By Rick Lasky
Is a mentoring program really that important? Why do we need a mentoring program, anyway? These two questions pretty much answer themselves. But from time to time, you will hear someone ask, Is it worth the work? Do we really get anything out of such a program? When will we see results? The answers to these three questions are “Yes,” “Yes,” and “Almost immediately.”
IS IT WORTH THE WORK?
Yes, but you could say that to just about everything we do. Is it worth the work needed to keep your apparatus looking good and operating properly? Yes. Is it worth the work needed to take care of your tools? Yes. Is it worth the work needed to take care of all the little things that need to be done? Yes. Is it worth the work needed to know your job better, to learn a little more about what you do? Of course it is. Basically, it comes down to just what kind of firefighter you want to be or, if you’re a leader, what kind of firefighters you want to work with. Note I said work with you, not work for you. Working with your members-involving them early in their career-promotes a team atmosphere and usually results in the troops doing just about anything for you because they know that you care about them and consider them essential to the team’s success.
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There are a few departments out there where every day it seems to be a challenge or a roll of the dice to see if the apparatus even starts or if anything on it works. Their tools are usually rusted, stuck to the side of the apparatus, or beat up; and when they go to use their halligan, they tend to use it like a plunger. But then again, they’re also the same group that you have a hard time getting to turn off Jerry Springer and to learn a little more about their job.
Remember, anything that makes our fire service better is worth the work, and a good mentoring program is worth the work. The mentoring concept can vary from department to department, depending on your budget, programs that are available, attitude among the troops, and support from the top. Mentoring doesn’t cost anything, but not developing our people does. The bottom line is, Are your members sharing the wealth, sharing the knowledge, and making every attempt to help develop other members?
DO WE REALLY GET ANYTHING OUT OF IT?
Yes, if you are willing to get something out of it. The person being mentored needs to have an open mind and be willing to listen. Likewise, the mentor needs to have an open mind and, more importantly, be a good listener. It is a system of checks and balances that enables you to see if anything you are doing is working or if you are just going through the motions. Good mentoring doesn’t mean just giving out the answers to some test. It is giving what those members need to succeed, what they need to develop-and giving it all. All too often you’ll find some people who hold back for fear that “they’ll know as much as I do.” Knowing as much as the next person is a good thing-it’s the only way to keep getting better. When we get people to know their jobs better, they will do it more safely.
WHEN WILL WE SEE RESULTS?
Almost immediately! A good mentoring program will give those in it that feeling of association; that they belong; that someone is willing to give them what they need to do their job better; that people are willing to share. On the other hand, some people have good intentions, but in the process of putting together their program they make it so difficult that people do not want to participate. To have a good program, determine what you want to get out of it.
WHERE DO WE BEGIN?
That depends on what you want to accomplish. Do you want a program for a specific rank or for the whole department? Some departments institute a mentoring program for captains. This is where our next battalion chief is coming from. The captain role is critical when it comes to development among the rank and file. Also, the captain may be a good place to start because the numbers usually are easier to manage.
THE LEWISVILLE PROGRAM
In Lewisville, Texas, we realized we were losing some of our members to retirement and that when they left they would take all those years of experience with them. We wanted to capture the information before these senior members left. We began with the “Mentor Questionnaire” (see sidebar). The members are asked to take a few minutes and jot down some things that would tap their experience, knowledge, and tricks of the trade-information that would be passed along to our newest and future members. We poll members with 15 or more years of experience. It is also given to members who put in for retirement.
All of this information is then taken and placed in our “Mentor Book.” This book contains a table of contents, background on the questionnaire, and five sections for the five questions asked. Every new member is required to review it; a copy of the book is kept in all stations, the administrative offices, and the training division. Our goal is to have a book in the years to come that is chock full of great information.
The next step in our mentoring process is “Positional line of sight” mentoring. This is training a member for his next position or promotion.
From firefighter to driver engineer. When a firefighter is ready to move up, the captain submits a request to the battalion chief, who then submits it to the training division. The member is then given the material he needs to study for a written exam and a time frame for completion. After completing and passing the written exam, he is given a driving and pumping practical. Both require a passing grade. When these are completed, the training division submits the member’s name to the chief of operations to be approved to serve in the acting driver engineer role.
From driver engineer to captain. First comes the request or recommendation to move up to captain. The promotional process involves a written exam, a tactical assessment involving a single- family dwelling fire, and in-basket exercises dealing with the types of scenarios a shift captain would face. After passing all portions of the exam, the results are sent to the chief of operations for approval.
From captain to battalion chief. This is tailored more for the multicompany officer. The tactical assessment involves a multifamily dwelling fire with several challenges and in-basket exercises that cover typical situations a battalion chief would handle. The candidate also has to ride with the battalion chief for a minimum of three shifts. During these shifts, the battalion chief and the captain can switch roles, with the captain acting as battalion chief and the battalion chief serving as “coach.”
Mentoring shouldn’t be just a buzzword, and it shouldn’t be a program that you hastily put together. At the same time, it shouldn’t take years to develop or to get through.
Think back to the times when one of your mentors sat down with you and shared. Think now how valuable that information was and probably still is.
A good mentoring program has to cover a variety of topics. The overall goal is to spread information up and down the experience ladder. A good program will make your incidents go more smoothly; elevate your organization overall; and, most importantly, provide a much safer environment in which to work.
Rick Lasky, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, is chief of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department. Previously, he was chief of the Coeur d’Alene (ID) Fire Department and training officer of the Darien-Woodridge (IL) and Bedford Park (IL) Fire Departments. While in Illinois, he taught for the Illinois Fire Service Institute and Illinois Fire Chiefs’ Association and received the 1996 International Society of Fire Service Instructors “Innovator of the Year” award for his part in the development of the “Saving Our Own” program. He is the lead instructor for the H.O.T. Firefighter Survival program at FDIC West and is co-lead instructor for the program at FDIC. He is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering and serves on the FDIC and FDIC West advisory committees.
