您的组织指南针仍然指向北方吗？

作者Brian S. Gettemeier

Many fire service organizations have transitioned from a rules-based organization to a values-based approach to management. It makes perfect sense. The fire service consists of highly motivated, trained, and trusted individuals. We do not work in a widget factory; our work is not the same every day. Some days our members find themselves in incidents or predicaments no one could ever imagine. A values-based document provides an excellent guidepost for our members to know the level of service and engagement that is expected of us. A values-based organization gives us the ability to think and act beyond policies and procedures–to do what we do best, solve problems under great pressure in unusual circumstances.

价值文档旨在成为带有共同目标的组织及其成员朝着同一方向领导组织的步道图。

In the corporate world, vision statements and value documents are about creating a brand. Brand recognition is about sales based on the value and quality of the brand.

In emergency services, we want our consumers to recognize the quality of our brand. At right are some examples of emergency services mission, vision, and value statements.

Mission and values statements can be found throughout emergency service organizations. But how many organizations have truly invested the time to train the membership on the proper use of these documents? We would not give a group of individuals a compass and drop them off in the middle of a dense forest and expect them to successfully navigate their way to safety, would we? No, we would train the individuals on how to use the compass properly. In fact, you cannot hand your people a compass and expect them to do the simple task of heading true north. Most people are not aware of the fact there are two norths when it comes to navigation–true north, the one on the Earth’s axis that all maps point to, and magnetic north the one the compass points to. Magnetic north is actually 1,300 miles south of true north. Failure to compensate for magnetic declination will result in a person being off course. This same principle holds true for a values-based document. A slight miscalculation can result in an individual or the entire organization being off course.

Once the values-based document is developed, one of the first actions must be to train the membership how to use it. Our membership must be able to cite this document with mastery. Anything less than mastery should be considered a failure. This is your organization’s lifestyle. The membership must truly believe in the values. Failure to follow would essentially be moral freelancing. If your membership cannot cite the document, ask why. Is it a failure on the part of the employee to read and understand the document? Is the document too complex and cumbersome? Is it a failure of the organization to ensure its values are being taught and followed every day? An organization cannot pick and choose when to employ its values. It must be ingrained into every aspect of an organization’s decision process relating to committees, purchasing, hiring and promotions, calls, and how we conduct ourselves on and off duty.

为外部客户设置课程

在我们基于价值的文件的指导下，消防部门在紧急响应期间为我们的外部客户提供了出色的工作。即使是平庸的响应，通常也会比客户预期的原始情况更好。我们在解决介绍给我们的情况方面做得非常出色。那是我们的工作，我们是问题解决者。我们的指导文档告诉我们对客户的正确对待，这无非是常识。例如，组织的核心意识形态可能表明，在通话中，在客户家中检查和更换烟雾探测器是公司的责任。简单的。当然，这是正确的事情。

为内部客户设置课程

然而,我们的组织sometimes fall short is in meeting the needs of our internal customers, the employees themselves. It seems counterintuitive that an organization needs a document that says, “Treat your fellow employee right.” However, the internal customer is where the organization often underestimates the impact of these core ideologies. Does the document meet the needs of our membership? Does the membership believe in the document? More importantly, does the membership believe that the organization believes in the document?

我们大多数人都加入了消防部门，成为特殊事物的一部分。我们拥抱准军事风格。因此，我们许多人将拥抱并忠于定义我们组织方向的文件。作家兼激励人物西蒙克（Simon Sinek）在Twitter上表示：“在员工首先喜欢它之前，客户永远不会爱公司。”但是，当组织缺乏文档时会发生什么？

不满足我们内部客户的需求可能会导致组织脱节，并可能造成努力超越书面组织目标的好员工的不满。如果认为该组织由于个人收益和议程而偏离了课程，则尤其如此。例如，如果组织的核心意识形态是支持其成员的教育目标，但一个成员被批准获得机会，而另一个成员则被拒绝获得类似的机会，那么它会在成员中造成摩擦。即使是组织中未参与或受到该决定影响的其他成员，也可能仅基于这一事实来发展对组织的痛苦感。

The membership is the foundation of a values-based organization. Small erosions in the membership’s commitment to the document can undermine the entire foundation of the organization. Often these erosions start small and go unnoticed until the compromises are great and potentially beyond the point of no return. During an emergency scene, we continuously size-up the event to make sure we are always improving. Maybe it is time that our organizations size-up our guiding documents to make sure we are improving.

The Need for Document Calibration

Magnetic north is dynamic; over time, it changes. Likewise, a compass needs to be calibrated to compensate for magnetic declination. The same can be said for an organization’s values-based document. Has the direction of our organization changed to compensate for changes internally or externally? When was the last time the organization calibrated the values document to ensure the proper course is being followed?

这些文件我们的组织a variety of reasons: industry trends, increased credibility, or as a result of a college or Executive Fire Officer Program project. No matter how or why the document is adopted, the results must be the same; it’s a lifestyle, not a document, not a reference manual to be stored on the shelf. These documents are meant to be used every day, put into practice, demonstrated by our membership. How many organizations adopted one of these guiding documents only to place it in a pretty binder on the shelf, never to be opened again? If that is the case, we might as well put blank paper in the binder, because it has the same amount of credibility. If your guiding document is not being followed, fix it–or do the organization a favor and throw it in the recycle bin, where it has a renewed opportunity to be worth something. It’s every member’s responsibility to make sure your organizational compass is still pointing north: To take pride in what we are a part of, and to ensure we are all traveling toward a common goal.

Brian S. Gettemeier已经在消防局工作了23年，过去20年担任了职业消防员，密苏里州圣查尔斯县的科特维尔消防区。他是第二代消防队员and has a bachelor’s degree in fire service management from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale along with numerous state certifications. He teaches all-hazard classes for numerous organizations throughout the state of Missouri.