Leadership from the Bottom
Leadership is not about how much you know but about your ability to motivate others to learn and to teach. As a rookie, you have a much bigger impact on the firehouse than you might imagine. Regardless of what department you are in, volunteer or career, big or small, you are an important part of that department’s current and future culture. You are being observed and critiqued by senior members on every single task you do. From cleaning a toilet to stretching a line to cutting a vent hole, every moment of your day is being looked at by your peers. How will you present yourself?
Your first day on shift, you can make a positive impact on the culture of that entire shift. We all know the rules of your first shift: Show up early, bring a treat for the shift, and take in as much information as you possibly can. This shouldn’t end after your first day. Continue to come in early for your shift. This is one of the easiest ways to make an impact. Continue to bring in something for the shift; it can be something as small as coffee creamer. It shows you care about the people you work with. Never stop taking in as much information as possible. Nobody knows it all; you can learn something every day throughout your entire career.
Every day when you walk in the door, have a smile on your face. If you need to force it, then do so. You can make or break an entire tour based on attitude. Every department has that 18-year veteran who is miserable and complains all day. When has that ever made a positive impact on anything? When a rookie comes in with a positive attitude and is ready to go, the shift takes notice and will respond to that positive attitude with more positivity.
Volunteer for jobs nobody wants. As the rookie, it is most likely going to be your responsibility to get those done anyway. Jump in right away and take care of it before you are told to handle it. Do it with a smile and excitement. This will show your initiative and willingness to go above and beyond.
Training is one of the most important parts of the job. As the rookie, it is not your job to teach others. It is your job to motivate others to train you. Spend a lot of your day going through your truck. Learn where everything is. When you come across a piece of equipment that you are not sure how or when to use, ASK somebody. This will often lead to an impromptu 10-minute training for the whole crew. If there is a topic you are interested in and want to know more about, ask your officer for training on it. Every shift has at least one thing that you want to learn about. If you can do this, more often than not, your entire crew will end up learning something new about that topic.
Training is one of the best ways to build camaraderie with a crew. This is where the rookie can have a massive impact on the culture of a shift. Obviously, your department will have the training you are supposed to be doing monthly, and your officer will have training for your shift that day. I am not referring to bigger training. I am referring to those tabletop discussions you can start, those 10- to 15-minute tool reviews, those tactical decision-making conversations you can spark by simply asking a question. If you, as a rookie, are constantly coming up with things to train on that lead to many shiftwide drills, you can improve morale more than you could imagine. Not only will this benefit you by improving your abilities, but your entire crew will benefit. Eventually, the crew will start looking to you for ideas and for ways to improve every member on a shift.
You will not be the leader of the shift as a rookie, and you shouldn’t be. You are there to learn and provide a service to the citizens. However, by doing the little things, you can put the love of the job back into the senior members. You can inspire your officer to improve his knowledge base. You can bring positivity into an entire department.
A leader is not defined by rank or years of service. A leader is not always the smartest person in the room. A leader will inspire others to be better, will bring positivity to the day, will make the job fun again, and will do the jobs nobody wants so that nobody else has to do them. Often, it’s all the little things that will define a leader. You don’t need to make all the decisions. You don’t need to do the grand gestures. The cumulative effect of everyday tasks that improve the life of others is what will make you a leader.
As the rookie, you are capable of making a difference. Whether it’s good or bad is your decision. Having a good attitude can change an entire department, and that’s what leaders do.
Sean Welcome
Firefighter
Biddeford (ME) Fire Department
Are We Mentally Training for Retention?
I joined the fire service in December 1996. Yes, I am old school. The mentality back then, and even in a lot of ways today, was to “Suck it up, buttercup” when it came to how the job affected us. As a young man at just 18 years old, I was taught right from my recruit training by members who had 20-plus years that we didn’t show weakness. Emotions and feelings toward how the job was bothering you were part of that weakness.
Fast-forward 26 years. Now, most of the 20-year members are long retired. My generation is wearing the brass and is in training and leadership roles in departments across the country. The problem is, so many of those men and women were initially trained and mentally preconditioned the same way I was. So now, unless they went against the grain, they are molding an entirely new generation the same way they were.
We all know that this job will affect you in more ways than one. The long hours, pay, inadequate equipment, stations, injuries, suicides, and line-of-duty deaths bring, at the very least, compassion fatigue. In the long run, these situations contribute to depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, early onset cardiac disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), domestic violence, divorce, job loss, demotion, and lack of applicants, to name a few. Added to this is the newer, younger generation who expects their employer—i.e., the fire service—to support their mental health.
Retention is at an all-time low overall in the fire service. What used to yield 25- to 35-year careers, now most departments are likely to hold onto a member for 20 years. In some cases, quality firefighting and emergency medical services staff are making for the door by 10 to 15 years. So, what happens when the fire service sticks to the old mentality of “175 years of tradition unimpeded by progress”? Well, the most obvious is that you create a statistic. That statistic is that in the fire service, you are two to three times more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. The other problems that are created are a smaller employee pool, lack of retention, and early retirement.
Firefighting is one of the most gratifying and rewarding careers there is. Back in my late teens and early 20s, there were tests, waiting lists, and even bribery to get into this field. Now, departments close firehouses not because of budget cuts but because they just don’t have the staffing.
One of the other contributing factors affecting retention is “mission deprivation.” This is the stress of not being stressed. Often overlooked, as firefighters, we “prepare” ourselves for the inevitable stress that comes with our jobs and the duties required. What isn’t considered is what happens when that stress isn’t there. A false sense of identity can take over and at times leave the first responder feeling guilty for taking credit for being “something he is not.” Often, this is in the form of the word “hero.” This stress can lead you to question your place in the fire service.
There are resources, modalities, and even people willing to present their story of survival in an effort to change the current culture. Leaders, administrators, chief officers, and the newest members of theses departments need to invoke a culture of support and understanding with regard to mental health, wellness, and ultimately resiliency.
We just need to shift our mentality and change the culture a bit. That starts with the current leadership and administration. We have to start acknowledging that mental health, compassion fatigue, and PTSD are real occurrences. We have to start proactively managing these situations right from the academy when the new hires walk in the door. If we can give those currently on the job and those coming on the tools and resources to be mentally healthier and more resilient, then we can solve our retention problems.
Keith Hanks
Firefighter/EMT (Ret.)
Massachusetts
