Introspection and the Company Officer

By Kyle Matousek

The fire service is not immune to the issues that are facing society today, such as the polarized political climate, generational differences, and mental health concerns and increasing suicides within the industry, among other things. Never have firefighters had to deal with and lead through what we are facing today. These times aren’t for the fainthearted, and they require exceptional leadership.

The problems that surface because of a polarizing environment and generational differences are the blame game: everyone thinks all the problems are someone else’s. It is never your own fault, but someone else’s, especially if they do not align with your thought processes. The mental health issues come from an industry so entrenched in tradition that it has failed to notice and resolve the reason members are committing suicide. We are too proud to say “I’m hurting and do not know why.” If you say something along those lines, it’s probable that no one knows how to help, and coworkers may shame you because of your vulnerability. Finally, the fire service does a poor job of breeding new leaders. Many classes are antiquated and do not fit the needs of the fire service. The approach needs to change to have a succession plan that will allow room for the growth and development of an exceptional leader.

• The American Fire Service Leadership Pandemic
• The 10 Commandments for the Company Officer: A Guide for Success Off the Fireground
• Firefighters and Accountability: The Victim Mindset and Fire Department Culture
• Tailboard Talk: Why Do We Play the Blame Game? Let’s Turn It on Its Head!

For the company officer, leadership has two facets: leading the members on the fireground to mitigate the emergency at hand, and the leadership required within the walls of the firehouse. Both arenas require two different leaderships styles. To exhibit exceptional leadership, a company officer must know the difference and be able to adapt themselves to the environment where leadership is required. This article will look at providing exceptional leadership in the firehouse, which helps establish better firefighters, making them more capable on the emergency scene.

To exhibit exceptional leadership, a company officer must be introspective, that is, capable of reflecting on one’s own thoughts and feelings. I would wager that many still struggle with this characteristic. It is difficult to look at yourself in the mirror and realize that you have your hand in all the circumstances you find yourself in. Through your action or inaction, you have some level of responsibility to the situation. It is easier to point the fingers at everyone and everything around you, but if you want to become an influential leader, the only person you should point at is yourself.

From here on out, the only time you should point your finger is when you are standing in front of the mirror. To be blunt, if you blame and point your finger at anyone else, you are not a leader. We need to understand why we are the way we are, and this underscores the importance of introspection: it enables us to understand why other people are the way that they are, enabling the leader to lead each individual on a personal basis. We learn who we are by taking a journey into our past and discovering the events that have spurred the traits we carry with us today. These traits may not be the true essence of who we are, but rather a product of the environments we grew up in and the things we experienced. Learning who you are makes you look in that mirror and ask some tough questions. Expect even tougher answers.

We need personal growth today more than ever because of the increase in suicides and mental health issues in the fire service. We developed traits based on our past, and many people who go into a trauma-based industry come from trauma themselves. Leaders must be able to examine their past and continue to grow. It will be one of the hardest things you will do. The growth that arises from taking an introspective journey, though, can completely change your life, outlook, and leadership ability. For the first time in your life, you can truly learn who you are at your core, develop the traits you have always wanted, and become that person you were always meant to be. When you take that journey, you cultivate traits like empathy and compassion. You learn what it means to be a human being and not define yourself by the job title. All of this grants you the ability to be an exceptional leader. Once you take that journey, you understand how hard it is, but you also know how it can change the lives of your subordinates because you understand how it impacted your own life.

An introspective ability allows for growth in many areas of one’s well-being. Beyond learning about emotions, you actually experience them. This helps develop healthy stress-reduction techniques, enables you to learn to be present in the moment, and defines your purpose and meaning in life. This gives you a lot of power. Beyond learning about yourself, it compels you to take a level of responsibility for things in your life and create an environment for others to follow. By constantly reevaluating yourself, you become a force to be reckoned with, no longer merely laying blame on everything on everyone else. You understand that you play a role in all situations, even if it is as simple as your attitude towards something you may have no control over. People will recognize the change and observe how you are living, and eventually they will follow. Introspection may seem superficially selfish, but in all reality it may be one of the most unselfish things you ever do.

• What Makes a Good Company Officer?
• Fire Officers: Are You a Manager or a Leader?
• Basic Traits of Effective Leaders
• Characteristics of a Bad Officer

One of the major takeaways from introspection is learning to live your life intentionally: everything you do has a specific purpose and desired outcome. As a leader, you want to have the ability to learn and establish a growth mindset that is slow and small. This allows for living in the present moment and developing strategies for the next step. You will find that you will only want to be around those who allow and encourage you to grow. The cliche traits we hear spoken about of exception leaders only develop fully when someone can look within. As the fire service continues to progress, so do the ideas around leadership and management. New and innovative ideas need to be tried; regardless of whether they work, we need to keep progressing.

Fire departments across the nation all teach leadership in some form or another; there are always good and bad classes we’ve taken. I truly believe leadership training needs to move on from the same old antiquated ideas from 50, 60, and 70 years ago. I’m not saying those teachings are worthless, but we are living in unprecedented times. Classes often talk about McGregor’s X and Y Theory, Authoritative Theory, and so on, but typical leadership styles are not as effective these days and the trainings need to change. I think those outside the fire service—specifically, people who understand human behavior, such as psychologists, licensed clinicians, and the like—should teach firefighter and officer classes that focus on leadership. Students need to be challenged on a personal level to reach their full potential as a leader. We are always too afraid to get personal, but now is the time to develop introspective leaders who can first look within to develop others.

Another idea is to integrate human behavior development within your fire department. This was prompted by a colleague when I posed the question: How do you fix mental health issues? Provide room for a professional in human behavior to become a part of your department, much like a department doctor or chaplain. This person learns the organization, the individuals within it, and operates as support system who can also provide guidance and advice for those looking to grow. Through developing new, up-to-date leadership classes and providing integrated human behavior development, the fire service can take drastic, progressive steps to developing new exceptional leaders.

• Provider, Know Thy Patient
• Behavioral Health: Rescuing the Rescuers
• PTSD: Calling the Psychological Mayday
• ‘Are You Okay?’ Firefighters and Psychological Rehab

Some additional thoughts regarding introspection:

• Do you know what makes you who you are? Why do you have that personality? Is it what you want or just what you became?
• How can you treat people better?
• What is one problem, personal or professional, that you are a part of? What action or inaction perpetuates the problem? If you have no control over it, then what is your attitude towards it?
• What is your purpose?
• Are you intentional in developing your subordinates? How?

Once you examine your interior self, your actions, and your personality, you can then take steps to build those around you. Do not expect others to change around you if you are unwilling to make any changes yourself.

It can be difficulty to extensively focus on your motives and behaviors, but to be an exceptional leader, you must be able to be introspective. As you learn this skill, things will change—your outlook, desires, purpose, and more. Your fire company will benefit from that journey and you will then be able to provide an environment for tremendous growth. Being introspective benefits every aspect of life, not merely your work environment. Personally, if you’re a parent, wife, or husband, I can guarantee things will improve. Everything comes full circle: one’s personal life improves, which then improves one’s professional life, or vice versa. Everything harmonizes. The goal here is not just to become better leaders in the firehouse or learn what exceptional leaders must be, but rather to become a better human being and provide an environment for others to do the same. This builds on every aspect of life. Life is too short to live with negativity, blaming others, and having poor outlooks. It is time to get rid of all that. It is time to look in the mirror and become that person you are meant to be. Then you can exhibit the exceptional leadership so desperately needed in many aspects of society today, which includes leadership within the firehouse. I challenge you to go look in the mirror, point the finger, and learn to cultivate introspection.

Kyle Matousek is a lieutenant with the Oak Brook (IL) Fire Department. He has been in the fire service for 12 years and is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. He is a certified Fire Officer 1, Fire Investigator, and Fire Department Safety Officer, and has earned his master’s degree in public safety.