Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Magnets

 

Magnets

What draws us in? An open ridge that wouldn’t take much to prep? A big box burn show off roads? A house we can save? Overtime?

What repels us? An unknown crew on the IAP? Certain fuel types? Certain regions?

There are so many situations and set-ups that draw us in, just as there are a multitude of scenarios that cause us to hesitate—just like the two sides of a magnet.

What are you and your crew’s magnets? This concept can be useful when reviewing past incidents.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Confessions of a People Pleaser

(Photo: Geralt/Pixabay)

In 2016, I wrote "In the Middle of a Burnout." Being vulnerable to our followers helped me extinguish at least one end of the candle. Unfortunately, the other end of the candle kept burning. I fell back into familiar self-defeating habits and sticky situations. Luckily, the skills and support systems I had learned helped me identify these behaviors and finally admit something had to change for good. So, in the fall of 2019, this people please—there I said it—made the hard decision to remove myself from the people and give up my leadership position with a non-profit.

IGNITE: Never Retire from Learning

 

Even if we retire from our professions, we should never retire from pursuing knowledge, wisdom, and the meaning of life. - George Raveling, coach

[Photo: Jackson IHC}

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Site Visits

 

A site visit is different than a staff ride. A site visit will not have all three phases and is often an “opportunity” type learning.

It is a field study and visit conducted on the ground where an incident or event happened. It can provide opportunity to gain meaningful perspective and insight.

Site visits are often completed while in travel status home from an incident. Others are done on a local unit for new or visiting firefighters.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]

Challenge #18: 2022 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #18: Leaders learn from past events and apply them to the future.

• Download and review the “Wildland Fire Staff Ride Guide.”
• Brainstorm with your team about a local event that could be made into a staff ride.
• Reach out to the Staff Ride Coordinator for assistance.
• Attend or reflect upon a staff ride you have attended. Journal about the following:
• Lessons learned
• Impacts of experiential learning impacts on you, your team, and the wildland fire service

IGNITE: Believe Your People Have Greatness

Believe that your people have greatness inside of them.

Because they do.

- Stephen MR Covey

[Photo: Tallac IHC/Elsa Gaule

International Firefighter's Day - May 4

 

We send a huge shoutout to all firefighters across the globe on International Firefighters' Day!

Thank you for you valuable service.

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Staff Rides

The intent of a staff ride is to put participants in the shoes of the decision makers on a historical incident to learn for the future. Staff rides are conducted on the actual ground where an incident or event happened.

Own Your Behaviors

 

(Photo: Tama66/Pixabay)

"This generation..."

Have you uttered these two words or complained about a generation other than your own?

Generations collide in our relationships and workspaces. But are we really all that different than the generation in front or back of us. How we interact with each other, regardless of our generation, tells a lot about us, especially as a leader.

"The choices that we make have a direct impact on the conversations that we have, the relationships that we form, and the quality of our lives in general." - Louise Evans

IGNITE: Learning History versus Learning Lessons

“Learning history is easy; learning its lessons seems almost impossibly difficult.” — Nicolas Bentley, British author

[Photo: Devil's Canyon Veterans Handcrew]