Officer Question

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brandon Krause on February 26, 2009 at 10:43pm

I have learned that if the company is out checking the rig, check it with them. If they are washing the rig, wash it with them, and so on with station duties and all. I have been in a position where I washed and checked the rig alone some shifts, I always make it a point that if Im not in a meeting with the chief or other brass to be working with my crew!

Permalink Reply by Art Zern on February 27, 2009 at 7:41pm

Great responses. The most important trait, in my opinion, is to lead by example. To lead by example includes all of the above mentioned items and I would add that your example needs to extend to every conversation, every phone call, every e-mail, every single action and reaction. You will be evaluated and held to account for the degree to which your deeds align with your words. We have very few things in this life that really belong to us....our reputations and our credibility are two important "belongings". As an officer, work daily to seek continuous improvement (for you and your men) to achieve and maintain the reputation as a leader. Your men will follow.

Seek to establish credibility as a craftsmen in the trade, become the "go to guy". Once you have established a measure of credibility and a good reputation...protect them at all times and improve upon them with every opportunity. Additionally, protect your members from harm. Have a genuine interest not only for their physical safety, but also for their general well-being. Honor them and the other members of your department and their service always. If they don't believe that you care for them and have their best interest in mind, they will not trust you. If you don't have their trust, you will not have their respect.

Participate and supervise in even the most routine daily tasks such as the daily rig check. Begin the day as a team, the check should be performed as a company...all members. It’s not about checking the boxes on the form, it is about team building and training and gaining a greater depth of knowledge about your rig and equipment. Even the simple, mundane, daily tasks have value.

Advocate for them, push them, pull them and don't fear the difficult issues. As you deal with them it will get easier. Issues such as tolerance in the firehouse can be very difficult to deal with effectively; however, remember...if you condone it, you own it. Without or in the absence of leadership...there will be leadership. That is and should be your job, don't let anyone else provide the leadership your company members need and desire. Teach them that it is our duty and obligation to each other to maintain a level of fitness and wellness. There is no one else to come to our aid when the @#&*!# hits the fan. Make fitness and wellness a priority. Wear your seat belts and insist that everyone wears theirs. OK, enough from me, I know we could all go on and on.

Just one question...food for thought. This is all great and wouldn't it be wonderful to promote the members that are described in these posts? The problem is...how do we identify, mentor, test, select and promote these people? I have never found or talked to anyone that has "the" promotional testing process that selects the right people with any measure of reliability. How can we get that done? The fire service needs great leaders now and especially in the future. We don’t seem to have any trouble identifying those traits that are critical, but can we test for them? So many of these traits are intangible and unfortunately, un-testable. This simple fact helps me to understand why a Chief would want to “hand pick” officers and why exempt rank for the Chief Officers is desirable to many Chiefs. I must say, that if it was my business, my committee or my fire department, I’d sure like to pick my leadership team.

What are your thoughts?

Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on February 28, 2009 at 12:34am

All of the replies were excellent, but i think JIM VENA hit the nail right on head. GREAT ANSWER!

Permalink Reply by Brandon Krause on March 1, 2009 at 11:44pm

Art, in our department officers my be selected by test or appointment by the chief. I agree that you cannot test for these traits but I think that assessment centers being used as part of a promotion process help.

Permalink Reply by Todd Trudeau on March 2, 2009 at 12:11pm

Art and all,

I had made the suggestion of this thing called an 'officer mentor program' at my dept. It was like I invented the cure for all that is wrong in the world - at first.

I found it odd that no one ever seemed to consider this strange approach to teach, evaluate and improve the depts.' effectiveness. Anyhow, after the five minutes of WOW!!! that sounds like a good idea, came the "I'm more senior than so and so and I'm not going to take orders from him".

My suggestion, was having the new officer ride the seat and make the decisions and such for the particular call they're on. The mentoring officer would ride the backstep and oversee the mentoree and intervene when necessary and/or appropriate. A short critique could take place on the good, the bad and the ugly upon returning to quarters. I thought this would allow the new officer time to learn good communication skills, decision making skills, report writing skills, understand the "new" responsibiltes, etc., etc.

Of course I know this is not some new concept by any means but it sure felt like it. I think the ego's just can't get past the sharing what you know concept. Needless to say this got NO traction at all and as a pipeman, I have no ability to push this idea (until I become an Officer, then I guess it'll be something to try - strange mentality indeed.)

Keeping The Faith
Todd

Permalink Reply by Brandon Krause on March 3, 2009 at 1:25pm

Todd,
We actually do the mentoring in our dept. The new officer rides the seat and the mentor is an observer for the shift. We do not use the mentor as a crew member, he attaches to the new officer and is there to answer any questions that come up and help him get in the right direction. It worked well with the officer I mentored until he decided he wanted to re-invent the wheel and run his shift like its a completely different dept. Oh well, the concept is great!

Permalink Reply by Joe Heim on March 3, 2009 at 2:12pm

Brandon,

Does your department have a policy or guideline on the mentoring process? If so can you e-mail me a copy

edfire18@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Joe

Brandon Krause said:

Todd,
We actually do the mentoring in our dept. The new officer rides the seat and the mentor is an observer for the shift. We do not use the mentor as a crew member, he attaches to the new officer and is there to answer any questions that come up and help him get in the right direction. It worked well with the officer I mentored until he decided he wanted to re-invent the wheel and run his shift like its a completely different dept. Oh well, the concept is great!

Permalink Reply by Art Zern on March 3, 2009 at 3:39pm

gents,

We are currently mentoring "Acting Company Officers" and I am working on formalizing the process in the form of a policy. As Brandon suggests, the "Actor" rides with an Officer. Ours will be a three step process that will include policy and SOP/SOG review, filling-out reports, tactical simulations and so on. Strangely enough, we don't have the same for newly promoted Officers?????? Hopefully we will get there. Unfortunately and likely a topic for another thread, my Chief believes that almost anyone will make a good officer and therefore..............................

Permalink Reply by Kurt Callisen on March 4, 2009 at 2:50pm

Art, we tryed something like that, but there is no formal process. I would be very interested to see what you guys come up with. An we do the samething with are officers, the only preperation you get is what you find for your self. So on Monday you are on the ambo, Thursday you are the new company officer. good luck.

Kurt

Permalink Reply by Brandon Krause on March 4, 2009 at 7:59pm

We do not have a formal SOP for this yet either, sort of a new concept for us. We are doing the SOP review, report writing, and tactical sims with the new promotes though. We are also working to make sure the EMS skills are up on these guys as well since they will be commanding they troops on EMS and collisions. One process we take advantage of as well is an officers college. It is good for the new officers and guys who ride up a seat.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Schwering on March 5, 2009 at 2:43pm

Guys,

We had a program, informal as it was, when I made Lt. That was 14 plus years ago, that program was left to the Captains to help the new Lt. along. Now that I'm in the position I'm in, I hope to try to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I truely believe that the leadership and management skills of the Company Officer, help to breed the thrirst for the knowledge of stragedy and tactics we all must have, especially the Company Officer, to ensure the saftey of ourselves and our companies.

What do you all think?
KTF
Jeff

Permalink Reply by M on August 4, 2009 at 6:05pm

Hey, I have to say this is great definition. It reminds me of my captain I have currently. Of the many officers I have worked for, he is the first that meets this definition and he makes coming to work a real pleasure. Nice job!

Jim Vena said:

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.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page