By Mike Clements
There’s an old saying around firehouses across the country: You can leave a $20 bill on the kitchen table and it will stay there forever, but the half-life of a dozen chocolate chip cookies left out in the kitchen is about 20 minutes or less. Most firefighters are good and honest people. There are subtle things people sometimes do that may not seem that bad on the surface, but actually break down trust and cause a lot of damage.
Make no mistake: Integrity and trust are cornerstones of the fire service culture. These are must-haves for frontline employees like newly promoted company officers. Our environment can be intense, chaotic, and dangerous. Without trusting relationships, there’s a far greater risk for serious or even tragic consequences. When you are asking people to do hard things, there absolutely has to be a very strong element of trust.
- The Firehouse Kitchen Table: The Importance of the Morning Meeting
- Building Trust: Decentralized Idea Making
- Successful Training Depends on Practice and Trust
- TRUST: The Five Tenets of Leadership
What happens when we don’t have trust around the kitchen table, on the shift, or in the department? In my own career, I’ve seen trust diminish in leaders and in subordinates. When it does, it is generally very bad for everyone. Our culture quickly goes downhill. The job we all love becomes the job some just come to for a paycheck. Engagement declines and organizations begin to experience higher turnover. These kind of trust issues lead to tense and fearful employees who are secretive with information, micromanagement from leaders, etc.
A lack of trust is especially harmful to the newcomers (one- to five-year members) and the high performers. The newcomers quickly develop bad habits because they assume what they’re seeing is “normal.” As for high performers, they’re usually the ones who end up walking out the door. It’s no secret what happens to an organization when its best people leave.
The good news is, most leaders and employees genuinely want to work in a trust-filled environment. In fact, sometimes the people who are doing things that erode trust either don’t realize they are doing something wrong, or don’t understand how damaging their actions may be.
The first step to building trust is learning the actions that undermine trust. Read on for seven “trust busters” that may harm your fire department.
Trust Buster #1: Pretending you know something when you don’t. It can be uncomfortable admitting when we don’t know something, so sometimes people pretend otherwise. But healthy organizations make people feel safe to say: “I don’t know.” This is more important than ever in the fire service. Being honest when you don’t understand critical information helps avoid unnecessary risks and injuries. Ensure that people feel comfortable admitting when they need to review best practices and policies or when they need to receive more training. If you are pretending to know something, it is just a matter of time before your crew sees this, and it will be too late.
Trust Buster #2: Not admitting when you are wrong. To maintain trust and build strong relationships, leaders and employees alike need to own up to their mistakes. But all too often, egos get in the way. Work as a team on developing humility so the work culture allows people to admit errors and course correct. When you say you’re wrong, you model vulnerability, which is a major trust builder.
Trust Buster #3: Telling “white lies.” What’s the harm in calling in sick to get a jump on the weekend? Or telling a tiny lie to avoid reprimand for a minor mistake? Using “white lies” to avoid uncomfortable situations may seem harmless, but it spreads false information and damages relationships. And not only are “white lies” a gateway to more serious lies (with potentially greater consequences), they can also be a red flag that the fibber is unhappy with their job or point to workplace culture problems.
To combat “white lies” at work, promote telling the truth no matter what. This includes giving false impressions and lying by omission as well. Radical truthfulness is difficult, but it makes for a safer, healthier workplace in the end.
Trust Buster #4: Tolerating cynicism. Snark, sarcasm, and cynicism can infect your team’s culture and become toxic. Sure, it’s less “cool” to be earnest and kind, but these qualities are the foundation of building trust and fostering connection. Take a hard look at your organization. Are people open, sincere, and kind or biting and cruel? If the latter is present, it’s likely there is a culture of distrust and people feel unsafe.
Trust Buster #5: Not allowing mistakes and failure. When firefighters are worried about failing, they can’t do their best work. Leaders must create an atmosphere of psychological safety and check themselves to make sure they are setting a great example for others to follow. This means encouraging new ideas and never berating an employee for honest mistakes or shortcomings.
Trust Buster #6: Overlooking employees’ struggles (emotional and mental). The last few years have shown us how important it is for organizations to acknowledge workers’ well-being. Destigmatize mental health issues. Be understanding when someone’s personal life impacts the workday. Encourage workers who are struggling to take the time they need to regroup or seek help.
Trust Buster #7: Toxic leadership. Toxic leaders erode trust and create dysfunction. Leaders must take a look in the mirror and assess their behaviors. If you lead by fear or intimidation, work to stop this immediately and make positive changes. Treat people with respect. If you can meet a worker’s special request, graciously do so. Ask people for feedback, even if it’s critical of your performance. Always do what you say you will do.
The first and most important thing we can do as fire service leaders is to recognize when we engage in these trust-busting behaviors and make immediate changes to our behavior. Then we must be diligent about watching for these in our team. These behaviors should not be tolerated. If you see these actions happening, address them—not only for your team today, but for the long-term development of the members of your team. If you recognize a lot of these trust-eroding examples, work on them one at a time. A healthier workplace will become more trusting and safer for everyone on the team.
Mike Clements is the assistant chief of administration and an 18-year veteran with the Cy-Fair Fire Department in Houston, Texas. He also works as a battalion chief in the College Station (TX) Fire Department. He specializes in human resources, relationship management, labor/management relations, and grant writing. He has a master’s degree in public administration from Stephen F. Austin State University and an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University.
