“The WFLDP is announcing the 2021 Professional Reading List! The four books chosen for this year are: Sailing True North by Admiral James Stavridis (USN Ret.); The Thirtymile Fire by John Maclean; Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff; and A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell.
The intent of the challenge
is to promote the reading and discussion of the books throughout the year.
Discussions are encouraged on the WFLDP Facebook page
and anywhere you can find two or more people willing to chat about books and
leadership.
There are discussion guides for these titles, and discussion guides for books selections in previous years, at the website for the Professional Reading Program.
Alright, now that you’ve read
the boilerplate announcement, let’s get into it. Why should you pay attention
to the Professional Reading List, and how does it tie into the Wildland Fire Leadership Values and Principles?
As I see it, reading is a great
professional development tool that should be an integral part of a leader’s
toolkit. If you look at the values of Duty, Respect, and Integrity, I see a few
of the Principles that can be directly related to using reading as a
self-development tool.
First, under Duty, is Be
proficient in your job, both technically and as a leader. Now to me,
reading is a great way to become more proficient at your job. Whether it’s
reading about aviation safety, risk management, fire ecology, or weather, it’s
a great tool for gaining technical knowledge. And guess what? You can also gain
leadership knowledge from reading books on human factors, leadership
biographies, histories, and leadership topics… and you can put them into
practice immediately.
Second, still under Duty, is Develop
your people for the future. Reading is a great, low-cost, fairly simple
way to develop yourself and those in your organization. Especially in the
current COVID-19 working environment, picking a book or two and have your
module or unit read it is a great way to promote self-development even if the
“normal” self-development options are limited. No special protocols or
mitigations needed, just pick up a book, read it, and then talk about it!
Third, under Respect, is Know
your people and look out for their well-being. Books on human behavior
offer a great way to get better at understanding the people around you, and
what makes them tick. If you understand
people it’s a lot easier to work with them, and look for them as a leader and
as a follower. Simple as that.
Fourth, under Integrity, is Know
yourself and seek improvement.
There are a LOT of ways that reading can support this principle. There
are more books on self-development and self-help than you can shake a stick at,
and reading is a great way better understand yourself in a variety of ways. And
reading is always a straightforward way to find ways to be a better you, no
matter the topic.
Fifth, and lastly, under
Integrity, is Set the example. This is pretty simple – by using a
reading program as a leader you set the example for those around, be
demonstrating that it’s worth the time, and that it has value as a leadership
development tool. It’s easy to tell folks that you support their
self-development, but it’s sometimes hard to take it farther than supporting
them in getting fire assignments and training opportunities through the
established channels… it’s not easy to take the initiative and work outside the
usual methods to promote self-development as a leader.
The Professional Reading Program
is intended to be a toolbox for leaders at all levels – and speaking of leadership
levels, have you checked out the new NWCG Leadership Committee Leadership Levels page? If not, you should.
A toolbox is only as good as you make it… a box of tools that’s never opened, explored, or shared isn’t any good. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to make sure we take advantage of all the tools we have access to. After all, Leaders are Readers!
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