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In Part 1, I shared the first 2 principles which you can click here to read.  Now, I will share with you principles 3-5. EXCELLENCE PRINCIPLE #3-BE THE ROLE MODEL OTHERS WANT TO FOLLOW. This principle is based upon the premise that firefighters that WANT to follow their leader...

Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else-Les Brown Far too often when the word leadership is used in a sentence among firefighters, the tendency is to assume that it is in reference to the firefighters with bars...

The President of the United States – who serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Armed Forces – touched off a firestorm of commentary and debate in September 2014 when he rendered a “salute” to his Marine guard while holding a coffee cup in his saluting hand. Some have...

On my back, I struggled to keep my face above the dark, dingy water of the East River and did my best to crank out flutter kicks in unison with my team. Looking right and then left, it dawned on me that everyone “got it”. For the past 12 hours we had been blasted with exercises...

Becoming a Company Officer is not an easy task.  There are many things to learn and many things to do.  For this reason departments often require new officers to have a probationary period during which time they are evaluated by superiors.  If this period describes your...

Everyday, each one of us is presented with the opportunity to have our characters tested. It is up to us to champion these daily challenges. This, however, is often easier said than done. One such event that showed us this was when New Orleans Saints coach, Greg...

Delegation I’m a big fan of delegating tasks to team members. Delegation helps people develop their skills and helps teams achieve a higher level of success. The Delegation Boomerang Those of you who have heard me speak would be familiar with the phrase, “Dividing tasks...

Herman Edwards, a former NFL coach stated “the only way a team can survive is you have to do it together.” The point in this statement is without teamwork, the team will not survive. In business, this means a failure to make profits or produce a quality product. In...

The subject of diversity in the fire service is likely to bring a strong response depending on your perspective. It is still a topic that is difficult to discuss openly. However, it is my hope that we will do so. In doing so, we will embrace our brotherhood (notice the “her” in...

One of the most important tasks a fire officer, or typically the company officer, must complete after an incident is to submit a complete and accurate incident report. There are a number of reasons why it is important for company officers to be diligent in the completion of...