JR Hall's Blog (3)

Finding the balance between leadership skills and the popularity contest can be the most challenging transition faced by newly promoted leaders. This is a career long struggle for some. It is not easy switching roles. One day you are working for the idiot and the next day you are the idiot. It doesn't take long to realize that maybe; just maybe, you didn't give your officer enough credit for all of the issues they had to deal with on a day to day basis. I know the switch to company officer…

In today’s economy, firms are tightening their belts to save money in all areas of business. Number crunchers are getting more creative with cost cutting and often challenging employees to come up with new, cheaper, more efficient ways of doing business in order to realize higher profits. Fire departments are not exempt. Fire chiefs do not have to report earnings to share holders or work to increase profits but they are tasked with being fiscally responsible.

Human resources are a…

I am fortunate to be assigned to the busiest engine company in an urban department where I can get a great deal of experience every day. My engine averages around 4000 calls a year and we have more target hazards than I can count. I consider myself lucky that every day I go to work I get plenty of opportunities to practice my job. Unfortunately my attitude is not the prevailing one.

I recently had a conversation with a relatively new lieutenant about call volume. I was giving him a…