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.