Paul Strong's Blog – March 2014 Archive (2)

It doesn't matter if you're a volunteer, paid, or part-time firefighter. In this business trust is everything. Without a strong foundation of trust, we will surely miss opportunities to be successful at every level of the organization.

Opportunity number 1 - Do your citizens trust that you know how to do your job, provide great customer service, and will be responsible with their tax dollars.  Building this type of trust in your community is a non-stop effort. Every time you…

As a company officer, one of the earliest things to accomplish with each individual firefighter on your crew is to have a one-on-one meeting and ensure they fully understand what your expectations are.  After this is accomplished, you sit down with the entire crew and discuss the goals and vision and invite them to weigh in on what the team can do to meet those objectives.  Getting their buy in, listening to their thoughts and ideas, and allowing them to be a part of the team direction is a…