Summary - Duty

Duty is how we value our job. 

Duty begins with everything required of us by law and policy, but it is much more than that. As leaders, we commit to excellence in all aspects of our professional responsibility so that when a job is done we can look back and say I couldn’t have given any more. 

• Be proficient in your job, both technically and as a leader.
• Make sound and timely decisions.
• Ensure tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished. 
• Develop your people for the future.

[Click here to download a copy of Leading in the Wildland Fire Service.]

After Action Review - Stories From the Fireline

A division consisting of five handcrews had been assigned to a fire in a wilderness area. The firefighters on the division had to hike for two hours, through rough terrain, to get to the fire. There they began working on their assignment: construct indirect handline, fire it out, and hold it. 

Staff Ride/Case Study/Site Visit - What's the Difference?

(Blue Ribbon Staff Ride/George Risko, Florida Forest Service)

You and your team are heading home from an incident and come up on the location of a fatality event. You pull over and proceed to walk around the site and have a few deep discussions here and there about the events of the incident. Someone even pulls up the accident report. Is it a staff ride (your entire team is there) or a site visit?

IGNITE: Be Ever Aware of the Lessons Learned

May we all be energized and inspired to be ever aware of the lessons learned from their sacrifice." - South Canyon Fire Investigation Team, August, 1994

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]

#neverforget #honorthroughlearning

After Action Reviews (AARs)

Fire leaders walk the talk of the learning organization by scheduling routine debriefings to evaluate performance and apply the lessons learned. AARs maximize learning from every operation, training event, or task; they represent a powerful tool for team and organizational learning.

AARs allow people to share honest opinions and learn from each other. Fire leaders make sure that debriefings focus on what instead of who; we use them to improve weaknesses and to sustain strengths.

[Click here to download a copy of Leading in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge 19 - 2021 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #19: Leaders challenge the status quo. Contemplate the following in your journal.

How would you describe your organizational culture?

• Is it a place that welcome new employees from day one?
• Is your organization a place that leverages everyone's diverse backgrounds and thinking?

How are you influencing change or enhancing the culture of your organization?

• Is this the senior leader’s primary job?

IGNITE: The Walk Beside

A mentor is not someone who walks ahead of us to show us how they did it

A mentor walks alongside us to show us what we can do.

~ Simon Sinek ~

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]
#fireleadership

Developing a Learning Organization

Leaders evaluate performance at all levels to understand the causal factors of successes and failures. All those involved learn incrementally, applying today’s lessons to the next assignment. This focus on continuous improvement brings with it a responsibility to share lessons learned throughout the organization.

 

In a learning organization, leaders treat honest mistakes as opportunities to do better next time. Understanding that failure is a part of learning, they establish command climates in which young leaders are motivated by desire to succeed rather than fear of failure.

[Click here to download a copy of Leading in the Wildland Fire Service.]

IGNITE: Our Organizational Leaders

 

Our organizational leaders plan for future operations as well as mentor promising people for key roles in our organizations. - Leading the Wildland Fire Service, p. 23

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]

A Look at L-580, Leadership Is Action

Did you know L-580 is more that just staff rides? Although staff rides involving historical events like Gettysburg or Chickamauga/Chattanooga provide the perfect venue for the facilitation of learning objectives and allows for senior-level discussion at the organizational level, they are only one avenue for L-580 opportunities. Other avenues have included the San Diego County Mega Fire Case Study and the Wharton Leadership Conference. L-580, Leadership Is Action is a continuing education opportunity primarily for senior fire management leaders (Agency Administrators/Line Officers involved in managing complex incidents, incident management organizations [Type 1, Type 2, Area Command, and NIMO], and leaders from national, regional, or state offices.)