Friday, June 15, 2012

"By Endurance We Conquer" - Sir Ernest Shackleton (Part 11)


"By Endurance We Conquer" ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton
(Shackleton burial party, Submerged.co.uk)
In the final video of our series, the rescued crew has assimilated back into society. In 1921, Shackleton and few members of the Endurance crew embark of a journey South. However, Shackleton dies at the age of 47 of a heart attack before reaching South Georgia. The crew continues the odyssey revisits Elephant Island.


Thoughts to Ponder
  • How important is it to revisit the sites of our struggles (darkest hours)?
  • Have you participated in a staff ride? If you have, what did you gain from the experience?
  • How can staff rides heal those involved in an incident and how can they contribute to the growth of the organization?
Additional Information
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Leadership is a Gift

Leadership is a gift. It's given by those who follow. You have to be worthy of it." ~General Mark Welsh
A few weeks ago, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Fennessy for San Diego Fire-Rescue (and local/rural representative on the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee) recommended that I watch a video of General Mark Welsh, Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, speaking to a group of cadets at the Air Force Academy.

I was moved by General Welsh’s public speaking ability. His message, and how he gave it, was not what I expected to hear from a man in his rank and position. He was captivating, funny, compassionate, moving, and humble—everything you want from a leader. He showed a side of himself that commanded respect and praise.

The video is approximately 50 minutes long, but I encourage you to take the time to watch it in its entirety and experience leadership in action. You will come away with a clear sense of commander’s intent and an example of what right looks like.



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Monday, June 11, 2012

Look, Breath, and Play Together

"Fire leaders build cohesive teams--not simply groups of individuals putting fort individual efforts--to accomplish missions in high-risk environments." (Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, p. 52)
 
I have seen many analogies regarding the leadership lessons of the orchestra conductor, but the following Tedx (independently organized event) presentation by Eugene Lee does a great job.
 
   
 
Highlights from the Video:
  • Although conductors can direct every note, control tempo and volume, their real jobs are to create an interpretation of the music—a story, something that will create an emotional impact on the audience—and then lead the orchestra on a journey for executing that vision.
  • Once the conductor has the vision, he/she has to communicate it to their team. Stories and images and analogies help the team grasp that vision even more.
  • Conductors have the power to tell every player exactly how he wants them to play every note, but communicating the vision is so much more powerful. 
  • Conductors work with the leader in the orchestra, the concert master; he's enlisting the leader to sell the vision to the team.
  • During the performance, the conduct is providing real-time feedback to the orchestra on how well their sound matches the ideal in his head. He's encouraging, reminding, coaxing, and sometimes, gently correcting. 
  • Conductors lead in advance or in anticipation.
  • Conductors use cues to create connectedness and team cohesion.
What You Can Do:
  • Create a vision.
  • Sell your vision; don’t just tell your team.
  • Give performance feedback as it is happening.
  • Invoke the power of the cue.
  • Coach to the concept not the technique.
  • Help your team breath (flow) together.
  • Thank and acknowledge your team before you take a bow.

 

 
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Friday, June 8, 2012

"By Endurance We Conquer" - Sir Ernest Shackleton (Part 10)


"We've got to take a risk. Are you game?" ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton
(Chilean steamer Yelcho used to rescue the men from Elephant Island, Cool Antarctic website)
With the James Caird and crew safely on land, Shackleton attempts to rescue his crew from Elephant Island. Ice once again threatens to stand between the crew on Elephant Island and home.

Once rescued, the crew must assimilate back into society--a mad world at war.


Thoughts to Ponder
  • The Elephant Island crew all but gives up on Shackleton and the hope for rescue. What keeps a person going forward in the face of adversity?
  • How does a crew assimilate back into "normalcy" after such a horrific event?
  • How does perspective play into the transition back into society?
  • Was Shackleton right in withholding the Polar Medal from Holness, Vincent, McNish, and Stephenson?
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award

Do you know someone who has demonstrated superior wildland fire leadership and deserves recognition? If so, nominate him/her/them today!

This award is not about a lifetime of leadership, although those are worthy of recognition too. The NWCG Leadership Subcommittee wants to recognize those individuals or groups that go above and beyond with leadership. Nominations are low at this point. We need you to recognize those who have helped form our organization.

Visit the WFLDP website for more information.


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Monday, June 4, 2012

"The Merits of Risk"

"Trust, but verify." ~ President Ronald Reagan
The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), a provider for our L-380 course, released its videos from their 2012 Faculty Summit. "The Merits of Risk" by keynote speaker Christopher Barnes is highly applicable and transferable to wildland firefighting training.



Paraphrased Highlights from "The Merits of Risk"
  • We need to teach more than the soft skills.
  • We need to provide the experiences that indoctrinate our students with the will and tenacity to overcome.
  • We are part of the solution. Now more than ever, the world needs what we have to offer.
  • Industry challenges:
    1. Typically, when we manage risk, we strive to use prevention as a primary methodology. Risk is pointless without benefit. Prevention isn't enough.
    2. We often advocate for risk as a reactive response. 
  • Safety doesn't have a place where we are actively seeking risk.
  • Success without a legitimate threat of failure is illegitimate.
  • Set students up to succeed and fail in equal numbers.
  • Failure needs to be a clear and present danger.
  • Managing perception is a burden to bear.
  • "Advocating for prudent risk taking goes hand in hand with managing risk. Simply managing risk alone is of no value without considering what risks to take and why."
  • Real challenge leads to real experience and real experience leads to real learning.
  • Fear of failure inspires learning.
  • Improper allegiance to safety imperils learning.
  • "You don't get to competency by avoiding incompetency. You go through incompetency to get to competency."
  • Learning to manage risk is a life skill.
  • "We need risk because it's married to experience, and experience is the source from which all deep learnings spring."
Thoughts to Ponder
  • Have our safety policies, procedures, and equipment created a "safer" work environment? Do we rely too much on these items to keep us "safe"?
  • Are we a fire service focused on prevention or risk management?
  • Are there things that we should guarantee as safe?
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Friday, June 1, 2012

"By Endurance We Conquer" - Sir Ernest Shackleton (Part 9)

"We've got to take a risk. Are you game?" ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton
(Panorama view of South Georgia Island, Frank Hurley photo from Shackleton's book South, The Encyclopedia of Earth website)

Part 9 of our series sees Shackleton and the James Caird crew encounter more challenges before reaching the Fortuna Bay whaling station on South Georgia Island.


Thoughts to Ponder
  • What type of cohesion binds your team? How far would you go for your fellow firefighter?
  • Wag Dodge, Incident Commander on the Mann Gulch, attempted to get his crew to follow him into his escape fire to no avail. Why did Shackleton's crew follow him?
  • Shackleton musters the ability to organize the search party. What causes a leader to dig so deep for the life of a crew member? Have you encountered a leader who gave their all for the crew?
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Thomas Honored for Leadership

I believe in what I do and believe in the Fuels Program, I believe we can accomplish more putting fire on the ground and implementing or managing resource benefit fires. Fire is the best tool we have, and we should be using it more. We need to change our way thinking when comes to fires. ~ Ralph Thomas

Congratulations to Ralph Thomas for being one of four individuals selected for the 2011 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award.

Ralph Thomas
Fort Apache Agency, BIA

Leadership Citation for Initiative and Innovation:
Ralph has been instrumental in the development and growth of the BIA’s National Fire Mentoring Program. The program connects upcoming fire leaders with mentors to conduct field-oriented prescribed fire and suppression training. Ralph served as a mentor, field coordinator and role model in the BIA and tribal programs. He organically exhibited many of the leadership principles and values espoused by the leadership program. His quiet confidence is a catalyst to the mentees, providing an atmosphere which encourages time-compressed decision making, rapid team building, tactical skills and leadership development with a diverse mixture of firefighters from around the country in a dynamic environment. Even with advances in modeling programs and decision support tools used to translate data, knowledge and experience to make decisions with fire on the landscape is a crucial part of wildland fire service. The scope of Ralph’s mentoring will be felt for years to come as he continues to train others to conduct themselves with respect, professionalism, and leadership as students of fire.

Quotes from the Nomination:
  • "Ralph loves the challenge that fire brings and that love of engagement with fire is contagious to those that work with or for him."
  • "The confidence that he displays is seen as respect for his trainees which translates into greater achievements for the team."
Other Projects and Accomplishments:
  • Fort Apache's first Hotshot Superintendent (1984)
  • Division Supervisor and Air Tactical Group Supervisor on Southwest Area Incident Management Teams
  • Mentor/Field Coordinator, BIA National Fire Mentoring Program

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Normalization of Deviance: Courageous Self-Leadership (Part 4)

Self-Leadership Lessons from Mike Mullane
Courageous self leaders:
  • Set lofty goals and challenge themselves in the extreme. 
  • Accept the challenge. 
  • Stay focused on the goals. 
  • Advance their education. 
  • Constantly do their best at everything. 
Relating the Concept to Wildland Fire
In addition the the items above, wildland firefighters abide by moral courage as found in Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, pp. 63-64:
"Wildland fire leaders demonstrate moral courage by adhering to high ethical standards and choosing the difficult right over the easy wrong. We avoid ethical dilemmas by directing team members to operate in ways that are consistent with our professional standards and by directing them only to actions they can achieve ethically.
When we make mistakes, we handle them in honorable and effective ways, fixing the immediate problem then searching for root causes. Leaders with moral courage look for causes, not scapegoats, learning and improving, looking for ways to turn weaknesses into strengths.
An outgrowth of strong character, moral courage enables us to build trust with our teams and gain respect from peers. Although some may judge that leading ethically compromises short-term gains, leading ethically allows us to accomplish more than our mission.
Because the consequences of ethical decisions can be great and those who make such decisions may be asked later to justify their conclusion, following a careful and thorough process is a wise approach in situations with ambiguous courses of action. The values of duty, respect, and integrity should weigh heavily in any ethical decision." 

Other References
With the fire season upon us, take a moment to review this topic with your crews. We are operating in sub-optimal environments during challenging times. Fire leaders must take the time to instill this concept into their operational environments.

Thanks to Brian Fennessy, Local/County/Rural Representative on the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee, for referring this great video series.
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Friday, May 25, 2012

"By Endurance We Conquer" - Sir Ernest Shackleton (Part 8)

"Shackleton's greatest characteristic was the ability to compel loyalty even against his men's better judgment." ~ Roland Huntford, polar historian
(Artist rendering of the crew aboard the James Caird in heavy seas, Cool Antarctica website)

In Part 8 of "Endurance--Shackleton & the Antarctic," Shackleton, McNeish, Crean, McCarthy, Vincent, and Worsley set sail on an extraordinary journey of survival in the James Caird. 

Click here to preview Endurance--Shackleton & the Antarctic Part 8 of 11


Thoughts to Ponder
  • Wildland firefighters are often said to have "can do" attitudes. How does this relate to the tenacity of the James Caird crew? Give examples of how tenacity has worked positively on your crew.
  • Worsley's insight to convert the James Caird into a sailboat was heroic. Have you had a crew member who provided great leadership and innovation during a crisis situation?
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