Just a Spoonful Of Humility...

I would offer my apologies to the folks who produced the movie classic "Mary Poppins" for my paraphrase of their classic song. It just seemed so right and I am sure that you understand how it is with writers when they wax a little romantic. On many occasions during my time as a fire service teacher and lecturer, it has been my good fortune to deliver educational programs that cover my favorite topic in the whole world: leadership in the fire service.

An important component of these classes revolves around the point at which I challenge my students to come up with their thoughts on the one leader who made the greatest impression on them. Then I ask them to list three to five reasons why that leader made such a great impression upon them. In each class, certain things repeat themselves:

• That person cared more about others than themselves
• That person never took credit for work done by others
• They were most humble people
• They enjoyed the successes experienced by their troops
• They did not hog the spotlight

If you think about it, these are some pretty neat attributes on which to build your own career as a leader. Deflecting praise to other people is not always easy. For many people in positions of leadership, it would seem as though their sole purpose in being in those positions is to soak up praise. They cannot experience joy unless they repeatedly receive all of the awards, accolades and rewards. It hurts them to see anyone else singled out for praise. How often have you been around a fire chief who sounded as though he or she was tuning up for a singing gig? You have to listen to several choruses of "Me, me, me, me." Every question about the fire department is met with several choruses of "I, I, I, I."

More people need to think about just how much of the praise they grab from their troops. Writing in the January 2007 edition of the Harvard Business Review, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the president and CEO of the telecommunications company Nokia, stated, "Humility is a vital quality in a leader, just as it is for a company" (p. 16). He makes reference to a strain of humility that the fire service frequently fails to understand. He continues by saying that it must be "the kind of humility that makes it (them) listen to the customer and seek ideas from the outside" (p.16).

How many leaders do you know who simply never listen? All ideas must come from them or those of their selected stream of simpering, fawning sycophants. They have no idea of how to reach out to people outside of their limited gene pool of loyal lackeys. This is the flip side of another attribute that my learners have targeted during my time as a leadership instructor. They say that a great leader seeks ideas and then goes on to support and listen to what his or her folks have to say. Kallasvuo makes reference to this when he speaks of his belief that "in a management team, humility is a product of diversity -- managers must humbly accept that their own perspectives need to be broadened by others" (p. 16). How can we learn anything in life if we refuse to listen to others?

The same holds true when it comes to humility. There are those who think that being humble means that you do not speak up. These people also believe in the stereotype of the strong, silent type of individual. That is not true. Humble people can speak with the courage of their convictions on behalf of their troops. In fact, they have a duty to do this. Kallasvuo states his opinion that "having humility does not mean that you are quiet or that you lack the courage to say what you think. Courage and humility are more complementary than you think" (p. 16).

What kind of leaders would remain silent while their people are being attacked by forces outside the fire department? It is just that regardless of what you may or may not think, the concept which must be at work here is perspective or, more properly, a view appropriate to your circumstances.

None of us should ever make more of our contribution to the work of our agency than the facts of the situation dictate. If you helped someone, do not go on and on about all of the people who have benefited from your caring and concerned approach to leadership. Remember that in Proverbs we read that "before honor is humility." Shakespeare seemed to share that thought. Or so it would seem when in Henry V he wrote "nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility" (Bartlett, 2002, p. 192-93).

We should all work to build a team of active fire department players. This cannot be done when the leader continually grabs the headlines and gives short shrift to the efforts of their team members. When someone is successful, celebrate that success with them. Do not seize it and make it your own. That sort of thing only has to happen once. It will stick in people's craws and make the job of team building infinitely harder, if not impossible.

When a person offers constructive criticism, whether he or she is a department member, someone from another arm of government or a citizen of the community being served, listen politely. Neither abuse nor dismiss their efforts to offer assistance. Simply listen, take notes and thank them for their time. Make no attempt to belittle or embarrass them, for such actions are extremely counterproductive.

Let me offer a statement from the 17th century to bolster my discussion of humility. Writing in The Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Burton offers the following advice: "...they are proud in humility, proud in that they are not proud" (p. 240). I guess what the author is trying to tell us is that being humble can be a source of personal pride, the sort of pride we keep in our hearts.

You can begin the journey to humility on any given day simply by choosing to share the spotlight. The best way to do this is to become a world-class delegator of tasks. Bring your people to the fore, give them their assignments, train and equipment them, and then let them do the job. Then monitor from afar. Do not hover over their shoulder.

Here are some tips from a book that has occupied a prize place in my library for many years, Supervision in Action by Claude S. George. In chapter 15, he suggests the following questions to guide you toward becoming a person who can successfully share the workload with his or her fire department. He recommends that each of us "examine everything you do and ask questions like:

1. Is it necessary for this to be done?
2. Can it be eliminated?
3. If not, can one of my (people) do it?
4. If you do not have a (person) who can do it, can you train one to do it?" (George, 1979, p. 232).

While George is showing you how to be more efficient and effective as a manager, I am taking this in a different direction. I consider this type of delegation to be more of an investment in your people than in yourself. If you can show that you care about your people and want them to succeed, I suggest that you will have a better fire department in the long run. When the praise comes rolling in (as I know it will), let the spotlight shine on your people and not upon you. You will only have to do this a few times before you are perceived as a caring, sharing person; two traits only successful leaders possess.

I fear that there will be many among you who will ignore my advice. I shall brand you for what you are, people concerned only with your petty personal prerogatives. You studied to be the boss and by golly, you are going to act like a boss. The problem is that you may have only seen similar selfish, boorish boobs at work in the past.

It is important to me that you do not become yet another mental midget standing in that long line of such similar managerial abominations. I want you to break some fresh leadership ground. I want you to start thinking of other people and consider their thoughts and needs. Be kind, good and humble. Give it a try. Only by concentrating on others can you deflect the bright lights of praise to the people who really earned the accolades.

Remember, it is not all about you. Great leaders are humble; forceful, but humble.

DR. HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., CFO, MIFireE, is a Firehouse® contributing editor. A municipal fire protection consultant based in Adelphia, NJ, he is the former president of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. Dr. Carter is a past chief and active life member of the Adelphia Fire Company. Currently chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners for Howell Township District 2, he retired from the Newark, NJ, Fire Department in 1999 as a battalion commander. He also served as chief of training and commander of the Hazardous Materials Response Team. Dr. Carter is vice president of the American Branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE). He recently published Living My Dream: Dr. Harry Carter's 2006 FIRE Act Road Trip, which was also the subject of a Firehouse.com blog. He may be contacted at [email protected].