Thursday, June 28, 2018

IGNITE: Respect While Thinking

The quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first. The quality of our thinking depends on the way we treat each other while we are thinking.    Nancy Kline  (Hotshot crew briefing in front of crew buggies with fire in the background)
(Photo credit: Redding IHC)

The quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first.
The quality of our thinking depends on the way we treat each other while we are thinking. 
Nancy Kline

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Remembering the Dude


Incident Summary
June of 1990 will long be remembered as one of the hottest months in Arizona history. On June 26th the temperature rose to record temperatures of 122 F in Phoenix and to 106 F in Payson. In addition to the extreme temperatures, Arizona had been in a severe 3 year drought, the combination producing a critically high fire danger throughout the state, especially the Mogollon Rim country and the Tonto National Forest north of Payson. Fuels in the area are primarily ponderosa pine with an understory of mixed oak, manzanita, needle and leaf litter, and scattered large (greater than 6 inch diameter) dead logs. Much of the understory brush is heavily draped with very dry pine needles. Live fuel moisture of the manzanita and oak is very low (76%), fine dead fuel moisture is 3% and 8% for larger dead fuels.

Monday, June 25, 2018

IGNITE: Swallow Your Pride

[Photo credit: Kari Greer/USFS]
You learn not to choke if you swallow your pride. - Allen Briggs

Thursday, June 21, 2018

IGNITE: Safety doesn't happen by accident!

Safety doesn’t happen by accident. - Unknown
(Photo: Kari Greer/USFS)
Safety doesn’t happen by accident.  - Unknown

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Are You Agile?

Tree growing on the side of a rock cliff
(Photo: Makamuki0/Pixabay)
Life's beauty is inseparable from its fragility. - Susan David

Have you found yourself in an emotional mess lately? I know I have at times. There are times when I let my emotions get the best of me and stand between my relationships with others.

Monday, June 18, 2018

IGNITE: A True Test of Leadership

One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. - Arnold Glasgow (cannons on Gettysburg battlefield)
[Photo credit: Team Wildland Firefighter Foundation]
One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. - Arnold Glasgow


Thursday, June 14, 2018

IGNITE: Reason and Judgment

(Photo: David Gones/Midewin IHC)

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
Tacitus

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Opening Up Can Make Your Team Stronger



(Credit: John Hain/Pixabay)
You do not build trust in order to be vulnerable. When you're vulnerable, it builds trust. Being vulnerable together builds closeness and creates it. - Daniel Coyle
"There I was..."

When we share a good story, people become a part of our story. Their imaginations and senses awaken, and their emotions react. However, telling someone else's story is often easier than telling our own. The reason? Vulnerability. In order to share our story, we have to be vulnerable.

Monday, June 11, 2018

IGNITE: Keeping the Faith

Leaders are the ones who keep faith with the past, keep step with the present and keep the promise to posterity. - Harold J. Seymore  [Photo credit: La Grande IHC] (wildland firefighter's boots and Pulaski tool)
(Photo credit: La Grande IHC)
Leaders are the ones who keep faith with the past, keep step with the present and keep the promise to posterity. - Harold J. Seymore

Thursday, June 7, 2018

IGNITE: Safe Connections

Cohesion happens not when members of a group are smarter but when they are lit up by clear, steady signals of safe connection. - Daniel Coyle, Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Effective Groups  [Photo credit: UAF Wildland Fire Crew]
[Photo credit: UAF Wildland Fire Crew]
Cohesion happens not when members of a group are smarter but when they are lit up by clear, steady signals of safe connection. - Daniel Coyle, Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Effective Groups

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

IGNITE: From the Field for the Field Campaign Challenge

Leading Through Relations: 2018 National Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign

2018 WILDLAND FIRE LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN CHALLENGE
Time for a bigger challenge for our annual campaign. This one may stretch you a bit. As a team, select another team with whom you can develop a common purpose (beyond a fireline task) and accomplish that task. You can also choose to help another team develop their leadership. Here are some ideas:
  • Challenge another team to a team building activity. 
  • Team with another group to do something for your community (could be fire camp). 
  • Start a roving leadership library. Pass books on to another team. 
  • Conduct a preplanning exercise with another team.
We would love to hear other ideas and see the fruits of your action.
IGNITE the Spark for Leadership and SHARE through your spheres of influence.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Is Your Trust Triangle Wobbling?

(Credit: Geralt/Pixabay)
How do you go from a "toxic pirate culture that included numerous allegations of sexism, ethical corner-cutting and a take-no-prisoners approach*"  to a company customers and employees can trust? How do you rebuild broken trust?

Monday, June 4, 2018

IGNITE: Complacency

“The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight.” ~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles ~ (Hotshot crew hiking back to vehicles)
(Photo credit: Redding IHC)

“The danger is greatest when the finis“The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight.” ~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles ~ 

is in sight.”


~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles ~