Officer Question

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Permalink Reply by Todd Trudeau on February 22, 2009 at 6:17pm

An officer should have the personal drive to be as knowledgable as possible, be motivated to spread that knowledge through the entire company. Strong enough to be a leader with integrity and skilled enough to instill that integrity in the crew. The ability to bring diverse crews together for the good of the company and deliver them safely home.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Vena on February 22, 2009 at 7:21pm

In my opinion an officer needs to first be a strong firefighter. Proficient and experienced in all tasks a firefighter is called on to preform in their jurisdiction. Then be confident and secure in their own abilities to be a resource and teacher. This is the person that doesn't act like a dictator and is able to maximize and encourage other firefighters to be thinking firefighters. As an officer, you don't always have to be the best, but you need to be able to bring out the best in the men and women you command. Have the confidence to ask for help and accept opinions from your crew when the situation warrants while maintaining the "command presence" to make the final decision and issue sound orders that will be unquestionably followed when on the fire ground or in a life threatening situation. Be able to delegate without micromanaging the job. Have reasonable expectations and communicate and positively reinforce them. When they are not met or department standards are not met, have the courage to take the appropriate level of corrective action. Officer's WILL SCREW UP. Have the integrity to admit the mistake to your crew, learn from it and move on. Treat your crew with respect and remember just because you are an officer doesn't mean anyone respects you. Respect is earned, let your actions speak for you. Constantly keep up to date with the job and train your people. Company drills is where you apply what you learn on paper as well as keep proficient with perishable skills. Some of your people will complain about training, but that is tough. Have the courage to do what is right because these days with jobs few and far between training is where your experience comes from. This isn't comprehensive, but in my opinion are strong foundations of fire officer leadership.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Tenney on February 22, 2009 at 7:38pm

I think Jim hit a lot of great points in the third reply on this thread.

While I can't speak from experience (I'm a private), I can list some attributes that I've admired in company officers.
-Knowing the job. A combination of experience and education; whether provided at the job or pursued by the individual on their own time. In fact, someone motivated enough to get some training on their days off sets a good example for the rest of the troops and also shows what they're about.
-Knowing the troops. Knowing the company members professionally well enough to be able to utilize their strengths to best benefit and help in working on their weaknesses. Knowing them personally well enough to be able to take care of them in that venue when appropriate and when it's needed.
-Being aggressive. As a firefighter that really likes to work, it's great to work for a boss that shares the philosophy. I'm not talking about freelancing - I'm talking about a boss that does their best to have the company 'in position' to take in an additional run or assignment at an incident.
-Being decisive. Here's a huge one for me. If you're the boss, YOU'RE THE BOSS. Coupled with a few other qualities (including some named above), I think that being able to take the reins when needed gains you a lot of respect from your troops and is a cornerstone of effectiveness as a leader and a person.
-Knowing 'when'....when to have a firm hand, when to stand back a little, when to suggest and when to order. I think this would be the hardest attribute to master.
-An occasional attaboy/forwarding compliments from a Chief to the crew also goes along way to motivating people. I think that really good (and secure) officers know they can't get it done without their members. While firefighters don't need or expect to have praise heaped on them, a little bit every once in awhile and especially hearing an officer tell a Chief, "Thanks Chief, but tell the guys....they did it" goes a huge distance .
-Character. Being fair, honest and consistent. I'd say to be willing to make the hard choices, but the hard choices are usually the easiest and most clear-cut ones to make when you get down to it. The circumstances are the hard part to swallow, not the decision. Bosses that have the character to make these calls are ones whose crews will work hard for them.

Those weren't in any particular order and were a few out of about a million facets that make a good boss (at least in my personal opinion).

Be safe.

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Permalink Reply by Jay Hurley on February 22, 2009 at 8:20pm

To me a good officer should be knowledgeable. An officer that does not know his job, (and your job for that matter) has no room telling others how to do theirs. The officer must be able to motivate others, be safety oriented, and be open to ideas from his crew, while still being in charge. Good officers push their men to become better firefighters.

Leadership is the one of the critical factors in the fire service. It's something that can't always be taught, you have to be born with it. Too many officers in our area are promoted solely on seniority. While it has it's place, length of service has little to do with developing qualified officers. An officer that does not earn his title, will not gain the respect or confidence of his men. Hence the phrase "Attitude reflects leadership"

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Krause on February 23, 2009 at 12:05pm

I think Jim and Ian hit the nail on the head as far as the integrity of the officer goes. I think that tactically the officer should have the same standards. He should know the territory (map wise and building wise), know the job and responsibiliy of each position on the truck (and make sure each person knows what is expected), know the truck (capabilities, equipment carried and the location), and lastly he should know the operations section of the SOPs. I think that officer should also be able to do and be knowlegeable about any task that he might order to be done! I have to ask a question with this too, how do we measure an effective company officer?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schwering on February 23, 2009 at 7:43pm

Guys,
All of the points that have been brought up are fantastic, I'd like to add one big one and expand abit on something Ian said.
I was a Lieutenant for 14 years and was just recently, like last Wednesday, promoted to Captain. I've worked 2 shifts with my new crew and the biggest trait that has come out in me is, PATIENCE. Like Ian said, know when to have a firm hand and when to take a step back and listen. Give your members, the credit they deserve, whether it be a little, or alot, but take the time to learn about your crew. I could talk about integrity, building construction, first due area, etc, all night. Be Patient, Listen, Learn, everyday. My education with my new company is ongoing, but my mission is the same, Everyone Goes Home!

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Permalink Reply by Marques Bush on February 23, 2009 at 8:33pm

Jeff congrats and great point!

Jeff Schwering said:

Guys,
All of the points that have been brought up are fantastic, I'd like to add one big one and expand abit on something Ian said.
I was a Lieutenant for 14 years and was just recently, like last Wednesday, promoted to Captain. I've worked 2 shifts with my new crew and the biggest trait that has come out in me is, PATIENCE. Like Ian said, know when to have a firm hand and when to take a step back and listen. Give your members, the credit they deserve, whether it be a little, or alot, but take the time to learn about your crew. I could talk about integrity, building construction, first due area, etc, all night. Be Patient, Listen, Learn, everyday. My education with my new company is ongoing, but my mission is the same, Everyone Goes Home!

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Permalink Reply by Matt Erdman on February 24, 2009 at 9:51am

I can't add much more than what was already said. Being that, I will add this much: A good fire officer, in my humble opinion, is one "that knows what he doesn't know." I've seen far too many fire officers on my job that have stopped becoming students of the business, particular when it comes to seeking out new technicques, etc., and listening to junior members (dare I say younger firefighters) who have a different and valuable skills set that the fire officer may not possess.

I think the ability for the fire officer to check his ego at the door is important. You can still maintain a command presence and be a good listener to your men.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Mason on February 24, 2009 at 1:33pm

Hey Guys these are all great points, thanks for joining the discussion
Here's my two cents
In the vein of common sense who should take charge of the situation if the offcier doesn't show up on a vol dept? I would think that ego should be checked at the door and the best leader should do the job. Sometimes that will be hard to determine for those invovled but it's about everyone going home so the best and most exerineced should do it.
If the local thinking is that the IC program is not flexible enough to allow this then the IC program has go out the door, not the best and brightest. Let's make it make sense.

An officer must be able to delgate but he/she also needs to have set the team in the right direction. This usually needs to be done before the alarm with training. Here we go again with the needed training aspect,right? But it's the truth. The officer must be able to point the crew in the right direction with the least amount of direction and look at the overall protection of the work environment , so the crew can work in relative safety on the scene. I really believe that is what the officer does, watch the overall area for dangers while the FF's perform tasks.
The question comes up with smaller crews than where I work (5 man engine and trucks, total w/ officer ), what happens when the officer must work as a FF along with performing supervision duties. For this I say he has to be doubley good, probabally way better than I would usually need to be and my hat is off to him. I salute him/ her!!

You defenitly need to earn the FF's respect. Without it your have already lost the fight and could very easily lose members on the next fire. They have to respect that you have their best in your mind. First and formost its about the workers, the guys in blue shirts. The FF's put out the fires, make the rescues and care for the sick and dying. The officer should make it be known through actions and words that he is there to support them in the journey.

An officer must also be able to see the strengths and weaknesses of the crew. This also can be done by running the entire team through the needed drills Everyone gets to see all the weaknesses and all the strenghs collectively. We all work together to make the team the best. I was just talking with a buddy of mine and we both agreed that the best team always break up rather quickly because the officer built a team where the individual members were looking to take on more responsiblility. This is becasue the officer built an environment that made them all able to grow. For me, that how's I would measure a good officer. Have they done as good or better than me, in - part because of me? Try to leave it a little better than you found it.

I had to include the following video for Matt E when he mentioned "knowing the unknown" Sorry Matt, I couldn;t help it but I do agree with you on the point!!!. We need to know what we don;t know, espically when it comes to deciding on the fire ground in the heat of battle. But guess where the guy in the video is actually from as he tells his tale - the Chicago area. Strange but true, right? LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol4qL3HgM4w&feature=related

Another question to the group, What is the greatest lesson that you ever learned from an officer?

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Permalink Reply by Matt Erdman on February 24, 2009 at 6:15pm

Funny!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Mason on February 25, 2009 at 10:50am

Yeah Matt
Can you tell he started his politcal carrer in Chicagoland?

What is the greatest lesson that you ever learned from an officer, good or bad?

Matt Erdman said:

Funny!

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schwering on February 25, 2009 at 1:57pm

Hey Jim

Greatest lesson that I've learned, from an old boss of mine, is just what I did my first 2 shifts with my new crew. Watch, listen, and learn. I found that I need to crank myself up a couple of levels. I have a crew and a company with a ton of potential. Not bashing them, many haven't been exposed to alot on the job, but, the experience and enthusiasm isn't there. It will take time, not to mention, I'm the enemy now,because I'm the Captain. All of this will work itself out, PATIENCE, is the key, to keeping my members safe. Any advice from the members of CSF is always welcome.
KTF
Jeff

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