By Frank L. Frievalt
This article is the third of a four-part series based on “Directives on My Watch,” originally published in188金宝搏是正规吗提供有关指令的其他解释和背景Organizational，，，，Operational，，，，人员，，，，andPublic Trust很重要。
PERSONNEL MATTERS
奖励好Performancein Meaningful Ways
There was a time when the chief’s nod, a certificate, or a plaque was a sufficient form of reward; we rewarded others in forms that held value for ourselves. In his bookLeadership阿提拉的秘密匈奴，畅销书作家韦斯·罗伯茨（Wes Roberts）博士建议：“切勿给匈奴人获得对自己没有任何价值的奖励。”当他在1985年写作时，这是一种良好的想法。但是，将近三十年后，我们正在处理由X世代，Y一代和千禧一代等领域组成的不同劳动力。与我们（当前的“旧后卫”）相比，这些几代人具有不同的东西。因此，他们并不总是欣赏我们的奖励形式。这与我们的终端无关 - 与断开连接有关。
消防部门中讨论的“新规范”涉及的不仅仅是新的财务战略。它还涉及新的劳动力管理策略。对于必须依靠志愿者和兼职人员的大部分消防服务，在很少有经济激励策略的情况下，这尤其如此。如果有货币资源，您可以在哪里可以选择他们可以获得的奖励的选择。如果奖励是基于赞美的，您是否知道该人将如何最欣赏praise(e.g., before peers, in confidence, in writing, and so on)? To know the answer is to know your people, and that is a good thing. It means you’re engaged in who they are, not just what they do, which is intrinsic to any meaningful reward.
Investigate, Investigate, Investigate
人事问题通常由两组冲突之一解决：人与人与人与组织。反过来，这些通常也会陷入两种冲突：冲突perception(i.e., I thought “this,” you thought “that,” and you are wrong) and conflicts of fact (i.e., you did “this”; no, I did not). Once a personnel problem gets established enough to require administrative intervention, people generally start thinking “defense.” Good defense involves generous use of at least three strategies: omission, marginalization, and time-travel. Omission is about selective amnesia of information that weakens the involved party’s argument. If confronted with proof of the omitted information, the “I forgot about that” maneuver gets it on the table with minimal consequence (the first time) to the “forgot-ee.” If the “weakening” information was clearly known to the person and can’t plausibly be omitted, then marginalization is applied (i.e., “Yes, that’s an inconvenient fact, but here’s why it’s unimportant or irrelevant in this situation…”). And last, what I like to call “time-travel”; this is where discovered omitted and marginalized facts are placed out of chronological sequence (time-travel) to the benefit of a person’s argument (i.e., “This happened before/after that, which is why it is important/unimportant).
The simple truth is that you will never have sufficient time to fully investigate every personnel problem. Therefore, invest heavily on the first one to three personnel problems you are tasked with resolving. Make it clear that you are fully capable and highly motivated to get to “ground zero” of a conflict, and that you’ll go where the facts lead. And finally, as a captain or a lieutenant, you tend to get the pertinent information sooner than if you were achief officer。Don’t take it personally; but the first day you wear white is the last day you get unfiltered information. You and I filtered what we shared with our chiefs, except that they’ll do the same to you. You will never get all of this sorted out in one round. So, investigate, investigate, investigate.
在提供纠正或惩罚性学科时，请看人们
If you don’t have the confidence to do this, you probably have some responsibility for their poor performance.
I define corrective纪律as counseling, verbal and written reprimands, and punitive discipline as suspension, demotion, termination. We’ve figured out that face-to-face communication on the fireground is always better than “mobile-me-to-mobile-you” for critical and complex exchanges. Similarly, disciplinary matters are critical and complex, and deserve face-to-face communication.
Disciplinary actions are uncomfortable, and they should be; avoiding the discomfort of personally administering discipline infers uncertainty of your决定and weakness in your resolve to lead. If you’ve ever been properly disciplined (I certainly have), you respect it even if you don’t like it because it has that ring of irrefutable truth. Deep down, we realize that if our poor performance or behavior is tolerated in the department, which necessarily impacts others, then the tolerance of poor performance or behavior by others in the department will eventually impact us. New officers frequently avoid necessary discipline based on the discomfort of the interaction with the one employee (I call it “one degree of consideration”). Once you realize the rest of the organization (the other 359 degrees of consideration) is silently watching and hoping that you intervene to correct the one individual, the decision to discipline becomes much easier.
Indeed, when you are thinking at the organizational level, it becomes uncomfortablenotto intervene. If you cannot deliver appropriate disciplinary intervention, in person, face-to-face, and eye-to-eye, then there is a problem on your end. You either lack confidence in your delivery (which may just require additional experience), or you lack confidence in your decision (which means you better rethink it). Either probably means you own some of “their” poor performance. If you lack confidence in delivering discipline, there’s a good chance you lacked confidence in delivering clear期望首先缺乏经验并不能使您摆脱做出良好决定的责任，就像在火场上一样。
Articulate Your Expectations Early, Be Consistent, Never Threaten, and Never Flinch
A frequent mistake, especially among new officers, is thefailure陈述其直接报告的期望。就我自己而言，我可以告诉你，告诉人们我对他们的期望是尴尬的。好像我在自我旅行中是某种渴望的老板。我肯定会在新的主管中见证过这样的事情，并且不希望它的一部分。但是，稍后我会了解到，未能尽早设定期望同样有害。正如有渴望的“老板”一样，也有以自我为中心的下属。这些下属比组织的贡献要多得多，他们以牺牲周围的人为代价。如果您未能使这些人承担责任时，如果没有正式设定期望（例如，在绩效评估和纪律中，如果您未能监督您未能监督，则在程序评估和纪律中都无法实现。
作为一个始终如一新官员很难，因为您仍在学习领导所需的内容。自1979年以来，我从事业务，仍在学习如何领导。我敦促你保持一致of your people, but also tobe flexible in how you require itof them. As I shared in the first article of this series, I did not know how important these things were; it was only a great question by friends/subordinates that made me think it through; “What are your expectations?” they asked me. These directives are what I expect, but each year, each day, I learn better ways about如何支持他人满足这些期望。
The word “discipline” has a negative connotation with which we are most familiar. The flip side of discipline’s meaning, a positive one with which we’re less familiar, is the adherence to a code of conduct for the good of the order. The fire service code of conduct is founded on the protection of life and property; in each organization this foundation is enabled through various rules and procedures. We are not “drafted” into the fire service. This is not forced conscription; we choose to work hard and seek selection into the service, into the纪律消防。188金博网网址多少当我们忘记或放弃我们的学科的代码，规则和程序（积极）时，我们需要纪律（负）来帮助我们进行行为课程校正。这听起来可能很苛刻，但这是人性的历史。我尊重您找到任何没有规则或未能执行其规则的可持续组织。也就是说，最好的组织是由价值观而不是规则驱动的，但规则始终保留。学科的有效性不是其使用的频率，而是在适当时使用的所有确定性。这对于那些致力于和依靠组织使命的人以及那些以自我服务的追求调情的人都很重要，以组织为代价使命。
当声音上升时，不要“退缩”，手指指出和情感指控。从这种意义上讲，退缩意味着偏离您的期望。每次您退缩时，都会发出这样的信息，即某人咆哮和狂欢可能值得付出努力，因为他们可能不承担任何责任。每当您不退缩时有效的而且很可能会使您的情况变得更糟。这要求您对自己的期望非常有信心，并在与他们偏离的行为之前清楚地说明了它们。
Redeem Others From Their Mistakes; Do This with Respect, Sincerity, and Resolve.
救赎的牛津词典定义的elf says, “Do something that compensates for poor past performance or behavior.” Have you ever made a mistake, one you wish you could turn back the clock on and do better? If not, you will. Only then will this directive really make sense because it requires empathy. Having the capacity to empathize with people when they make mistakes does not relieve you from holding them appropriately accountable as a supervisor, but it does give you a priceless opportunity.
同理心让你欣赏别人和relationships can become and not merely what they are or have been. In recent years, we’ve come to recognize there are many kinds of “intelligence” beyond the old intelligence quotient (IQ). One of those is called appreciative intelligence (AI), which is an essential ability in leaders, especially in terms of helping others work through their mistakes. According to one author, AI is “…the ability to see the mighty oak in the acorn.” People can, indeed MUST, be able to forgive themselves to work through mistakes at the personal level. But in organizations, redemption can only be accomplished at the interpersonal level, where others have to let the person work through their mistakes as well. You cannot force this from others. However, as an officer you can lead the way if the person is genuinely penitent and ready.
“解决”一个错误与仅仅从错误中“继续”是不同的。Moving on, as I mean it here, is looking at a mess you’ve made and then trying to distance yourself from it because it’s too big to fix, too painful to engage, too hard on your ego to own, or any other reasons that focus on distance rather than resolution. Working through a problem is about someone focusing on resolution. This takes great courage to do so. There must be understanding and ownership of the mistake. To the extent possible, the consequences of the mistake should have run their course. There needs to be a “readiness” of others in the organization to “let” the person start resolving the mistake; if the organization is not ready, it will reject any effort made by the individual.
如果一个人有勇气真正地解决他的错误，那么您需要真正支持他 - 不是出于怜悯或软弱，而是出于对他的勇气而出于尊重。尊重可以以消极的形式（例如，恐惧，狂喜，被迫等等）给予，但在本文中，我指的是“真诚”的尊重。公开投资于他的成功；不仅是被动观察。
Last, you must have resolve in this. As a leader, one of your primary duties is to leave the organization in better condition than when you entered it by developing its people and creating a culture of accountability. Except for the most egregious behaviors, you are being negligent and cowardly when you fail to help people redeem a member from his mistakes. There are no perfect people, nor are there perfect organizations, so how you redeem yourself from mistakes is vital to any measure of growth and sustainability. Otherwise, for all of us, it’s simply one (mistake)-and-done.
Do the Right Thing, and Do it Swiftly
It’s been said that “it’s never too late to do the right thing.” Although I agree with the sentiment, (i.e., always trying to do the right thing), the bitter truth is that it can be too late to change outcomes if you wait long enough. It’s true on the fireground, and it’s true in personnel matters. Give tough decisions due diligence. Make the most of your time to gather information and make the most informed decision you can (investigate, investigate, investigate) while it can still change an outcome (i.e., no paralysis from analysis).
Once you feel you know what to do, do it quickly. Do not delay or wring your hands over how difficult this will be. Every minute you wait after knowing what you should do adds a minute of possible derailment, gives another moment for your weaker self to arrive, and sends a message that you’re neither committed to nor sure of what “right” is. If you are not committed to doing what’s right as a leader, you give “wrong” a place to establish roots. Edmund Burke said it best: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
If a Disciplinary Issue is Beyond Your Authority, Put a “Bow” on It
This is the administrative task of reporting your findings from “investigate, investigate, investigate” to your supervisor if the discipline required is beyond your authority. Don’t simply go into their office and announce that so-and-so needs to be suspended/demoted/terminated. Inept handling of a disciplinary action is incompetence on your part. It makes the problem employee nearly bulletproof thereafter because subsequent actions always look like retribution for your initial mistake rather than prudent action against poor behavior thereafter, which is nearly certain with poor employees.
Place Anyone Under Your Command on Immediate Administrative Leave for Good Cause
This directive is something I must do for my subordinate supervisors. It’s not something they can do for themselves. It is essential that this expectation is stated before all because it delivers a dual message. It sets the expectation that your subordinate supervisors immediately by removing the person, if necessary, if that behavior is egregious and dangerous to the individual, the organization, or the public. It also sends the message that you’ll support this action by those supervisors; they don’t need to ask “Mother, may I?” Do your homework here with your legal and human resources departments and give clear rules of engagement to your subordinate supervisors. This action is only reserved for operational safety issues (failure to follow command decisions on incidents) and personal safety issues (violence in the workplace). Notwithstanding those reservations, this sends a clear message of support for your subordinate supervisor.
Genuinely Know and Care for Your People
正如其他人所指出的那样，直到他们知道您在乎多少之前，没有人关心您知道多少。认识您的员工时，您必须保持良好的平衡。像许多其他概念一样，更容易指出示例的示例，而不是尝试一些包罗万象的定义。以下是我尝试一些“平衡”示例的尝试：
- 知道（在他们与您分享的范围内）您的人民最喜欢的爱好和消遣方式，但很少与他们一起参加。即使您和他们可以保持工作和游戏之间的适当分离，也可以使其他人立足于其他思考。这需要一些时间，并且是一项持续的努力。
- Your people should feel comfortable contacting you 24/7/365 for operational matters and personal/immediate family matters of medical urgency. They should be hesitant to contact you outside of your typical work hours for other matters. It’s not about being aloof, and you’re never really “off-duty” as a leader anyway. It’s about making them really think through the urgency of the issue, about separating aneed与“酋长”交谈而不是desire与“酋长”交谈。
- 您的员工应该期望您出现，如果他们有真正的个人或家庭危机，无论他们是否要求您。这不是要侵犯他们的隐私；这是关于您的会员亲自说的：“我在这里为您和您的家人，作为您的酋长和一个关心您的人。”让他知道，当您在宠物外面喂养宠物时，您同样舒适地处理保险问题。等级在有需要的人的照顾下没有地位。
Photo found onWikimedia Commonscourtesy of the Library of Virginia.
Frank L. Frievalt是猛mm湖（CA）的助理消防局长Fire ProtectionDistrict. He has 35 years experience in city, county, state, and federal fire services from the ranks offirefighterto assistant chief. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration, a master’s degree in fire and emergency management, and is currently working on a Ph.D. in political science.
