What is Leadership?
Webster’s Dictionary defines leadership as the ability to guide, direct, or influence people.
Most of us have attended a leadership class in which the instructor asked, “Give me some words you would use to define leadership.” Words such as decisive, courageous, integrity, empathy, and so many more will be thrown out. What is leadership to you?
When asked, I like to use the words “just be nice.” I learned this in kindergarten from Mrs. Phyllis Pebley. She would say, “Mr. Troy, just be nice.” Outside of nap time, it is the only thing I remember from kindergarten. I reminded Mrs. Pebley of that when I was honored to speak at her husband’s funeral, Marvin Pebley, past president of the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association.
She gave me the first lesson in leadership. So many of us, when we hear “Be nice,” associate that with America’s Fire Chief, Alan Brunacini from Phoenix. Not to take anything from Chief Bruno, but for me, it will always be Mrs. Pebley. I have failed this leadership test many times; being nice is so complex, and I forget sometimes, no matter how hard I try. We all do, but it does not stop us from trying.
Have you ever heard of the power of three? The combination of three entities creates a result more powerful than the sum of the individual parts. This concept is a common thread in communication theory, literature, psychology, faith, and even popular culture and entertainment.
So why should fire service leadership be any different? As officers, we may have many tasks and goals; regardless of rank, the people we work for want results.
As leaders, we need to do only three things: establish direction, gain commitment, and motivate. Embracing these three components creates a powerful way to accomplish our duties as fire service officers. They are the core of effective fire service leadership.
1. Establish Direction: It is challenging to become a leader and/or an officer without the ability to choose a direction. Keep in mind that while the destination typically remains fixed, the best direction may change.
2. Gain Commitment: A necessary component of leading is having followers. But we know reality is not as easy as logic implies. To lead effectively, you must gain commitment for the direction you establish.
3. Motivate: Now, let us assume you have gained commitment. You are leading, and your followers are following you—for the time being. Your work is still not done. The tougher the trail, the more you will have to move up and down the line of followers to reassure them and address their questions and doubts—this is motivation!
Those three things I talked about above are not the solution for all our leadership woes: even if you desire to do the right thing, there will still be forces working against you. For all the change agents and willing followers in our individual organizations, there are skeptical, cynical, and people who simply want to gain attention by being disagreeable. We will never eliminate that element of the leadership equation.
However, you will unnecessarily empower them if you fail to show up, listen, explain, sell, and listen some more. It will be incumbent upon you as a leader not to become reluctant to engage all your personnel, no matter how tired you are of chasing the same rumors and reluctance to change.
Here are three truths about leadership that I have learned through my journey as a leader:
1. Leadership is a choice
2. Leadership is practice
3. Leadership is a sacrifice
Some words to add to your leadership vocabulary are selling, explaining, listening, answering, meeting, and engaging. We could add so many more words to these, but they are necessary for our long-term success. After all, what did we really achieve if all the good we did ceases the minute we did not hold our position?
There are several leadership training courses available from a host of sources such as Fire Officer I and II through the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s training division. Of course, there are some prerequisites that you will need to meet for them. The Nebraska Fire Chief’s Association holds a leadership symposium every year that you can take advantage of along with the National Volunteer Fire Council offers a comprehensive leadership track in its virtual classroom, consisting of 10 courses designed to enhance leadership skills and effectiveness for emergency services leaders. It is self-paced learning and comes with free access for NVFC members.
Of course, there are several books one can read about leadership. One that I remember reading for the promotional test for Captain when I was on the Scottsbluff Fire Department was Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts, PhD. It really is an informative read, and I would recommend it to anyone.
If you think about it, leadership can be a complex subject to not only write about but talk about. Every one of us has a different opinion of what makes a good leader versus a bad leader and over the years my leadership style has evolved and constantly changed. I am not the same leader today as I was when I was promoted to Fire Captain/Shift Commander for Scottsbluff Fire in 2004. My hope is that I am a much better leader today than I was back then.
One last thing I would like to leave you with is this, if you accept the call to leadership, you must be willing to be misunderstood, criticized, opposed, accused, and even rejected. I will tell you; it is worth all of that and so much more.
Stay safe and take care of yourself and your departments.
Troy Shoemaker,
NSVFA 2nd Vice President