Photo by Steve Silverman The fire service needs educated, qualified and committed fire chiefs who want to and still can make significant contributions.
In my view, there are three essential components to leadership. First is integrity. You can't be a good leader if you aren't a good person. You must model truth, trust, honesty and respect for your subordinates and customers. Treat everyone with courtesy and dignity, even firefighters you have to have discipline. Your goal is to make people successful. Stripping them of their dignity, self-respect and self-esteem isn't a recipe for individual or corporate success. Tom Peters calls it a platinum principle: treat people the way they need to be treated in order to reach their potential. Your attitude toward the challenges you face sets the tone for your whole department. You must have a positive, honest attitude before you can expect your organization to have one. To say it simply, use the golden rule.
Second is vision. If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there? Focus on your customers internal and external. Find out what they need and want, and focus your career on ensuring that they get it. Service isn't a one-time occurrence; it's the work of a lifetime. World-class service results from a commitment to do whatever it takes to meet customer needs. We in the fire service provide vital and fundamentally important services to the people we serve. The importance of that service should be our vision!
Developing vision must involve employees. Part of our focus on internal customers will always include involving them in the decision making. When they are part of the how, when, what, where and why, they have ownership in decisions. Our assignment is to inspire firefighters and support personnel with the im-portance of our shareholders, the taxpayers. We are not allowed the luxury of being a single-service provider, like so many other government agencies. Ask employees this question: should they ever say no to a reasonable request? Job descriptions are great but when they stand in the way of providing solutions to the community, they become a departmental weakness. Vision must always empower employees to act outside their normal boxes.
Third is communication. You've got to communicate your vision to the people who work for you your internal customers. Once they know what you want them to do, how you define success for them, they will know what they have to do. Be patient and listen to them but require that they focus on their customers. Motivate them to be actively and intimately involved in their community, so that they will know the needs and find the resources to meet them. You can't be in every fire station; you can't know what each community wants and needs. Walk in their shoes but don't stand in their way. Be willing to empower your firefighters to meet the needs and abide with the results. Sure, they may miss the mark occasionally but, given the opportunity, they will fly much higher than you could imagine.
To be a successful fire department leader will require stamina. You must keep yourself healthy in mind and body to reach higher levels of achievement and endurance. Make sure you have balance in your life. Ensure you have time for yourself and your family. Smell the roses; have a good time. Remember that your personal change and change in your organization are inextricably linked together. Make sure both are positive and what's needed!
Real leaders spot and deal with problems early, so that they don't become breaks in the organization. Don't wait till something blows up; solve the problem and prevent breakage! And don't give up when life is difficult. It's easy to quit when the pressure is on, when elected officials aren't your advocates or when you've got labor problems.
The fire service needs educated, qualified and committed fire chiefs who want to and still can make significant contributions. Don't retire just because you can; stay with your department and make sure it still wins the race. Find the courage to be part of the future!
We invite all fire chiefs career and volunteer to submit articles or ideas for "Chief Concerns." Please send them to Firehouse Magazine, 445 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, NY 11747 or fax 516-845-7109.
Luther Fincher is Fire Chief for the Charlotte, NC, Fire Department.
