As Firehouse Sees It: The Power of Branding

In the business world, branding is everything. Effective branding provides a competitive edge, a potential for increased market share, a loyal following, extended profits, etc. In fact, branding has become so powerful that symbols are now as recognizable as some company names (i.e., the Nike Swoosh, Macintosh Apple or Starbucks mermaid). While branding in the fire service may take on a little different form, those within our ranks are not immune to the impacts of branding.

I was on a morning run in downtown Seattle the other day, passing the Starbucks world headquarters no less, and listening to Warren Bennis’ audio book “On Becoming a Leader.” In the closing chapter, Bennis shares his views of successful leadership titled “Ten Factors for the Future.”

One of the 10 factors, Bennis says, is the importance of leaders embracing error. In short, he explained that to be effective, you must be willing to take risk and, on occasion, acknowledge that sometimes the most powerful lessons come from our errors. He encouraged reflective backtalk—someone has to have the courage to speak up and share the hard facts. He also suggested that leaders encourage dissent, explaining that someone must be willing to describe the “true north,” propose what’s wrong with a suggested plan, and provide the counterargument to a proposed strategy.

To anyone who knows me—and my personality—it comes as no surprise that upon hearing these recommendations, my pace picked up and my runner’s grimace quickly turned to a grin, as I wholeheartedly agree with Bennis’ points. But to be honest, it wasn’t the mention of these factors that caught my attention; it was the follow-up discussion regarding the Pygmalion effect that truly hit home.

In his research, Don Eden, a professor at Tel Aviv University in Israel, revealed a remarkable finding related to the impact of belief on performance. As part of a study of 105 soldiers assigned to one of four instructors, each instructor was briefed on the soldier’s psychological test scores, sociometric evaluations, grades in previous courses, and ratings by previous commanders as it related to the predicted command potential of each soldier. Based on their combined scores, each soldier was designated as “high,” “average” or “unknown.” What wasn’t shared with the instructors was that the command potential classification was completely random. 

After 16 weeks and a detailed analysis, the performance of the 105 soldiers was tested in four areas. The soldiers who were previously “branded” with a high command potential significantly outperformed their classmates in all four subjects. Those with an average performance scored the lowest. The third group, those with an unknown performance potential, landed in the middle. The difference in performance between the best and the worst group was 15 percent

As I began to consider Eden’s findings, I started to think back on my career as an instructor and as a fire officer, and how the modern-day “branding” of firefighters—perhaps the gender of a recruit or the negative association toward a specific generation—might have affected me, my leadership style and, ultimately, the professional development of those I teach/lead.

On the surface, I, like each of you, could quickly dismiss any negative thoughts and boastfully suggest that I’m mature enough to look beyond a brand or label, and guide or evaluate an individual’s performance without bias, but is that true? 

The fire service has a longstanding history that represents an unparalleled camaraderie within our ranks, and our passion and pursuit for the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood are unmatched in any other profession. But we must not overlook the harsh reality that what brings us together can also divide us.

The fire service is no different than any other profession; our ranks have been and always will be filled with members of varying ages and of differing races, physical size and abilities. To that end, I challenge you to ask yourself, how does the branding or labeling of an individual or group affect your leadership, decision-making and supervisory efforts?

Each and every day, despite our mental fortitude and mental tenacity, the power of branding steers and directs our decision-making, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. Don’t let the power of the brand negatively affect your ability to lead.