By Stephen E. Morris
许多消防员测试晋升有了获得金徽章和所有的想法领导skills that come with the responsibility of being a company officer. The gold badge does come with authority, butdoes not provide the skills and abilities you need to lead in the new position. Being a company officer means more than gaining the authority that comes with the promotion. You must be able to inspire your personnel to work toward the organization’s goals and visions.
决定领导
At first glance, taking the initial step to becoming a company officer sounds as simple as testing for the promotion. However, the first decision您必须成为领导者。这意味着您必须愿意接受担任公司官员的责任。要成为一名有效的公司官员，您必须有深刻的渴望和领导您的人员和您自己的动力。公司官员设定榜样，设定步伐并提供灵感。作为消防部门的领导者，您必须向您的人民，组织和社区100％承诺自己。所有领导人都必须建立一个愿景和实现这些目标的计划。公司官员提出的愿景将部分来自该部门的愿景以及他对公司的个人愿景。成为公司官员需要大量勇气。您将不时受到挑战的轰炸，您必须有勇气坚持自己的愿景。
Seek Mentors
As a new company officer, you may not have the skills and knowledge to be a great leader. Learning in a didactic setting can only marginally prepare a company officer for the real world. A new officer should seek a mentor or mentors，明智和值得信赖的向导。在自己的领域呆了相当长时间的官员拥有丰富的知识和经验，使他们非常适合担任导师。When selecting an officer to be your mentor, think about the good qualities he possesses and the qualities you respect the most.对于许多新官员来说，一位导师可能没有获得所需知识所需的所有素质或经验。如果需要，请寻找多个导师。
评估您的领导能力
To become the company officer your personnel need,准确评估您的领导能力。确定您的长处和缺点。识别优势通常比弱点更容易。请求同龄人，老板和下属的帮助。请记住您要他们要做的事情。面对您的弱点和恐惧可能很困难，但请记住，成为公司官员需要勇气。在整个过程中保持愿意和谦虚。如果您征求信息，让其他人说出您的能力的严厉真相可能很困难。当您索要信息时，请确保每个人都知道您对这一过程很真诚。通过对同龄人，老板和下属提供的信息来表达这种诚意。 When you do this, you demonstrate trust in them and indicate that you truly value their input. With the information provided, actively seek opportunities to improve your leadership skills in the specified areas. Assessing your leadership skills does not end after the first assessment; there must be continuous assessment throughout your career.
Continue to Grow
To some, obtaining the gold badge meansthey have reached a pinnacle in their fire service training. This is far from the truth. Actually, newly promoted company officers have added to their ongoing learning needs; they must continue to grow in knowledge, skills, and abilities to become a well-versed leader. As a new officer, you must be open to opportunities to learn and be prepared to accept the lessons that will be brought to the forefront. Develop a culture of learning for your followers and for yourself. Learning should be continuous, not sporadic. Officers are responsible for their own development.
冒险s
成为公司官员的一部分意味着您必须愿意冒险s. Don’t’ avoid taking risks because you want to avoid the pain associated with not succeeding. Taking risks in the fire service has come to be associated with futility (no one will ever change), the boss’ disapproval, high cost, or lack of time to complete the task.
冒险s means you must make intelligent decisions. An “intelligent risk” is one in which the potential positive outcome outweighs the possible negative outcome. Doing your homework will ensure that you have all the vital information needed to take the intelligent risk. Timing is another important factor. Figuring when and if the time is right to take a risk may mean the difference between success and failure. Taking intelligent risks comes easy to many company officers on the emergency scene, but many fail when dealing with personnel and in-station matters. When there are risks involved, the company officer must communicate the risks involved, both positive and negative. Portraying the proper attitude is vital in setting the atmosphere when taking a risk. The officer’s attitude should reflect that all things can be accomplished. There may be some failures when taking risks; the key is to use these failures as learning opportunities.
如果你渴望成为公司官员，决定为什么在进行促销测试之前需要晋升。不要仅仅为了钱或闪亮的徽章参加考试。作为公司官员，您可以对组织及其人员的未来以及建立努力实现目标的文化产生重大影响。
Stephen E. Morrishas more than 21 years experience in the fire service and is a captain with the City of Harrisonburg (VA) Fire Department. He is an adjunct fire instructor for弗吉尼亚州消防计划，并拥有学士学位消防科学学位。他是弗吉尼亚消防官学院的毕业生，并在弗吉尼亚州林奇堡的自由大学（Liberty University）的管理和领导力学士学位课程中。
