By Nate Larkin
via O2X
You are on the front lines of operations, and you represent your agency with your actions. Your decisions dictate the outcomes of civilian lives, property, and the safety of your team. Fire service leadership is shown to incorporate many different styles with many different traits and backgrounds. Some lead from the front. Some lead from the back. Some lead somewhere in between. Some leaders come from large metropolitan departments and some from small-town volunteer departments. As a leader, no matter the size or location of your department, you have an enormous responsibility to the citizens, your team, and your agency. So, how do you ensure the highest quality of service and the highest potential for a positive incident outcome? You develop your team into informal leaders. These informal leaders are equipped with clear goal messaging and have decentralized authority to make decisions. Everyone on your team, from the newest to the most senior, understands the clearly communicated expectations.
Communicate Expectations Clearly
Communicating expectations is one of the most important roles of a leader. It applies everywhere, from everyday station activities to fireground tactics and EMS incidents. Your expectations should be understood by everyone on your team. They will include your expectations for supporting your agency: standard operating procedures, rules and regulations, suppression incident tactics, EMS incident patient care, teamwork, mentorship, training, and the list goes on. This sounds like a lot, right? Well, it is. However, the front work that you put in with your team on understating and buying in to your expectations will allow for smooth execution of the basics when operating in the firehouse and on the incident scene. There was a catch statement in there: “buying in.” When laying out your expectations, allow your team to have input. As a leader, you need to be flexible where possible. Allowing your team to have input will help mold each member of your team into informal leaders. You don’t have to make every decision on how things are accomplished. It doesn’t always have to be your way. If you have communicated the expectations correctly, your team will understand what the end goal is and formulate a plan to get there. Remember, you don’t know everything, and you have a team full of knowledge to mold into a well-rounded set of expectations.
Simplify the Mission
As a leader, you must ensure that everyone on your team has a clear understanding of the mission. The mission at the time may be as simple as taking care of the housework in the fire house, or it may be for the tactics in a residential structure fire with trapped occupants. No matter the scale, simplify it to the basics. Clearly communicate what the mission is and what the mission objectives are to your team. Ensure everyone is clear on their assigned role. Constantly keep your team apprised of information as you receive it. Once on scene or at the station, housework begins. Allow your team to work. Take on and foresee the mission progression for what it is, and don’t overcomplicate it. Lines need to be stretched, ladders thrown, searches completed, and high-quality patient care provided. You are now an extension of your team to ensure they have what they need to accomplish their goals and redirect operations if needed.
Decentralize
Your team is your most valuable asset as a leader. There’s a saying: “There are no bad teams, only bad leaders.” How true that is! Think about it. Do you really want to have to answer every single little question from every single member of your team? Do you really want to dictate every single movement that every single member of your team makes in an incident? Decentralizing does not mean delegating your tasks. Decentralizing means giving your team of informal leaders the ability to make decisions and complete tasks with an understanding of the goals, objectives, and expectations that you and your team have a clear understanding of. By decentralizing leadership, you have provided guidance, support, and opportunities for skill development. Additionally, you have enhanced members’ decision-making abilities, communication skills, and overall leadership abilities. Here is another one for you: Success belongs to your team, and failure belongs to you as the leader. Build a team of decentralized, informal leaders.
Mentor, Motivate, and Support
As a leader, you become far more than just your employees’ boss. With a new position, you are now the one who your team will come to when things are not going right at work or home. You will sought out for knowledge and guidance. Grow your team into the well-oiled machine that they deserve to be. Leadership includes mentoring, motivating, and supporting your team not only when things are going well but, more importantly, when things are not going as well. Remember that your responsibility is to your team. Mentor them to be better. Uncover all their strengths and weaknesses. Put them in positions that will enhance their talents and grow them personally and the entire team. Don’t let things be okay; let things be great. Encourage regular training that brings your team up and develops strong teamwork. Be the motivator that your team desires. You must remember to show up for your team every day. Motivate them to attend classes and conferences and to step out of their comfort zone. Lastly, support them in every way necessary. This is your team. They will look to you for your support. This may include when things are not going well at home, addiction, signing up for classes, understanding policies, talking through tactics, being disciplined, developing training, etc. Find a way to be there for them. You owe them every bit of knowledge, experience, and departmental resource that is available.
Leading by Example
Ultimately, a leader’s role in nurturing informal leaders also involves leading by example. Never walk by a problem. By demonstrating integrity, resilience, and a commitment to continuous improvement, leaders set a standard for others to follow. This serves as a powerful motivator for aspiring leaders and reinforces the values and principles that are essential for effective leadership within the fire service. Hold yourself to the highest standard—well above the departmental minimum. Your team will become a mirror image of your example. That image is then the face of your team and their abilities to perform. As your team grows from being informal leaders to formal leaders, they will have their past experiences and training to use as they develop their own team. Be the leader that they want to continue promoting as an example of what to become.
The role of a fire service leader in nurturing new leaders is multifaceted and essential for the long-term success of your team and the organization. This involves promoting a work environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and accountability. By instilling these values, leaders cultivate fertile ground for the growth and development of future leaders. By communicating expectations, simplifying the mission, setting clear goals, decentralizing, leading by example, and providing mentorship, motivation, support, fire service leaders can ensure that the organization is well-equipped to meet future challenges so that your team will continue to serve the community effectively.
About O2X Instructor Nate Larkin
Nate Larkin is an O2X instructor with 16 years of career experience from Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department. Currently at the rank of Lieutenant, Nate is assigned to T425 in Reston, Virginia. His passion for training is focused on the psychological and physiological stressors which the mind and body are subject to during training and on the fireground. Previously, Nate was the Operational Training Unit Lead in the Field Training Branch where he managed, developed, and instructed numerous training classes during conferences both nationally and internationally. Nate is also a current H.O.T. Instructor at FDIC International.
O2X Human Performance provides comprehensive, science-backed programs to hundreds of public safety departments, federal agencies, and the military. O2X works with clients to elevate culture, improve mental and physical wellbeing, support healthy lifestyles, and reduce healthcare costs associated with injuries and illnesses. Driven by results and cutting-edge research, O2X programs are designed and delivered by a team of Special Operations veterans, high-level athletes, and hundreds of leading experts in their respective fields of human performance.
