Category Archives: Personnel Issues

Value of Self-Reflection

Posted by Jason Moore on

distorting-mirrorWhen evaluating the gambit of skills needed to be a successful officer, there is one that is perhaps the most valuable and yet hardest to develop.  I am referring to self-reflection, which in itself seems easy to do however, skewed perceptions often leave our true self image twisted and distorted like a fun-house mirror.  In addition, many of us fail to realize that self reflection is not merely what we think of ourselves rather it is the ability to see ourselves in relation to the external world that exists outside our mind.  Without this ability we fail to understand the impact of our actions and truly understand who we are or how we fit within the group.  While self-esteem should remain internally driven, self-reflection needs to look at the bigger picture.

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses, in comparison to your environment, is key to identifying your role.  Not every leader is equipped to handle every situation.  Knowing where you fit and realizing what is within your comfort zone is beneficial to everyone involved.  False confidence by over or under estimating yourself leads to becoming vague rather than definite and decisive.  The vagueness is a defense mechanism so that when challenged the person can skew the decision/answer they gave to fit the new information, thus attempting to appear right.  You will gather more respect and build a better team if you take an honest look at yourself and admit when you have short-comings.  Also, in maintaining integrity, if you cannot be honest with yourself, how can anyone expect you to be honest with them?  I am my worst critic, and over the years have learned to accept outside opinion, relating to aspects of my performance to help balance out my true self-image.  This works both ways.  Whether others see you better or worse, than you see yourself, maintaining balance is key to improving as a leader.

So, now that we have explored the reasons for self-reflection, the question is how to accurately complete a self-survey to see the reflection.  First step is to put yourself in the right state of mind.  Although not a formal process, it is one that requires attention to detail and a look at the bigger picture.  You need to accept that you may not like the answers you come to while maintaining the ultimate goal, of being better, as your focus.  Next, look at your internal perspective.  What are your values?  What are your perceptions?  How comfortable are you with the situation?  What do you excel and struggle with?  What is your level of commitment?  When you have the answers to those questions, it is important to gather external perspectives.  These can come from formal evaluations, personal discussions, or by focusing on the non-verbal ques given off by those around you.  In this stage of the process I like to have a trusted mentor/friend/co-worker who isn’t afraid to tell it to me straight.  I often find myself asking these people questions like…. did I handle _____ appropriately?  What do you think about _____?  The final piece to this puzzle is something we practice our entire lives starting in early child-hood.  This is evaluating cause and effect.  Successful officers are able to see beyond the initial effect.  An example of this concept is spilling a glass of water.  Simple cause and effect would dictate that the glass is empty and there is a mess.  Extended cause and effect would evaluate the placement of the glass, the amount of fluid inside, the conditions that led to the spill, the spill itself, hazards and subsequent actions that might occur from the water, the result of not having water in a glass(thirst, etc.), the added effort and resources needed to clean up the spill, the actions and effort needed to refill the glass, and even ways to prevent the spill from reoccurring.  Self-reflection will help you realize that every action has extended effects.  In the complicated interactions between people the ripple, created by your actions, can effect those who may have no direct contact with you.

Some closing remarks……Always consider that no-one can see your intentions, therefore your actions are what define you to others.  Using self-reflection as a 360 degree understanding, you will become a better leader since it will allow you to see how you influence others.  Everything you do or say is analyzed and translated through the perceptions of others making it necessary to see things from other points-of-view.  Never assume you are the best or worst when compared to others, there is always someone who will prove you wrong.  Maintaining a balanced self-reflection is the key to unlocking your potential as a person and leader.

Regaining Long-Lost Employees

Posted by Jason Moore on

Office Space Lost EmployeeWhile working on the book I am writing, I approached the subject of the different types of employees we find in our departments.  With a high concentration of Type A personalities, as found in most fire departments, there is one employee in particular that merits some additional attention.  I imagine that we all know someone like the person I am about to describe and each one of them, while similar, will have a broad spectrum of reasons for being that way.  This type of person is known as a disenfranchised employee (DE).  Many business leadership books list the DE as someone who used to care, perhaps was a star employee, and is now hurting the agency.  In the business world this accounts for lack in productivity, poor work environments, and a slew of problems that eat at a company’s bottom line.  In the fire service these people represent a growing number of “burned-out” employees that can put people in danger.

The old school way of thinking would dismiss these people, toss them to the side, with remarks pertaining to their inability to “make it” as a firefighter.  While this seems like the easiest and fastest fix, it fails to understand the merits of the individual and account for the cost associated with their training and experience.  In many cases, the brightest burning stars are the quickest to burnout.  The first question that needs to be asked is “what caused them to change?”  Identifying the personal or professional issues that caused the change is the first step to re-engaging the individual.  Word of caution though, we are not mental health professionals and do not need to act like it.  You do not have to dive into the personal life of your employees the analyze what went wrong.  A simple understanding of their situation will suffice.  Some common personal causes are: divorce, money problems, unhappy home-life, sick or dying family members, or lack of support at home. There is very little that we can do about these types of issues beyond acknowledging the problem and offering an employee assistance program. The more common issues that we can handle revolve around professional causes. Some of these include: lack of acknowledgment, not being validated, failure to progress, constantly being limited or micromanaged, lack of personal accountability within an organization, and having a perception of being mistreated.  While many of these problems are employee specific, there is also something to be said for noticing trends.  When multiple personnel show signs of being DE, there is often a bigger problem within the organization.

The question remains, “How do you re-engage someone who has become a DE?”  On a personal level, they need to have a reason to be connected to the organization.  No one, especially firefighters deal well with feeling like they are not needed.  Employees much like fire need specific components to grow.  I like to think of it as a spark, fuel, and air.  Finding a role that utilizes their specific talents is the fastest way to create a spark.  On its own, the spark is not enough to breathe new life into the employee.  The next component is fuel.  Just like a fire you cannot add too much or too little fuel if you expect growth.  The fuel is a two part formula that includes continuing projects to provide opportunities for success and positive reinforcement with honest feedback.  The final component is one that takes an experienced leader to understand.  Air in its simplest form means that the leader needs to give the DE room to succeed without leaving them feeling abandoned again.    Best case scenario, this career CPR will bring a DE back however, if wide-scale problems are present, individual action will not be enough.

On an organizational level, several DE’s are a sign of poor leadership/management practices.  Drops in morale, lack of advancement opportunities, failure to hold people accountable, and micromanaging supervisors are generally the root of the problem.  The effects are further compounded when the DE is a supervisor.  Our attitude as a leader is highly infectious.  Poor attitudes seem to be even more contagious than positive attitudes making it more difficult for positive attitudes to survive.  The biggest question in this scenario is how do you as a company officer fix DE problems that may stem from higher levels of management?  This is one of those “easier to explain than to do” scenarios.

You have to be persistently positive.  Find ways to give DE’s spark, fuel, and air while pushing for management changes.  Help to reestablish the organizational image.  Throughout an organization’s progression, the failure to pass on core values and pride will lead to senior personnel becoming DE and prevent newer employees from ever truly engaging.  Give credit where credit is due, stop “blanket policy” fixes, and treat people with respect.  No one wants to be a number, they need to be accepted and validated as important members of the group.   Failure to re-engage these employees will further support the perception that employees are numbers as they either leave or are let go and are replaced by newer, less experienced personnel.  This scenario is one that can be more rewarding than a traditional conflict resolution since you are not only fixing a problem but bringing back someone who use to be a strong performer.

I want to close with one of my favorite quotes….. “If you are not apart of the solution, you are apart of the problem.”

 

What kind of link are you?

Posted by Jason Moore on

broken-chainImagine your department as a chain, starting at the top with a well anchored fire chief and working its way down one link at a time.  This analogy isn’t too far from the truth when looking at  most departments.  The only difference is that some are longer chains while others may only be a few links long.  The old saying “you are only as strong as your weakest link” definitely applies.  The real question is…. “what kind of link are you?” Are you strong and supportive of those under you or weak and flexible?  Do you align with the links above you or try to chose your own direction?  With my limited experience using chains, I know that twisted chains tend to fail when they are put under stress.

Many of the problems within a department can be blamed on problems within the chain of command.  While weaknesses at the bottom of a chain (firefighter) can cause problems, weaknesses in the upper tiers are guaranteed to end in disaster.  When there are problems at any level it can immediately be identified on a fire ground however, the day-to-day weaknesses hide these issues until they fester and become infectious to the entire department.  The sad realization is that the issues remain hidden because we all choose to ignore them.  Even the newest member to the department can see the signs of a weak chain.  Does the senior staff fully support the decisions of the chief?  Do the company officers fully support the decisions of the senior staff?  When I was in the military there was a strict unwritten rule that complaints go up the chain never down.  How often do we see a breach of this concept?  Chief says I want A, B, & C done, Battalion chief tells the shift chief wants A, B, & C done but he doesn’t agree with A & B, followed by firehouse discussion with a company officer who says they disagree with C.  This entire process caused every link from the top down to lose strength.

Many people interject the argument that being a “yes-man” destroys integrity and creates a mindless department.  While blindly following orders can lead to “helpless” departments, the challenge process must be professional and respectful.  If I don’t agree with something the professional thing to do is send my concerns up the chain along with possible solutions.  Without the accompanied solutions the possibly valid issue gets dismissed as whining.  Failure to handle the problems correctly often leads to complaints being ignored and subsequent “trash talking” down the chain of command.  If you truly want to have the strongest chain possible, stop undercutting the stability of the links above and below you.  Whether at the top, middle, or bottom of the chain….your department needs you to be as strong as you can be.  Don’t be the weakest link and the reason your chain fails!

 

Your Role in Employee Retention

Posted by Jason Moore on

 

Employee Worries

Many departments across the nation have been feeling the pain of tightened purse strings.  When government entities feel the need to cut sections from a budget, our career field is one of the few that look appealing since the better we do our jobs, the less it seems like we are needed.  With this fact in mind, there are certain retention factors (salary, benefits, promotions) that are out of our hands however, the biggest factor is greatly influenced by line supervisors.

What is this magical retention factor?  Job satisfaction.  While we are not here to sugar coat everything and  make people believe the problems don’t exist, there should be a certain amount of political foresight before we open our mouths.  A negative officer makes a negative house.  If you only focus on the negative, those under you will be influenced to do the same.

When considering the negativity we are often expected to break to the people under us (lack of salary increases, position/hiring freezes, or even layoffs) it is hard to find a positive spin.  The best thing you as an officer can do is begin to think like a chief.  It is easy to criticize a decision when you only look at the little picture however, understanding what was gained or what wasn’t lost by the decision allows for the positive to come out.  For instance, you are given the news that there will be no pay raises this year.  You can either grumble to the crew that we are all getting screwed or in some cases point out that by accepting the lack of a raise, no one is going to lose their job this year.  I guarantee the newest guy on the department will be relieved as will some of those getting close to retirement.  The point is that the way you handle the bad news will have an immense impact on the way everyone reacts.

Beyond playing the political game of putting a positive spin on things, there are many other factors that the officer has direct control over.  Mainly, the way you treat your crew.  Job dissatisfaction is the number one reason people search for other employment opportunities.  Obvious things you can do to help job satisfaction include:  treating your people with respect, fostering  the brotherhood mentality, providing training for advancement, and providing positive feedback.  Some of the less obvious things include:  listening to complaints, following up with concerns, being your crew’s advocate, and providing empowerment opportunities.

In many of my human resource classes, there was a section that talked about motivation in the employment setting.  The number one thing most people put down in discussion boards as the best motivator was money.  The truth about money is that it is a temporary satisfier.  What I mean by that statement is when money is relied on as a motivator, you will never be able to pay enough.  Working overseas as a contract firefighter making six-figures a year seems like a dream.  Even with a six figure salary, the complaint about pay raises was present.  That in itself proves that you cannot rely on money to maintain your employee pool.  The officers below Fire Chief have to assume some responsibility for working within the confines of things they can change to make people want to stay.  Let’s face it, the job sells itself, it is up to us to sell the department as a place people want to be!

 

Are you abusing your position?

Posted by Jason Moore on

 

fire officer

This subject is one that I never thought would have to be discussed in the fire service however, I have heard more than one complaint in the past few months that would classify as abuse.  Once someone receives their gold badge, there is an inherent responsibility that must be assumed for your crew.  Although you are responsible for their personal safety and professional growth, they are not your slaves.  They are not placed in your care to do the things you no longer want to do, especially if it is of a personal nature.

When it comes to an employee questioning something an officer has told them there is a tendency for  officers use the “because I’m the officer” defense.  This defense is a cop-out and should be backed by policy, procedure, or guideline.  Expecting your firefighter to cook for you, clean up your messes (beyond daily station duties), arrange or checkout your PPE, babysit your kids, or wash your car is an obvious abuse of your position.  Other abuses are less obvious and often justified as “training opportunities” or “character building.”  Making your firefighter do your reports or finding meaningless tasks for them to accomplish is unacceptable.

The arrangement, checkout, or cleaning of PPE is a personal responsibility.  You cannot expect nor make it mandatory for someone else to take care of your Personal Protective Equipment.  Furthermore, if something is missing, broken, or dangerous to use; you cannot punish or get upset at them.  If they put your gear on the truck, it was a courtesy and you are still responsible for it.

When it came time for my crew to learn the report system, in preparation for advancement, the steps for teaching were clear.  Have them watch me do it, help them do it, watch them do it, and eventually let them do it (with spot checking).  If they are able to do it on their own, it is not their responsibility to do your work.  In my case, if someone wanted to do it for practice or because they were good at it, I would help do their work and still follow up with what they did.

Getting a gold badge does not give you a free pass to kick your feet up and relax.  The truth is that the badge is meant to represent that you are capable of doing more than those without the extra bugles.  I prefer to think of line officers as lead firefighters.  With that mindset, it is easier to keep things in perspective and prevents poor management practices.

The final types of abuse can directly or indirectly be the officer’s fault.  Mental, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse/harassment can destroy a department.  If an officer is allowing the abuse/harassment to occur or even worse, participating in the problem, there are serious consequences that can happen.  Beyond embarrassing the department, officer, crew, or employee; the stress can destroy someone’s life.  We are charged with sending everyone home in the same or better condition than they arrived to work in.  This covers all aspects.  Monitor your people and be the professional they need you to be.  Beyond having a happy and productive crew, you will also find that your job becomes easier.

If you are not apart of the solution, you are a part of the problem!

 

 

Building Loyalty and Respect

Posted by Jason Moore on

I recently had a request to write an article on building crew loyalty and respect.  From the standpoint of an established officer with a proven history, this concept isn’t very difficult however; being a new or acting officer can leave you at a major disadvantage in this crucial area.  The question remains: how do you establish and build these key components needed for proper team development?  Although there are many books and articles you could read, I have found the solution to be much simpler.

The golden rule I was taught as a child is often the fix to many of a company officer’s problems.  “Treat others the way you want to be treated!”  When I look at building respect the first step is to give respect.  To build loyalty the first step is to give loyalty.  Depending on your competence level and confidence, the time needed to see a return of that investment will vary however, if you don’t initiate the process don’t expect your peers or subordinates to do the work.

The second part to this which if you are already having problems may be a little late to consider is setting up the right attitude before you become a leader.  The way you follow your superiors will often be the way your people will follow you.  If you are a good follower and become a leader, the ability to demand higher of your subordinates will appear less hypocritical and genuine.  Take the example of a guy/girl that is always bad mouthing their leaders behind their backs.  When they become a leader, what precedent have they set as acceptable behavior?  You cannot expect someone to get your back when they know you are always stabbing people in the back yourself.

Here are some things you can do to facilitate building respect and loyalty with your peers and crew:

- Act with INTEGRITY, Speak with INTEGRITY, Listen with INTEGRITY!  INTEGRITY, INTEGRITY, INTEGRITY!!!

- Explain your intended goals and how you intend to get there.

- Immediately start to consider and correct the way you are treating people.

- Seek out classes and opportunities to better yourself to show you deserve the loyalty and respect.

- Do not partake in gossip!  You cannot expect loyalty if you are talking behind someone’s back.

- Maintain an “open book” personality, what you see is what you get, no hidden motives or agendas.

- Stand up for your crew and yourself!  If you make a mistake own it, if your crew makes a mistake, own it!

- Handle things at the lowest level possible, no one likes a tattle tale especially when the tattle tale is their leader.

- If someone tells you something you have to report, tell them you have to report it and give them the chance to report it with you rather than throwing them under the bus.

- Know who you can trust when discussing issues (hint: when in doubt you should be able to go to a higher rank).

- Become a stable person.  It is hard to back someone who is never in the same place emotionally, physically, or intellectually.

- Stick with it because it will take longer to build loyalty and respect after you have already lost it.

Like any other relationship, building the loyalty and respect needed to have a functional team will take time.  The process in never ending and even the best leaders can destroy years of work with a single mistake.  In my opinion, he best way to have the crew you always wanted is to be honest, keep an open line of communication, and avoid damaging the progress you have already made.  Integrity is key to every step and often begins with an internal look.  If you can be honest with yourself, it will make being honest with everyone else easier.  Beyond that just follow the golden rule “Treat others like you want to be treated!”

Reflections of a Chief

Posted by Jason Moore on

Today another good man and chief received the full honors of a Fire Department procession.  He was loved by all, which was evident by the support of the local departments.  For me, it was more personal than professional.

Throughout my career, I have witnessed many horrible things.  From my time in Afghanistan to just working on the streets of Charleston, several visions will continue to haunt me in my sleep.  While most of these were put off until I had the ability to deal with them, I realized after my first encounter with Chief Winn, that they were not something I had to handle alone.

After holding the hand of a dying 16 year old in the back of an ambulance, I returned to my station to find Chief Winn and his associates waiting for me and my crew.  Years of experience had led me to the conclusion that they were the Critical Incident Stress Management team sent to see how we were doing after a tough call.  What I did not know at the time was that they had heard about the call through informal channels and volunteered to show up.  The smallest gesture of giving me someone to talk to has helped more than imaginable.

Many of the tough calls I have been on, including a 76 person mass casualty event in Afghanistan, still bother me from time to time. Even after the mandatory Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, I was bothered by the images of dead people.  The one difference between the 16 year old and all of the other bad calls is that I don’t remember the specific details or the kids face anymore.  While many people can argue as to why, I like to think it was Chief Winn’s intervention that allowed me to process everything and let it go.  In a career that exposes you to many gruesome and sometimes despicable things, eliminating one of the “ghosts” is a huge deal.  Knowing Chief Winn has made me a better and stronger person.  Prior to him touching my life, I always blew off the debriefings and defusing sessions as a necessary thing to be checked off.  The traditional concept of being the “big tough firefighter” stood in the way of seeking the help I needed.  Being a company officer, it is sometimes hard to see the long lasting effects of the decisions we make.  Turning down help for you or your crew is never the smart thing to do.  We are charged with the responsibility of sending our people home the same way or perhaps better than they arrived to work.  This includes mind and body.

For me, saying good bye to Chief Winn was more than a professional gesture that was deserved by his years of service; it was saying thank you for supporting me when I didn’t even know I needed it.  My story is one out of many that attests to the life of a hero and like other heroes, the stories told of someone’s deeds will make them live on in the hearts and minds of others forever!

Thank you for your service and for helping me!

Most valuable assets

Posted by Jason Moore on

If you ask the average officer what they believe is the most expensive asset, many might respond with the training or fire apparatus.  This is far from the truth.  Although harder to place a dollar figure on, loyal employees and those dedicated to the career of firefighting are far more valuable than any piece of equipment, station, or training. When looking at the budget, it is clearly visible that the people cost the agency the most which in most cases makes them seem to be the biggest liability. Understanding the element of human capital and how every dollar spent on their wages becomes transformed into a useful service is sometimes difficult. The biggest thing behind these concepts is that it is not cheaper in the long run to just hire someone new at a lower rate of pay than the person that has left. The countless hours spent molding that person to fit your agency, the money spent out-fitting that person with equipment and gear, and the development of good group dynamics makes this persons value sky-rocket.

Now comes the part where many of you say…. Ok I get it, how does this apply to me as an officer? The way we treat our most valuable assets often directly correlates to their job satisfaction and determines if they stay or not. Do you treat them like you want to be treated? Are you their mentor and guide to lead them through their career and the intricacies of your department? Are you their advocate when things are going good or bad? This ability to stand up for your people, bear the responsibility for their shortcomings, and ability to foster their growth is the key to keeping the good people we need to enhance our career field. Lead, educate, motivate, protect, and restrain are the building blocks necessary to taking care of our most valuable assets. If our trucks aren’t the most expensive asset and they get cared for every single day, imagine how much effort should be placed on keeping our people.

Leadership / Followership Lessons

Posted by Jason Moore on

Every leadership class should begin with a review of followership principles.  Most of us don’t instantly become leaders and through the years develop bad habits that make us ineffective followers.  As a leader, we depend on followers to substantiate our position and in some ways are at the mercy of the very people we supervise.  Failure to recognize this fact can lead to false perceptions of power.

What does it mean to be a good follower?  To evaluate the answer to that question, it is necessary to review the traits of being a follower.

Loyalty—This implies commitment not only to the leader and the leader’s vision but also to the principles of sound leadership.

Understanding—The ability to articulate and integrate into one’s daily life the vision and principles espoused by one’s leader.

Candor—The courage to speak one’s mind clearly, succinctly, and authentically to one’s leader and fellow followers but gracefully and in private.

Listening—This demands attention and care and must be coupled with observing the subtle nuances of a leader’s speech and behavior if maximum clarity of understanding is to be achieved.

Predictability—Being accountable for one’s own behavior in such a way that one’s leader knows who can be counted on when the need arises.

Creativity—Having a beginner’s mind that allows one to discover or help discover novel solutions to the problems of leadership as they arise.

Effectiveness—Getting things done in a manner that helps accomplish the intent of the action.

Efficiency—Getting things done in the most expedient and cost-effective manner without compromising either the quality or principles of sound leadership.

Insightfulness—The ability to ask relevant, probing questions and foster innovative ways of seeing and thinking about ordinary things; the ability to advance new perspectives, which set the tenor of the success that follows.

Integrity—Allows a leader to know a person can be trusted to accurately represent the leader’s vision and/or principles with the highest standards of integrity.

Persistence—The tenacity to attack a problem with gusto and stay with it until it is either solved or all conceivable possibilities have been exhausted.

Practicality—Being grounded enough to face a problem head on and come up with thoughtful, positive suggestions about how to resolve it, even when the possibility of success seems bleak.

Communicative—The personal commitment to keep one’s leader abreast of important developments before they come as surprising news from others who might put the leader in the awkward position of having to play catch-up from a position of disadvantage.

Complementary—The willingness to lend a hand in such a way that one’s thoughts and actions complement–rather than compete with–those of one’s leader in achieving a particular end.

Cheerfulness—The choice and determination to maintain an even-tempered disposition come what may; hence the ability to smile in the face of adversity and make things a little brighter for everyone.

Next time you think you are having problems with those under you, or better yet, looking to be proactive in your approach to eliminating problems, it is best to look at the example you are setting.  Embodying the traits of a good follower often lead to developing the traits needed to be a good leader.

Owning Your Mistakes

Posted by Jason Moore on

Every great leader has something in common with the rest of the people inhabiting the planet…. They make mistakes.  This concept isn’t new, complicated, or even difficult to grasp however; many leaders find it difficult to admit when they are wrong.  The simple fact is that everyone makes mistakes and failing to own your mistakes only infringes on your personal integrity and ability to stand out as a successful leader.

With the established principle that everyone makes mistakes, the most successful leaders have one thing in common.  They did not let their mistakes define them.  As a fire officer, it is sometimes difficult to admit you don’t have the answers and yield to someone who does but it is a leadership and life skill you must develop.  Failure to admit fault, learn from it, and prevent the recurrence of the action or decision that led to the mistake will undermine the confidence in your ability to lead.  The singular event that is becoming more prevalent in today’s fire service is that the firefighter asking the question or viewing the questionable decisions already knows the answer and is just testing the competency of the people above them.  To a new or unsure officer, this may seem like a personal attack however, take the opportunity to build a stronger team.  At the moment you are tested, admit you don’t know or that you made a mistake.  This is the fastest way to recovery!  In addition, begin to look for solutions or resources that may provide the answers.  The end result is that you have maintained your integrity, admitted to being human, and found the answer or solution to prevent it from occurring again.  Ultimately, when you are able to jump of the pedestal that being a leader puts you on, it will prevent people from knocking you down just for the pleasure of seeing you fall.