A while back we asked students of fire about the “Meaning
Behind the Mountain”—what the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) logo
represented. Here is what we were able to piece together from former NWCG
Leadership Committee members. We added a few statements from Leading in the Wildland Fire Service to support each element.
Mountain – The mountain symbolizes the leadership challenge.
Leaders often face difficult problems to which there are no
simple, clear cut, by-the-book solutions. In these situations, leaders must use
their knowledge, skill, experience, education, values, and judgment to make decisions
and to take or direct action—in short, to provide leadership. (p. 1)
Leadership is a tough choice. Leaders choose to sacrifice
their own needs for those of their teams and organizations. They routinely face
situations and make decisions that others criticize and second-guess. Leaders
take risks and face challenges every day. (p. 6)
Road or path – Leadership is a path or journey that is
laborious and winding; some get further along the path than others.
A leader’s journey is a perpetual cycle of acquiring,
shaping, and honing the knowledge and skills of leadership. The leadership
journey is never finished. (p. 5)
Fire leaders bring order to chaos, improve our people’s
lives, and strengthen our organizations. Leading enables us to leave a legacy
for the leaders of the future so that they can take our places well prepared
for the road ahead. (p. 6)
Values and Principles – The WFLDP is structured around a set
of leadership values and principles as a means of communicating what right
looks like and illustrating effective leadership in action.
Leaders in the wildland fire service seek and accept the
duty to lead. We serve our people, our communities, and our nation. We fulfill
our obligation by mastering our jobs, making sound and timely decisions,
ensuring tasks can be done and are accomplished, and fostering this spirit of
duty in subordinates. (p. 25)
To gain respect for our people, we first respect them.
Leaders demonstrate respect for our people in many ways: by getting to know
them, by looking out for their well-being, by keeping them informed, by putting
forth the effort to build strong teams, and by employing them in accordance
with their capabilities. (p. 45)
Leaders cannot hide what they do; they are always setting an
example. Followers assess their leader’s integrity every day. If people believe
a leader has integrity, they can accept other weaknesses and help compensate
for them. (p. 59)
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