From "Cold Water" to "All In"

Members of the South Zone of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest‘s are stepping up to take the the wildland fire leadership challenge as posted on the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program's Facebook page on June 11, 2014.

If you missed the challenge, here it is again:

We're "CALLING OUT" All Wildland Firefighters!

 

Cold water challenges have proven a great way to support local charities, many of whom respond in the aftermath of a wildland fire tragedy. The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) was created out of our tragedies "to promote cultural change in the work force and to emphasize the vital importance of leadership concepts in the wildland fire service by providing education and leadership development opportunities." 

 

Wildland firefighting is a dangerous job, and we owe it to our fallen to learn from their sacrifices and do everything within our power to ensure that everyone comes home. South Canyon and Yarnell were defining moments in our history. Cultivating a culture of followership where great leaders can emerge to create healthy organizations is paramount. Therefore, we are CALLING OUT all members of the wildland fire service to accept the IGNITE the Spark for Leadership Challenge. Leadership is ACTION, and we have set some goals that only you can help us reach: 

 

1) Identify a Leadership Advocate(s) whose job is to:

• Share bi-weekly blog posts with the team.
• Monitor the WFLDP Facebook page for information.
• Work with the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee Logistics and Social Media Coordinator Pam McDonald (BLM_FA_Leadership_Feedback@blm.gov) to showcase their team’s leadership in action moments through blog posts, videos, etc.
• Provide each member of the team with a copy of the WFLDP Values and Principles.
• Conduct a values and principles commitment exercise with their team and send their patch, logo, or signature page (create your own) to Pam McDonald (National Interagency Fire Center, 3833 S. Development Ave., Boise, ID 83705 or via email above) for placement on the WFLDP wall.
• Download a copy of "Leading in the Wildland Fire Service” for every member of your team. (Paperback, PMS 494-2)
• Promote the 2014 WF Leadership Campaign - The Resilient Team and submit an entry for the "IGNITE the Spark for Leadership - From the Field for the Field" contest.

2) Help us reach roll right over the 5,000 Facebook follower milestone before "A Week to Remember, Reflect and Learn" from June 30-July 6. We know you can do it!

  

3) Help us increase our weekly blog followership by 10%. 

 

As we approach the anniversary of two organizationally changing events, we are CALLING OUT all members of the wildland fire service to IGNITE the Spark for Leadership and SHARE throughout their networks!

What We Are Doing to IGNITE the Spark

As the South Zone FMO of the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, I had the opportunity recently to engage the Northern Utah Regulars Type 2 IA crew in the 2014 National Reading Challenge as they were being mobilized to fires in Idaho. Although the majority of crew were resources from within the South Zone, firefighters from the North Zone and the BLM's West Desert District were invited to participate and readily accepted the book and the challenge.

As part of the challenge, each member of the crew was handed a copy of Lone Survivor. My leader's intent and reading assignments were then given to challenge participants.

  



This was also a good time to re-cap what we had accomplished and learned to this pointin our journey to build a resilient team, starting with the South Canyon Staff Ride earlier this season, to the recent Week To Remember conversations. Intra-module and individual learning is taking shape and headed in the right direction based off the talking points and topics discussed so far this season. We will get together again soon and go through the reading assignments to see what we have learned so far.

  

More to come soon….

Allen

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Allen Briggs is the South Zone Fire Management Officer on the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.