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Monday, April 2, 2012

Transforming the Lone Nut into a Leader

In January 2002, the NWCG Leadership Committee/Subcommittee (LSC) was formed with the following mission: "To promote cultural change in the work force and to emphasize the vial importance of leadership concepts in the wildland fire service by providing educational and leadership development opportunities."

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) began as a vision of a few senior firefighters tasked with bringing about cultural change within the wildland fire service. This grassroots campaign fueled in and by the field has exploded into a set of service-wide values and principles, a formal leadership curriculum, and a toolbox full of resources and programs that are recognized and used around the world.

After 10 years, it is time to refresh the program. Recently, the LSC launched a campaign called IGNITE the Spark for Leadership. The effort focuses on using new ideas and social media to build the students of fire foundation and expand our methods of communication with the field. Some of the initiatives include:

  • Redesign of the WFLDP website
  • Fan drive on our WFLDP Facebook (goal of at least 500 "likes" by April 24, 2012) 
  • Development of an annual Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge 
  • Development of mobile applications for toolbox items
Every movement needs a leader and followers to keep the movement going. The foundation of the movement has begun; some have joined in while others continue to sit back and watch. The WFLDP is, and will always be, fueled by the field. We need that fuel now as we move forth and connect to a new generation firefighter as well as provide better communication with all wildland firefighters--especially those with seasonal and temporary status. 

The following video shows how one "lone nut" became the leader of a huge movement. Are you willing to help a few LSC nuts IGNITE the Spark for Leadership?



(Thanks to Chris Schow for posting on Facebook that this video was on TED!)

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