While under my command, I witnessed a group of individuals bloom into a unified team. The station ran drama free because we focused our energy on achieving shared goals. Helping each other reach personal and professional goals created a natural bond in the station that transferred seamlessly onto the fireground. Our motto, “Work hard, but play harder,” kept us focused on training while reminding us to have fun and enjoy the job.
How Did This Happen?
消防员共同努力并完成任何事情的能力的声誉导致了一个朋友，也是牙医，使我流泪。兰德里博士很难管理她的牙科办公室，声称她的员工正在破坏她的业务。她不想让自己的病人或家人失望，但是她过度劳累并压力为自己的突破点。微观管理已经获得了最好的选择，因为她不相信自己的团队在没有不断的监督的情况下就可以做自己的工作。被困在自己自己的工作之上，这意味着她没有时间陪伴家人，没有时间追求外部利益，几乎没有足够的时间为患者提供优质的护理。拼命地，她向我伸出援手寻求帮助。
RELATED FIREFIGHTER TRAINING
To keep her business from imploding, I presented her with team-building lessons I learned from 20 years of fire and military experience. After explaining a few leadership techniques and dispelling her misconceptions, I grouped the lessons into these four steps using the acronym FIRE:
- Focus your time on achieving goals.
- Inspire您的团队要自我激励。
- R调理您的责任并以团队的长处为基础。
- E定期进行评价和改善状况。
Dr. Landry incorporated this plan and learned how to train, trust, and inspire her employees. As a result, she was less stressed and worked fewer hours. Not only did her employees and clients see major improvements, but her family benefited from “getting their mom back.”
Fast-forward two years: Because of retirements, injuries, and babies being born, my battalion chief chose me to be the acting captain of Station 2. Considering I was not the most senior firefighter or the one with the most certificates, I was pressured to prove the chief made the right decision. Like Dr. Landry, I was desperate to build a strong, motivated team that wouldn’t let me down. I incorporated this same plan as a guide to train and inspire them. Following is what I learned from the mistakes and victories of my first 100 shifts as a fire officer.
第1-5天：专注于实现目标
Establish personal goals.You must establish clear goals before you can achieve them. The night before my first shift, I wrote down my personal goals for the next day, the next week, and the next month. Early the next morning, I burst through the station doors confident and with purpose because I had a “map” to keep me going in the right direction. Without establishing a plan, I would have wandered that first day; there is no telling where I would have ended up or what I would have failed to do.
Establish team goals.在办公大楼或购物中心的平面图上，它说：“您在这里”，并在发生火灾或紧急情况下将您带到最近的出口。该地图对于指导每个人朝着正确的方向并防止他们迷路很重要。
It is equally important to create a “map” for your team to guide them in the right direction. Called your Mission Statement, it guides you toward your “Primary Goal” and keeps your team from getting lost along the way. After all, how can you expect the firefighters to know where to go and what to do if you don’t establish a destination and create a map to get there?
Action:Sit down with your team and answer the following questions together:
- 我们的客户是谁？
- What are their expectations of us?
- What do we want them to say about the fire department to their friends and family? (This answer is your team’s primary goal.)
- What are three services that support our primary goal?
- Do we want to be known as the most professional firefighters in town, the fastest fire extinguishers, the most respectful property savers, the cleanest station, the most aggressive ventilation gurus, the most physically fit team, the go-to extrication experts, and the most polite emergency medical services (EMS) crew?
- 我们希望客户在收到我们的服务后感觉，实现或成为什么？（这可能是最棘手的问题。）
Action:Put these answers together using the following template.
- Your crew’s name.
- 承诺主要目标。
- “For the citizens of_________ [your community’s name].”
- “通过自豪地提供_________[service 1 and 2].”
- “So they can____________[become or feel this way].”
Congratulations! Your guide is complete. You now have a great Mission Statement that expresses your crew’s Primary Goal with services that speak directly to your customers while describing how you will improve their lives. Frame this guide and display it proudly, make it into a T-shirt or catch phrase, or chant it as a morning mantra; do whatever it takes to see it regularly and practice it every single day on every single call. Inspire your team!
Days 6-10: Establish Expectations Early
Determine the expectations of each position. What do you expect from your driver, the new firefighter, and the senior firefighters? Next, find out what your team expects from you. Are these expectations balanced? Are the firefighters given enough time, tools, and training to adequately complete their assignments?
Action:
- 在厨房桌子上与您的工作人员见面。
- Ask them their expectations of each position. Write down their answers large enough so that everyone can see them with additional space to add to them later. What do you expect from a probationary firefighter, an engineer, and a good senior firefighter? What tasks are everyone expected to perform? What attitude is each person expected to maintain?
- Ask them their expectations of you, the officer. What roles are you expected to perform? What attitude is important to maintain? Write down these answers.
- Post these answers in the kitchen for a month to remind everyone of their responsibilities.
- If you are inspired to do so, add to them.
Days 11-20: Inspire Your Team
As a leader, your most important job is to help your teammates achieve their personal and professional goals. Once their goals have been determined, it is imperative that you provide the training and tools they need to successfully achieve them. To determine their goals, sit down with each member and conduct a Conditions, Actions, and Needs (CAN) report. Most likely, you are familiar with these reports from their use on the fireground. They serve as a valuable evaluation of the fire conditions and a way to acquire the resources needed to complete your task. Conducting a CAN report at the station will achieve similar results.
To begin, sit with each member individually and listen. Ask the firefighters how things are going. Are they happy at work? Are they confident in their abilities? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What do they want to achieve in the future? What are their one- and five-year goals? These questions will determine their current conditions.
Next, determine what actions you and the firefighters can take to reach these goals and improve their conditions. What tools, training, and support can you provide that will help them succeed? Maybe they are ready to mentor the next rookie. Maybe they would be good as public education speakers for local elementary schools. Maybe they are interested in becoming fire investigators but do not know where the classes are offered. Do you have training or books you can offer? Can you find classes in different localities?
You can’t help the members reach their goals until you find out what their goals are. Use this CAN report to determine their current conditions and goals. Then, determine the actions they need to reach these goals while providing them with the tools and training they need to succeed.
Days 21-30: Reduce Your Responsibilities While Building Trust
在火灾现场,事故指挥官(IC) assumes command and takes control the moment he arrives. There are dozens of jobs to be completed, but it is important that one person oversees them all to ensure they each get completed successfully. The IC uses a system known as the “span of control” to maintain order and control during emergencies.
The IC’s goal is to manage three to seven individuals at a time (with five being optimal). He is not managing all the components of the entire team, and he is not doing all the jobs himself. He is strictly managing three to seven other leaders and giving them the tools and training they need to be successful.
I found this same strategy useful in the firehouse for managing daily chores and activities. You cannot do everything yourself, so use your team to accomplish line chores and daily tasks within the station. Ask yourself many questions, such as the following:
- Who would benefit from teaching EMS this week?
- Who is expected to put out the flag each morning? Is he also expected to bring it in?
- 谁煮咖啡，菜肴呢？
- Who is responsible for cooking and cleaning up for dinner and breakfast?
- Who is knowledgeable in pumping?
- Who can you count on to repair the chain saw?
- 本周谁应该领导锻炼？
Do these individuals know what is expected of them? Do you know what they are capable of?
Using your team’s skills, talents, and experience to achieve tasks they are good at will free up time for you to do more officer-specific tasks. Encourage them to teach and share things in which they are interested or skilled.
Give Trust to Earn Trust
研究证明,人类的大脑是hardwired to keep us all comfortable. It avoids discomfort and uncertainty by introducing fear and doubt. The only way to override this fear and doubt is to act with courage. A leader must trust his team, and trust takes courage. You must give trust before you can receive it; this means putting the firefighters (and yourself) in a position to succeed. Give them the training they need to succeed, provide the tools they need to be successful, and then step back and trust them to get the job done.
However, ask yourself, Will they make mistakes? Most likely, but they will become better with each one. Will they need additional guidance? Probably, and you will be there to guide them when they need help. Will you start earning their trust when you trust them to get the job done? You bet, because you must give trust before you can receive it.
没有团队的尊重和信任，您只是一个老板告诉他们该怎么做。这种类型的环境导致了不满和无动力的员工。心怀不满和无动力的员工并没有受到启发，成为他们最好的自我或改善团队的努力。
Days 31-100: Evaluate and Improve the Conditions
Evaluate your conditions in the station like you do on the fireground. Ask yourself if things are improving or getting worse. Are you achieving your goals? If not, reevaluate your plans and correct them.
Observe your surroundings and read the conditions. Are your original strategies working? Is everyone happy and working toward their personal goals? Are your goals for the station being completed? Are you able to achieve your own goals? Do you need to back out and attack them from a different angle, like you would on the fireground?
Reading the smoke.A fire officer is trained to read the smoke conditions immediately on arrival at a burning structure. The color and condition of the smoke determine its temperature and location, among other things. This observation will factor into his fire attack strategy. Constant observation of the smoke conditions is vital to determine if the original strategy is working or if you need to initiate another plan.
Reading your crew’s attitude.你不能指望你的团队的每个成员s passionate about the job as you are. A recent survey determined that less than 20 percent of people would continue working if they won the lottery; this means more than 80 percent of people employed would rather be doing something else with their time than working their current job. What does this mean for you?
Action:为了引起工作中的激情，请展示毫无灵感的实现团队目标将直接受益。利用团队的个人优势，兴趣和欲望，并在他们的基础上建立改善整个团队。我们的成员之一是一位好艺术家，所以我们让他创建了一个新的吉祥物和车站补丁。我们的另一个成员是训练有素的健身教练，因此他帮助我们所有人都保持健康，同时保持乐趣。另一位成员拥有营养学位，因此他在晚餐准备工作中发挥了作用，并帮助我们养成健康的饮食习惯。您可以利用哪些个人技能使整个团队受益？
Reading your station.Studies have shown that keeping things clean and organized is instrumental to your mental health. One study found that people in homes they considered cluttered or who had unfinished projects were often depressed, stressed, and fatigued. On the other hand, those with organized and restful homes had higher levels of happiness, creativity, and productivity.
Action:Look at each room of the station. Is it organized? Do you see unfinished projects? Are there areas that have not been cleaned in years? Are there areas in need of paint? Do not get overwhelmed but instead focus on one room or project at a time. Work on it a little each day until it is complete. As more areas become organized, tidy, and clean, your team will be rewarded with pride, accomplishment, and a greater sense of happiness.
阅读自己的行动。Your team is looking to you for guidance and inspiration every day. Are you the example you want them to become?
Action:查看自己的行动。在激励他人变得伟大的同时，继续改善自己。始终如一;请记住，新的行为只会成为一种一致性和时间的习惯。定期检查您当前的计划，并准备在必要时修改和改进。未能找到并纠正一个小问题，可以迅速升级为一场全面的灾难。
成功指南
尽管我作为军官的头100天并没有绝对完美，但确实比我梦dream以求的要好。我的成功归功于我遵循的向导以及我很幸运的工作人员。
作为一个团队，我们创造了目标，并共同朝着他们努力。我们早期就确定了期望和角色，因此每个人都知道他们的个人责任。每个成员都被信任地完成工作，并进行了工具和培训以确保成功。作为回报，我自豪地成为一群人的一部分，他们统一了一个受启发的“超级英雄”团队。
ERIN R. BARGERis a 17-year fire service veteran and a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Salem, Virginia. Before he joined the fire service, Barger was a member of the United States Marine Corps.
