Leadership & Command Web Exclusives

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  • Headaches and Solutions to Company-Level Training – Part 3

    In Part 1 of this series, we took a look at some of the reasons for stress the company officer might experience when it comes to training at the company level. In Part 2 , we began to address ways our company officer can enhance the safety of his...

    Article • June 25th, 2012

  • Dealing with Distrust In Your Department

    Many fire departments struggle with creating high levels of mutual trust within their departments. Maybe you can relate to the following scenarios. A fire captain contacted me recently about some trust issues within his department. He informed me...

    Article • June 1st, 2012

  • Headaches and Solutions to Company-Level Training – Part 2
    Headaches and Solutions to Company-Level Training – Part 2

    We are talking about situations where there are very few tools to help the company officer! Also, remember that training should never be used as a punishment!

    Article • May 30th, 2012

  • Optimism: The Cure for What Ails Us

    Is there anything you and I can do about the morass in Washington? Sorry Charlie, you and I are just a couple of powerless tuna swimming through the sea of confusion. We need to focus our effort on the things we can control.

    Article • May 23rd, 2012

  •
    "Natural" Decision Making for Incident Commanders

    After years of study, the academic world has identified numerous ways that individuals can make decisions. For the fire service, there are two ways in which we typically make decisions without consciously knowing it sometimes. The “Natural” (also...

    Article • May 11th, 2012

  • Putting the Search Team Ahead of the Hoseline
    Putting the Search Team Ahead of the Hoseline

    We’ve all been to structure fires and we all also know that there are a lot of jobs that must be conducted to get a handle on a burning building. Of course, we need water supply, we need forcible entry and we need ventilation, attack hoselines and...

    Article • May 1st, 2012

  • Headaches and Solutions to Company-Level Training – Part 1
    Headaches and Solutions to Company-Level Training – Part 1

    This article is geared towards those rare situations where the culture of the department, or the culture of the company, or the specific shift of a company has allowed such behavior to occur.

    Article • April 14th, 2012

  • Create an Effective Marketing Plan for Your Department Now: Here's How

    There has been so much written about plans over the years that the very thought of it can cause a fire officer’s eyes to glaze over. On the other hand, think about it this way: Would you allow your firefighters to attack a fire in your...

    Article • April 12th, 2012

  • The Curse of Charisma: The Dangers of Persuasion by Personality

    Let me suggest that I want to warn you about the fact that when you hear thoughts and words that sound really pleasing to your heart and mind you need to stop and think about the tapestry of words which is being woven around you.

    Article • April 11th, 2012

  • Leadership Lessons: An Effective Leader Facilitates A Quality Work Environment
    Leadership Lessons: An Effective Leader Facilitates A Quality Work Environment

    Retention, productivity and satisfaction. Every fire department grapples with trying to improve these areas. What many leaders fail to recognize is the need for “connection.” A Gallup Organization study of more than 80,000 employees in different...

    Article • February 1st, 2012

  • Marketing ICS: Marketing Tales: Recession Presents An Opportunity for the Fire Service
    Marketing ICS: Marketing Tales: Recession Presents An Opportunity for the Fire Service

    The United States has one of the world’s worst records for loss of life and property from fire. With two key challenges in mind – making the public aware of the fire service’s function and the fire problem itself – let’s take a quick trip...

    Article • February 1st, 2012

  • Start the New Year by Resetting Your Moral Compass

    We are at the beginning of yet another new year. Was it not just Jan. 3 1, 2011? As I grow older, I begin to see the wisdom imparted to me by a senior buddy years ago. He told me that in many ways life is like a roll of toilet paper. He told me that...

    Article • January 5th, 2012

  • Assessing What They LACK: The Culture of Firefighting

    Editor's Note: The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Courage to be Safe program identified four area where fire officers needed to improve their awareness, training and skills: leadership, accountability, culture and knowledge (LACK...

    Article • December 26th, 2011

  • A Simple Gift for this Holiday Season

    Let me begin this visit with you by offering my best wishes to you for a happy and joyous holiday season. For some of us a Merry Christmas is the way to go, while for others best wishes for the joy of Hanukkah will be most appropriate. This is one of...

    Article • December 16th, 2011

  • Assessing What They LACK: Can Change Occur Without Knowledge?

    Many have been the words that have been devoted to the importance of knowledge in the life of the world. Plato (409 BC) gave us an early bit of wisdom. In describing the importance of knowledge in the process for the selection of judges, he stated...

    Article • November 26th, 2011

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