Individuals may share the feeling that their supervisor pushes too hard or that their working conditions are inadequate. By developing a consensus about these feelings, group members are able to reduce the anxiety associated with their jobs by sharing their thoughts with their fellow travelers.
Career, volunteer and combi
It has been my experience that there are certain similarities, as well as differences, among the group formation scenarios in career, volunteer and combination fire departments. In career settings, the groups are set up by the department. There are line groups, such as engine and truck companies. There are also staff groups (e.g., fire prevention, planning, logistics and supply).
In volunteer organizations, committees are created by organizational by-laws and corporate officer appointments. The fire officers are either elected or appointed. One major difference comes from the fact that firefighting teams come together at the time when the department is alerted to respond.
In a combination fire department, the career fire and EMS crews are set up by the fire department administration. Volunteer crews then form at the time of fire alarm and emergency notification. The potential exists for both full-time and volunteer administrative groups and committees to be developed by the department.
Team cohesion
There are three main things that can affect a team's cohesion (the act of working together well): 1) environmental factors, 2) personal factors and 3) leadership factors.
Environmental factors
The first of these involves the environmental factors that influence the growth and development of your personnel. Here are some things for you to ponder:
- Early childhood—happy, loving childhood vs. orphanage
- Adolescence—suburban vs. urban environment
- Social class—working class vs. middle- or upper-class values
- Perceptions—how you receive life’s clues and symbols
- Attitudes—your mental state of readiness for need arousal; your readiness to think, act, or do things
- Learning—changes in behavioral practices
The degree to which you can understand, explain and utilize each of these attributes will determine your level of success in using small group development to strengthen your fire department.
Personal factors
The second aspect that you must consider involves the personal attributes, which you as a leader, member or follower bring to the table in any organization. Each of these is important to the development of a full and complete understanding of what a small group is and how it functions. You must strive to know yourself. You must do all that you can to become technically proficient.
In order to stay ahead of things, you must seek self-improvement for yourself. Just as you must know yourself, it is equally important to know and care for your people. Let me stress that you must always look out for their welfare. Keep your folks informed. Secrets, lies and the like can kill the small groups that make up your fire department.
Leadership factors
Finally, you need to understand the leadership factors that impact small group operations. From the leadership point of view today, organizations that do not pay sufficient attention to people and the deep sentiments and relationships connecting them are consistently less successful than those that do. It is critical for you to develop an understanding of human relations. It is all about the people and the need to nurture them.
If you are to provide the proper leadership for the small groups that come together to make your fire department work, there are a number of operational tasks that you must provide. Following is a list of what I have found to be important in the creation of a proper form of fire service leadership:
- Provide just enough supervision to your people.
- Do not smother your people.
- Do not let them run amuck.
- Support and guide them.
- Let your actions set the example.
- Explain each task to your people in ways that they will understand.
- Ensure that people understand what you have said.
- Train as a team.
- Support the individual.
- Nurture the group.
- Come to know them as individual human beings.
- Make sound decisions.
- Make decisions at the proper time.
- Cultivate responsibility among your people.
- Know the capabilities of your individual team members.
- Operate within those levels of competency.
- Encourage your people to seek responsibility and take command.
- Have a high level of self-confidence.
- Have a passion for what you do.
- Be an effective writer and public speaker.
Further, it must be your goal to create groups that are both effective and efficient. Team effectiveness (also referred to as group effectiveness) is the capacity a team has to accomplish the goals or objectives administered by an authorized personnel or the organization. Team efficiency is a measure of the manner in which a team accomplishes its tasks within the constraints of those resources that are available to them.
In sum
We all belong to a fire department. Each is an organization. Each of our fire departments consists of a series of groups. They are formal and informal. People make up groups. We all must make a conscious decision to understand how people come together.
There are leadership, personal and environmental issues that we must study and understand. I am of the opinion that solid, well-run fire departments must be built from the bottom up. We must ensure that each small group is the best it can be. Your department will then become the sum of these successful groups. You will then become a successful fire department. This is truly a worthwhile goal for each of us to pursue. Good luck on your operational journey.
References
1. Gibson, J., Ivancevich, J. and Donnelly, R. Organizations: Structure, Process, and Behavior. 1976, p. 12.
2. Forsyth, D. Roles Explain Both Individual Discontinuities and Group Continuities Effects. 2012. https://donforsythgroups.wordpress.com/category/structure-and-influence.
