The beginning of a firefighting career is relatively simple and scripted for the firefighter. You attend recruit school where the instructors provide direction to follow. You are shown the proper way to perform job duties and are taught to be a good team member. You then practice those skills so that you are competent enough to graduate and be assigned to a fire station. From there, you begin a probationary period where you, again, are given very specific instructions and direction. If you follow along and learn what has been provided, you complete the probationary period. From there, you continue working under the direction of an officer and are guided by policies and procedures intended to create consistency in the organization.
If you have no aspirations for promotion, you can continue on this path until retirement. You will be expected to comply with department policies and procedures and follow the direction of superiors.
“People” Skills Needed as You Move Up
However, if you get promoted, you will find that the job becomes different and you may not always have a “playbook”—policies and procedures—to follow. You will need to develop a different set of skills, body of knowledge, and degree of ability. You will go from a relatively routine job to one that will be constantly changing because the job will begin to involve interpersonal relationships associated with people, politics, or problems. This becomes more of the job description as you continue to ascend the ranks up to chief of department.
Essentially, officers at all ranks deal with people, good and bad. Their ability to resolve problems created by people determines their success. I was recently in a discussion with Chief (Ret.) Alan Brunacini from the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department about this topic. He, as he so skillfully does, broke this down to its simplest terms. He said that inanimate objects don’t create problems. A fire truck is never late for work. It never does something to upset the public. It never posts questionable material on social media. It doesn’t argue back. You should be getting the message by now. The only problems you have with vehicles, equipment, and buildings are the result of something done by a human. The truck can’t fuel itself; the equipment can’t replace itself on the truck; and the station can’t repair its heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system.
So, with that introduction, we now know that to be a successful officer, you need to develop skills that allow you to effectively deal with people issues and the politics of your community and organization; you must have a system to properly address problems as they arise.
As with everything else in this business, education and training help prepare individuals to perform their jobs more efficiently. Frequently, individuals do great at studying the “emergency” side of the fire service—learning as much as possible to prepare for responses. Yet, they don’t commit the same energy and effort to prepare for—and may not be totally ready for—the issues that can dominate the agenda. Experience and the school of hard knocks are cited as great learning tools (and I would not argue), but they can put a new officer in an early hole from which digging out would be difficult. Hence, there is the need for adequate preparation.
Key Components
The key components in dealing with issues related to people and politics are relationships, trust, competence, and fairness. This does not imply that if you master each you will never have problems, but it will improve your outcomes in virtually all cases. The reason it can’t be a 100-percent guarantee is that people and politics are not 100-percent predictable. As such, gaining an understanding and realization of the realities of the job will allow officers of all ranks to do the things that make them better at their jobs.
As a firefighter ascends the ranks, the challenges change. If you were to ask officers what role politics play in their job, they would tell you that it increases to the point that it is a vast majority of a chief’s responsibility. Yet, when you ask them how much preparation they have had through training and education, they will tell you none, unless they took a class in another field. The importance of politics cannot be overstated in that those who control the resources necessary to provide quality service must be influenced into making decisions for the benefit of that service. No one gets a blank check and is told to fill in the number. The most successful organizations and their chief officers do an excellent job of engaging the political process.
From the perspective of the fire service, the key involvement in politics should be based on established relationships that are nurtured. Most in the fire service cannot influence elections with their money and may not be able to prove that they can generate the number of votes a candidate desires. It may boil down to access to those who make the policy and determine the budget and influence. The fire service, in general, starts from a good point in that it is respected and trusted by a majority of the citizenry. Those in officer positions need to nurture this relationship and be intimately involved in their community and process. To do this, they need to be visible and show up for events. They need to be professional and competent all the time. A good contributing point in building relationships is to do what is asked (as long as it is legal!) and do it in a timely manner. Every interaction is an opportunity to build on established trust and confidence.
It also helps to be likeable. Likeability is very important; people in general will choose to help and interact with people they like. Right about now, you may be asking yourself why you have read this far. Duh, everyone knows this. But if everyone knows this, why don’t they always pay attention to the details to make sure they maintain and improve on relationships. Things can change in a hurry if you are not cognizant of your surroundings. Consistency and competency have to be on display at all times.
There is another important aspect within the political arena. Loyalty is vital. Right, wrong, or indifferent, those in political positions greatly value loyalty. Though there may be exceptions, this is a two-way street, and most policy makers return the favor when those they deal with prove their loyalty. Looking at this in a different way, ask yourself how you value loyalty in your organization. Do you prefer to work with individuals in whom you have trust and who have demonstrated regular and routine loyalty? Of course, you do. This issue can be a challenge with some politicians, and I am not suggesting that you breach your personal ethics. You can take the high road and maintain your integrity and still build the necessary relationships.
Relationships are critical up and down the chain of command. The likeability mentioned above applies here. Those who fit in are given more of the benefit of the doubt when a problem occurs. I know this doesn’t necessarily mesh with the “fairness” aspect of dealing with problems, but you can’t discount it in the real world. It is human nature. This will require “managing by wandering around” and getting out of the office and out from behind the computer. It is more than social media, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. It will involve interpersonal interactions. The more you can interact with others, the more you will know. These built-up relationships lead to success inside and outside of the organization.
In addressing the “people” part of this discussion, one suggestion is to evaluate the training and education of your employees. Overwhelmingly, employees want to do a good job. They do not intentionally make errors so they can get in trouble. They make mistakes because they either did not have the right preparation or they got complacent. Those who have the most training create the least number of problems. Organizations that commit to a well-rounded training program benefit both the individual and the department. There also needs to be an established culture of continual learning, as this helps to maintain focus, competence, and morale.
The issues related to politics, people, and problems cannot be addressed in a short article. The point of this column is to generate thought and discussion along with a self-evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses in these areas. Pursue training and educational opportunities outside of your comfort zone, including open-ended instruction where many views are discussed and debated. Also, become an observer of those around you. Whether inside or outside of your organization or the fire service, you can learn much by watching others. Find those who are successful, and identify the traits that led to their success. Build a relationship with them; have them serve as your mentors. Commit to being a lifelong learner. Be the expert and professional for whom you would like to work. Regardless of where you are on the spectrum in these areas, there are always things you can do to continually improve.
RICHARD MARINUCCI has been a chief for more than 30 years. He is a speaker at FDIC, a columnist for Fire Engineering and Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazines, and the editor of the 7th edition of the Fire Chief’s Handbook. He is a faculty member at Eastern Michigan University.
Richard Marinucci will present “People, Politics, and Problems: the Job Description for Chief Officers” on Monday, April 18, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., at FDIC International 2016 in Indianapolis.
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