Are you a leader or just a boss?

[mikeinet 37]

Great article I came across with what I think is a pretty strong message... felt it would be good to share:

http://www.leatherheadmafia.com/2014/04/29/are-you-a-leader-or-just-a-boss/

[16fire5 693]

Ok I don't want to seem like a mean guy here picking this article apart BUT. The author is a 23 year old Lieutenant and by every indication here is a motivated member of the fire service. That being said I agree there's a difference between leader and boss but in reality sometimes you have to be the boss. As a fire officer on the fire floor you need to be the boss. As I read the article I think the author in some ways is describing leading literally when I read these parts "white helmet bobbing through the smoke in front of you" and "leading the men and women around the firehouse and fireground,". To me leadership has nothing to do with physically being in front. Almost anyone can lead someone down a hallway but it takes a real officer being the BOSS to hold up the train if things are not right. It's been pointed out here before by some of those who's experience and rank exceed mine about how too many company officers are too worried about being friends with their guys instead of being their boss. To me a leader does the right thing even if it won't be popular. Funny enough I met the Chief of the author's county department last year and there was a leadership discussion and I remember this quote he made that day and it basically went like this. "Lead you people where they need to be, not where they want to go" It struck a chord with me hopefully I made some sense here.

[somebuffyguy 190]

Agreed to everything 16fire5 says. One line that particularly bothered me was "Leaders lead from the front, and cowards lead from behind their men". Your job as an officer isn't to be upfront doing the work, its to make sure your firefighters do their work safely and properly. Would Eisenhower have been a more effective leader if he was the first to step foot on Normandy? I get pretty annoyed with this whole "coward" idea as well. Personally, until I'm shown otherwise, anyone who's in this field is not a coward. This whole macho way of thinking doesn't help anybody. "Oh its getting pretty hot in here, I'm running out of air and this fire isn't going out. Better not get out of here or I'd be a coward". Here's a crazy idea, instead of everyone going " to the front" how about just do YOUR job. If you're the engine company boss, do your job and supervise your crew on the line, don't "lead from the front" and take the nozzle from a kid who could use the experience. I'd much rather my IC was "leading from behind" and actually had a scope of the incident so he could look out for everyone's safety.

[FirNaTine 370]

Many times this "Boss"or "Leader", or whatever you want to call him has to get involved and be out in front not because he wants to "lead by example" but because he's been dealt a "Bad Hand" to play with due to the broken System which now worries about reaching "Quotas" and not "Qualified" individuals! It's unfortunate, but nowadays an Officer many times has to accomplish tasks by himself due to the incompetent morons the Fire Service is hiring. He/She has no choice if they want the Job done right. Thank You "Affirmative Action" and All you Liberal POS Politicians! You just made an Officer's Job that much more difficult!

[SECTMB 612]

Rank in the fire service means you have to wear many hats or helmets at different times for different purposes. You may need to be 'Boss', 'Leader', 'Mentor', 'Teacher/Instructor', 'Administrator', 'Friend', 'Counselor', 'Arbitrator' and more. The ability to balance the duties of the office under social, business, non emergency and emergency activities with the myriad personalities of your membership is as daunting a challenge as anyone can face.

I would like to think that I was a good Captain, as were most of the others in my Company. We had one though who particularly excelled at all the qualities I have mentioned and who we unfortunately lost to illness much too soon.

We have the Ron Jankowski fund in his honor to perpetuate his memory, influence and ideals. Occasionally you get a special person of 'Rank'. He was one.

[RES24CUE 168]

I think that the kid who wrote this article did a great job parroting back everything that has been told to him by his old, salty instructors and the senior men who sit around the coffee table in the firehouse. However, I seriously doubt that in his brief career as a volunteer fire officer that he has accrued enough clout to be telling others how to do the job better. How much leading/bossing could he have done in his 3-5 years as a member of his agency, presumably responding to EMS Calls/False Alarms 90% of the time where little-to-no high stress, high adrenaline leadership is required. Frankly, when you have Chiefs like John Salka and VInnie Dunn writing books; officers who led fire crews through intense situations on a daily basis in every type of scenario in busy metropolitan cities, this "baby" lieutenant should know when to keep his mouth shut and his ears open.

Moreover, the tennets that he referenced may be great suggestions for an officer to remember in a paid fire department situation. However, for the following reasons (from what I have seen in recent months in the various emergency services organizations with which I used to affiliate), I believe that leadership in the traditional firefighting sense has completely deteriorated in the volunteer fire service:

1. The absence of qualified members to hold officers positions - Many organizations have no (or insufficient) qualifications for member to become firematic officers. Why should being a member for a minimum of one year (and never having been in a fire) make an individual qualified to make a life or death decision on behalf of his entire crew at an emergency scene? But many organizations, due to a lack of manpower, can't give away these positions. I know of a department recently that had to set aside the by-laws to allow a Captain who did not meet the minimal time of service and training requirements as stipulated by the by-laws to become Assistant Cheif. They then had to make the same accomodations for a Lieutenant to be allowed to fill the Captains spot. And after all of this, they still had two vacant Lieutenant spots that they couldn't give away. The lack of competition undermines the electoral system of voting for those who are best fitted for the position which allows those who perform poorly to maintain their positions (or in some cases be promoted). The entire system is stagnant. Plus, if you are begging people to occupy officers spots regardless of adequate training or experience, they are not officers, they are SPOT FILLERS!!!

2. The absence of firefighters - Many organizations have no (or insufficient) manpower to fight fires. I have seen countless situations (most of the fires that I have been to) in my 10 year volunteer career where rigs are either riding with empty seats, or the seats are full of under-officers. In the former situation, you cannot be a leader if you have no one to lead. When the Captain jumps out of the front right seat and grabs some hoze and the nozzle and the 1st Assistant Chief backs him up, there is little leadership that occurs in this firefighting situation. The Captain must disregard his responsibilities of directing a crew in order to get things done (and because there is no one to direct). In the latter situation, when the 1st Assistant Cheif jumps out of the front right seat (of a rig driven by the 2nd Assistant Chief) and is directing the Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and an Engineer to perform the tasks of a crew of firefighters, 2 things are happening: A) The command structure is weakened by the absence of a Chiefs to perform safety, logistics, etc. and The line officers really aren't officers, they are firefighters. If you get a fancy badge and helmet plate but you are still grabbing the knob, it undermines the position. You are no longer a leader, you are a firefighter with a fancy title and helmet. Unfortunately, with the lack of manpower these days, everyone has a title and members must employ a mentality of "do what you gotta do" to get the job done.

3. Elections are popularity contests - The electoral system employed by most volunteer fire organizations undermines the promotion process in its entirety. Officers are not elected for good performance, they are elected because people like them. Within this system, the happy-go-lucky, friendly nice-guy who never trains and never gets anything done gets more votes than the guy who trains his ass off and pushes people to be better/better the organization. The members get annoyed because the dilligent officer is forcing them to work and support the cool, laxidazical officer when it comes time to vote. Frankly, in my career, I have seen a ton of cool guys who made it to Chief who were essentially useless at a fire. This is especially apparent in the slow volly firehouse where nothing ever burns and the men are never separated from the boys on the fireground.

[RES24CUE 168]

I think that the kid who wrote this article did a great job parroting back everything that has been told to him by his old, salty instructors and the senior men who sit around the coffee table in the firehouse. However, I seriously doubt that in his brief career as a volunteer fire officer that he has accrued enough clout to be telling others how to do the job better. How much leading/bossing could he have done in his 3-5 years as a member of his agency, presumably responding to EMS Calls/False Alarms 90% of the time where little-to-no high stress, high adrenaline leadership is required. Frankly, when you have Chiefs like John Salka and VInnie Dunn writing books; officers who led fire crews through intense situations on a daily basis in every type of scenario in busy metropolitan cities, this "baby" lieutenant should know when to keep his mouth shut and his ears open.

Moreover, the tennets that he referenced may be great suggestions for an officer to remember in a paid fire department situation. However, for the following reasons (from what I have seen in recent months in the various emergency services organizations with which I used to affiliate), I believe that leadership in the traditional firefighting sense has completely deteriorated in the volunteer fire service:

1. The absence of qualified members to hold officers positions - Many organizations have no (or insufficient) qualifications for member to become firematic officers. Why should being a member for a minimum of one year (and never having been in a fire) make an individual qualified to make a life or death decision on behalf of his entire crew at an emergency scene? But many organizations, due to a lack of manpower, can't give away these positions. I know of a department recently that had to set aside the by-laws to allow a Captain who did not meet the minimal time of service and training requirements as stipulated by the by-laws to become Assistant Cheif. They then had to make the same accomodations for a Lieutenant to be allowed to fill the Captains spot. And after all of this, they still had two vacant Lieutenant spots that they couldn't give away. The lack of competition undermines the electoral system of voting for those who are best fitted for the position which allows those who perform poorly to maintain their positions (or in some cases be promoted). The entire system is stagnant. Plus, if you are begging people to occupy officers spots regardless of adequate training or experience, they are not officers, they are SPOT FILLERS!!!

2. The absence of firefighters - Many organizations have no (or insufficient) manpower to fight fires. I have seen countless situations (most of the fires that I have been to) in my 10 year volunteer career where rigs are either riding with empty seats, or the seats are full of under-officers. In the former situation, you cannot be a leader if you have no one to lead. When the Captain jumps out of the front right seat and grabs some hoze and the nozzle and the 1st Assistant Chief backs him up, there is little leadership that occurs in this firefighting situation. The Captain must disregard his responsibilities of directing a crew in order to get things done (and because there is no one to direct). In the latter situation, when the 1st Assistant Cheif jumps out of the front right seat (of a rig driven by the 2nd Assistant Chief) and is directing the Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and an Engineer to perform the tasks of a crew of firefighters, 2 things are happening: A) The command structure is weakened by the absence of a Chiefs to perform safety, logistics, etc. and The line officers really aren't officers, they are firefighters. If you get a fancy badge and helmet plate but you are still grabbing the knob, it undermines the position. You are no longer a leader, you are a firefighter with a fancy title and helmet. Unfortunately, with the lack of manpower these days, everyone has a title and members must employ a mentality of "do what you gotta do" to get the job done.

3. Elections are popularity contests - The electoral system employed by most volunteer fire organizations undermines the promotion process in its entirety. Officers are not elected for good performance, they are elected because people like them. Within this system, the happy-go-lucky, friendly nice-guy who never trains and never gets anything done gets more votes than the guy who trains his ass off and pushes people to be better/better the organization. The members get annoyed because the dilligent officer is forcing them to work and support the cool, laxidazical officer when it comes time to vote. Frankly, in my career, I have seen a ton of cool guys who made it to Chief who were essentially useless at a fire. This is especially apparent in the slow volly firehouse where nothing ever burns and the men are never separated from the boys on the fireground.

Sorry about that smiley face...apparently the B + ) becomes a smiley face wearing sunglasses. Who knew?