"We've Been Here Before..."

(Image by kalhh from Pixabay)

Stay in a job long enough and you will see change. You may even see things come full circle and say, "We've been here before." Change will happen and not everyone will be happy with the results. Let's take the current workforce transformation effort within the wildland fire service; "we've been here before"....and before that.

IGNITE: Memorial Day 2022

 

On this Memorial Day 2022, we honor all those lost in service to our country, wherever they served.

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - AAR Tips

• Hold an AAR with the involved personnel as immediately after an event as possible.
• Leaders ensure that there is skilled facilitation of the AAR.
• Make sure everyone participates.
• Pay attention to time. Set a start and ending time.
• Establish clear ground rules. Encourage candor and openness and ensure that all participants have equal ownership. Focus on improving performance. Keep all discussions confidential.
• End on a positive note.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - AAR Facilitation

 

Facilitating an AAR requires patience. Initially, it is necessary for the leader to set the tempo. The leader must be a part of the AAR and will have to occasionally accept criticism.

The critical step is to tap into your crewmembers’ emotions. Finding out what they did is not nearly as important as why they did it. Good active listening skills are essential. Do not immediately solve or correct the issue, but let it play out. Try to get to the root of the problem. Encourage everyone to speak their mind.

In order to maximize the AAR, the conversation must have a certain level of candor and allow individual emotions to surface. Remember, this is not the time to reprimand, nor is it the time for personal disputes to dominate. Only issues that are related to the team’s performance should be addressed.

Facilitating an AAR requires patience. Initially, it is necessary for the leader to set the tempo. The leader must be a part of the AAR and will have to occasionally accept criticism. This is important because the team will be looking for affirmation of the AAR process.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #21 - 2022 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #21: Effective leaders debrief the day’s events with their teams.

• Review “After Action Reviews” in Learning in the Wildland Fire Service, pp. 28-30.
• Visit the AAR tool on the WFLDP website.

IGNITE: Motivation and Discipline

Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing. - John Maxwell 

[Photo: Zalek Linker/FWS, Planet Fire]

Leadership Self-Study Available on the Portal

 

We have big news for students of fire!

Leadership self-study opportunities for each of the five leadership levels are now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal under Great Basin Training Center course listings.

If you don't have a profile on the Portal, create one. Search for "Leadership Self-Study" and self-enroll in the leadership level fit for you. Feel free to start at the beginning and work your way through as well.

• Leadership Self-Study - Level 1
• Leadership Self-Study - Level 2
• Leadership Self-Study - Level 3
• Leadership Self-Study - Level 4
• Leadership Self-Study - Level 5

Grassroots Wildland Firefighters Earn 2021 LBE for Motivation and Vision

 

(L to R: Lucas Mayfield, VP; Kelly Martin, President; Maeve Juarez, Montecito FD/NWCG Leadership Committee and award presenter)

Grassroots Wildland Firefighters
Category: Mentoring and Teamwork

Congratulations to Grassroots Wildland Firefighters (GWF) for being selected as one of the recipients for the 2021 Paul Gleason Lead by Example award. Three individuals and one group from across the wildland fire service have been chosen to receive this national award.

IGNITE: Accomplish Extraordinary Things

 

People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things. - Sir Edmund Hillary


[Photo: Kyle MIller/Wyoming IHC]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - After Action Reviews (AARs)

 An After Action Review (AAR) is a professional discussion of an event—focused on performance standards—that enables firefighters to discover for themselves what happened, why it happened, and how to sustain strengths and improve on weaknesses. It is a tool leaders and units can use to get the maximum benefit from every incident or project.

Challenge #20 - 2022 WFLDP Campaign

 Challenge #20: Students of fire honor through learning.

• Review case studies found on the LLC website. 
• Select a study and facilitate a learning session for your team. 
• Develop a case study for a local incident and send to the LLC as appropriate.

IGNITE: The Beginning of Wisdom

 

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. - Aristotle

[Photo: Zephyr Fire Crew]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Case Study

A case study is an analysis of persons, events, and decisions that are studied holistically. While it does not need to be conducted at the site of the incident, it could include a visit to the incident location. Case studies are used to demonstrate a thesis or principle. They are usually led and require facilitation.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

IGNITE: Walk Through Life to Learn

“Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn, and you will.” - Vernon Howard, author 

[Photo: Midewin IHC]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Virtual Site Visits

A virtual site visit follows the same methodology as a “live” or “in the field” event. But because travel restrictions may preclude a trip to the incident location, the terrain is replicated in a virtual environment.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #19: 2022 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #19: Effective leaders know what motivates their team.

• Read “Magnets” in Learning in the Wildland Fire Service, pp. 27-28.
• Work with team members to identify personal and team “magnets”—things that draw you in and things that repel you.
• Select a past event. Apply the concept of “magnets” as you review the incident.

IGNITE: The Unprepared Mind

"The unprepared mind cannot see the outstretched hand of opportunity.”

Alexander Fleming, Scottish physician

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Magnets

 

Magnets

What draws us in? An open ridge that wouldn’t take much to prep? A big box burn show off roads? A house we can save? Overtime?

What repels us? An unknown crew on the IAP? Certain fuel types? Certain regions?

There are so many situations and set-ups that draw us in, just as there are a multitude of scenarios that cause us to hesitate—just like the two sides of a magnet.

What are you and your crew’s magnets? This concept can be useful when reviewing past incidents.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Confessions of a People Pleaser

(Photo: Geralt/Pixabay)

In 2016, I wrote "In the Middle of a Burnout." Being vulnerable to our followers helped me extinguish at least one end of the candle. Unfortunately, the other end of the candle kept burning. I fell back into familiar self-defeating habits and sticky situations. Luckily, the skills and support systems I had learned helped me identify these behaviors and finally admit something had to change for good. So, in the fall of 2019, this people please—there I said it—made the hard decision to remove myself from the people and give up my leadership position with a non-profit.

IGNITE: Never Retire from Learning

 

Even if we retire from our professions, we should never retire from pursuing knowledge, wisdom, and the meaning of life. - George Raveling, coach

[Photo: Jackson IHC}

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Site Visits

 

A site visit is different than a staff ride. A site visit will not have all three phases and is often an “opportunity” type learning.

It is a field study and visit conducted on the ground where an incident or event happened. It can provide opportunity to gain meaningful perspective and insight.

Site visits are often completed while in travel status home from an incident. Others are done on a local unit for new or visiting firefighters.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #18: 2022 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #18: Leaders learn from past events and apply them to the future.

• Download and review the “Wildland Fire Staff Ride Guide.”
• Brainstorm with your team about a local event that could be made into a staff ride.
• Reach out to the Staff Ride Coordinator for assistance.
• Attend or reflect upon a staff ride you have attended. Journal about the following:
• Lessons learned
• Impacts of experiential learning impacts on you, your team, and the wildland fire service

IGNITE: Believe Your People Have Greatness

Believe that your people have greatness inside of them.

Because they do.

- Stephen MR Covey

[Photo: Tallac IHC/Elsa Gaule

International Firefighter's Day - May 4

 

We send a huge shoutout to all firefighters across the globe on International Firefighters' Day!

Thank you for you valuable service.

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Staff Rides

The intent of a staff ride is to put participants in the shoes of the decision makers on a historical incident to learn for the future. Staff rides are conducted on the actual ground where an incident or event happened.

Own Your Behaviors

 

(Photo: Tama66/Pixabay)

"This generation..."

Have you uttered these two words or complained about a generation other than your own?

Generations collide in our relationships and workspaces. But are we really all that different than the generation in front or back of us. How we interact with each other, regardless of our generation, tells a lot about us, especially as a leader.

"The choices that we make have a direct impact on the conversations that we have, the relationships that we form, and the quality of our lives in general." - Louise Evans

IGNITE: Learning History versus Learning Lessons

“Learning history is easy; learning its lessons seems almost impossibly difficult.” — Nicolas Bentley, British author

[Photo: Devil's Canyon Veterans Handcrew]