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I’m not a bad fire service leader…am I? Unfortunately, much of what’s written about leadership paints it as a neat and tidy skill set. That if you follow a simple algorithm or read a leadership blog, you’ll reach your objective 100% of the time. In...

Why We Must Build Our In The Fire Station Leadership Skills 90% of our time and energy as fire officers happens away from the fire ground. – John Dixon Most of us fire officers spend the bulk of our training learning how to lead on the fire ground, yet most of their issues...

Growing Future Leaders Now that we have progressed into being respected leaders in our organization, we must look to leave a legacy behind. After reading this series, you have all learned that I am a big fan of John C. Maxwell. One of my favorite quotes from Maxwell is “you’ve...

Own It – No Excuse Recently I learned a great lesson on bad decision making. Even though my decision had good intentions; I did not follow through with what I said I did. I could sit here and give excuses or play the blame game, but I won’t. I will OWN IT. By doing this I...

We have heard countless times that the fires we encounter today are unlike the ones we responded to years ago. That being said, we need to evaluate the way we go into these fires as well as the tools we bring along. Let’s take a look at what the engine officer should bring...

In part 1 we discussed how the leadership compass is built and how you as a leader in the fire service need to develop a leadership philosophy. Putting Together A Plan, Need An Example? Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself, write them into a philosophy that you can...

The United States Navy continually monitors the performance of its warships to ensure that they are always battle-ready. Over time, naval leaders noticed that some ships were performing at a higher level than others. This was puzzling because the ship classes were standardized,...

What Exactly Is Leadership Self-Awareness? There are many challenges of being a leader and successful fire service leaders are those that understand the meaning of self-awareness. Leadership self-awareness is a  self-“a no holds barred-honest to the core”-examination....

Have you ever heard of “the dark side” of leadership? This is not a term we hear in leadership conversations or read about, but the reality is that it exists and impacts department growth. Authentic and true leaders are those that want to make a difference in the...

In part 3 we discussed the four areas that must be addressed when moving into a leadership position. Now that you have moved into the position, you have to step up and be the leader your team wants and needs. Firefighters need good leaders. It is now up to you to be that leader....