Perspective Is Your Reality

 Author: Christopher Ayer, Corona De Tucson Fire Department

Do the stories we tell ourselves about interactions with fellow firefighters or supervisors shape our beliefs about our agency?

I joined the fire service after a long career in professional basketball. In that world, everything revolved around my ability to produce results: points scored, rebounds, blocked shots, and my plus/minus stats while I was on the court. (The plus/minus stat is a topic for another time; probably a future post.) These stats dictated my pay, my career trajectory, and where I would go next. Naturally, I brought this performance-driven mentality into my first wildfire season.

I approached every day as though I were in a game: I had to produce. If we weren’t on the fire line, I treated it like practice. I pushed myself to do more, work harder, and absorb everything immediately. In my mind, producing results was the key to keeping my job, earning more money, or getting my task book opened. This mindset had been ingrained in me throughout my adult life—and even before.

This drive to constantly "produce" eventually led to a blow-up with my first engine boss. We had an epic argument about how I felt he was holding me back, not teaching me enough, and preventing me from gaining valuable experience. I was doing everything I could—stocking the cooler, cleaning the cab, digging line, knowing where every piece of equipment was. To me, it was like building a stat line, and I viewed my boss as just another bad coach.

But years later, with more experience and a few more wildfire seasons under my belt, I realized I had misunderstood the situation completely. I was the problem. My mentality, shaped by years of competitive sports, was at the root of the issue—and I didn’t even realize it. My boss was teaching, and I was learning, but I was focused on the wrong things. There was no "stat line" to track. A pre-position is not the same as a roll catching initial attacks or working a hotline with firing operations every day.

At the time, I convinced myself that my boss was holding me back intentionally, possibly because training me would eventually cost him more money. I was working on a contract truck, and he would have to pay more for certifications and classes. In my mind, gaining experience and knowledge meant he'd have to pay me more, so I told myself he didn’t want me to grow. This belief came from the business I had left—where rookies don’t get paid much, and experience costs money. I clung to this narrative for years, unable to see that I was just an inexperienced firefighter fresh out of S-130, S-190, and L-180, focused on the wrong things. This false perspective led to that eventual blow-up.

Which brings us back to the question: Do the stories we tell ourselves affect our interactions and beliefs about our situation and agency?

I believe the answer is a resounding YES. Our personal perspective shapes how we interpret situations and interactions with individuals and agencies. If we keep telling ourselves negative stories—believing we were wronged by a person or our agency—eventually, all our interactions will be tainted by that narrative. This negative outlook becomes our reality.

Personally, I created a negative perspective of my first engine boss due to my own lack of experience and understanding. Over time, I convinced myself that he didn’t want me to grow or improve. As a leader, I now realize that we often have to manage subordinates or coworkers who are stuck in a negative mindset, which affects how they perceive every interaction. If someone’s view of reality is skewed by negativity, everything will take on a pessimistic slant: They’re against me. They don’t want me to succeed. They’re out to get me. Simple interactions with a leader or agency that’s trying to foster growth become negative because of that warped perspective.

This attitude not only affects the individual, but it can also influence their coworkers and new employees who don’t yet have enough experience to see the bigger picture. Ultimately, it can shape the culture of the entire agency.

Which leads to the broader question: Does a change in operations take on a different meaning when viewed through the lens of negativity? If negative stories dominate the narrative, how does that affect the way we see our agency and the changes it implements?

Christopher Ayer is a Firefighter/ Paramedic/ Engine Boss Trainee/ Wildland Coordinator for Corona De Tucson Fire Department in Tucson, Arizona. The expressions and views are those of the author.

How is Your Fitness for Change?

Author: Nick Terrell, Bureau of Land Management Fire

Wildland fire is a highly dynamic work environment. We all know that. Because of this, I believe most of our workforce handles change on the fireline exceptionally well. Line gets burned over. Fine, we got Plan B, C, and D. But how do we handle change off the fireline? And what happens to our fitness for change over time? As wildland firefighters, are we taught to manage change well? Honestly assess your workplace culture and attitudes. How do you, your peers, your supervisors, and your subordinates react when posed with changes in the workplace?

What do you feel when you are told you have to learn a new process for timekeeping? How do you react when you are told that you need to take another yearly recurrency training? Think about it. Do you meet change with acceptance or resistance? As leaders, our behaviors are always on display and people are always watching. Your reactions and attitudes in response to change will send ripples through out your organization. 100 percent. Whether that ripple be witnessed by a large audience or a single individual – maybe the “greenest” rookie firefighter that doesn’t know any better – the way you handle yourself will have an influence.

The ability to handle change in a productive manner is a Personal Anchor Skill, and an absolute necessity for wildland fire leaders. So now ask yourself this one; as wildland firefighters, are we taught to manage change well? I don’t think we are. I think back through my years on crews, working on local units for leaders that took the “company line” stance and promoted a process change they were handed because it was their duty. But I could always sense when they were not on board with the change. What does it say when you watch a leader do this?

I strongly disagree with the school of thought that leaders are born. This implies that true leaders are not learners, and they start with all the tools they need. Set aside all those individuals that are born with a high fitness for change, this post isn’t for them. The rest of us need to build our fitness for change through experience. But what opportunities exist – in our interagency fire training curriculum, our respective agency training catalogs, or personal lives – to build our fitness for change in our careers off the fireline?

Last question: what happens to our fitness for change over time? Does all the dynamic change that we experience on the fireline impact our ability to embrace change in our day jobs? Or maybe at home? I think it does. I have observed within myself, the development of a strong need to control my environment during times of increased stress and change after years on the fireline. It’s not good or bad, it just is what it is. It’s the behavior I was trained to exhibit as a crew member and leader of handcrews. But is it the appropriate behavior to exhibit when I am not in a dynamic environment but happen to be stressed? Probably not.

We have a Duty to develop our subordinates for the future. We must have Respect for our jobs and build the team within our organizations. We must have the Integrity to always set a positive example no matter the audience. I believe that a high fitness for change is a core skill – a Personal Anchor Skill – that fire leaders must model to fulfill the values of Duty, Respect, and Integrity.

I would like to hear what you think. There is good information out there that can help deepen your understanding of resistance to change. Check out the sources listed at the end of the post and throw some comments back at me with your thoughts on how we could collectively improve this Personal Anchor Skill.

“What Leaders Need to Know About Change.” Taylor Harrell. TED Talk. 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EvkGX_lr1A

“The Real Reason People Don’t Change.” Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey. Harvard Business Review. 2001. https://hbr.org/2001/11/the-real-reason-people-wont-change

Nick Terrell is a career federal wildland firefighter. Following a career altering injury, he left his position on a hand crew for a wildland fire support position. The career change has allowed him to pursue a master’s degree at Boise State University studying Conflict Management and Leadership. He still maintains operational fire qualifications and is a diligent student of fire.