As the year comes to a close, I, on behalf of the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee, would like to wish all readers a safe and happy holiday season.

"Learn to Crawl Before You Walk"

by T.C. Cummings

Stallions like to run. Indeed, they were born to run. But they didn’t start their lives running. They had to grow gradually. Even as they fell—and they do fall—the pain and recovery was relative to their ability and growth at the time. A natural rule applies.

Déjà Vu

With all the talk of tightening budgets and program cuts, I’m taken back to a time not so long ago when I began my career as a seasonal employee. The year was 1984 (okay so it is a few years back) and the fiscal climate was much the same as it is now.

Leadership is Action for 2011

The NWCG Leadership Subcommittee, in conjunction with the National Advanced Fire and Resource Institute (NAFRI), is pleased to again offer senior‐level leaders in the wildland fire service a series of opportunities for continuing leadership development through the L‐580 Leadership is Action program.

Three opportunities are available:

• Battle of Gettysburg Staff Ride
• Wharton Leadership Conference
• Northwest Leadership Seminar

For complete information including nomination procedures, refer to the course announcement at http://www.fireleadership.gov/L-580_Announcement_2011.pdf.

"If You Don't, Who Will?"

“Everyone can exercise leadership by being an individual contributor at any level of an organization. What does that mean? Ultimately it comes down to looking for opportunities to make the world a better place. That sounds grand, but when people apply that idea to their work situations, it means having a vision of how your unit, or you as an individual, can be more effective and creative, go beyond day-to-day requirements, and energize others around that vision.” ~ Helen Handfield-Jones

On June 17, 2010, I posted an entry titled “Stories from the Fireline.” As I sifted through the Knowledge at Wharton's Leadership and Change archive, I found an article with Peter Guber a fitting follow-up to my previous blog entry. An audio download accompanies the article titled "Peter Guber on Sharing Stories, not Just Information, to Communicate Effectively."

Effective Leadership after a Disappointing Loss

On November 6, 2010, The Washington Post, ran an article titled "Advice for Obama on His Next Move" in which six leadership experts were asked what they thought Obama should do to be effective the next two years. I suggest you read the entire article, but here are some direct and paraphrased quotes I found applicable to wildland fire leadership:

2010 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award

Each year the NWCG Leadership Committee provides an opportunity for exceptional leaders to be recognized through the Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award.

Teamwork - Virtue or Choice?

I came across a video clip of various snippets of Patrick Lencioni speaking about his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. I found this quote worthy of discussion: "Teamwork is not a virtue. Teamwork is a choice we have to make; however, it's a choice that has a cost." Patrick refers to teams that come together in crisis and are often disappointed with their results.

"A Culture of Sharing"

I was captivated this week by a video I found on The Washington Post's On Leadership website. The interview titled "Leadership in the Age of Social Media" supports the efforts behind this blog.