IGNITE: Honoring Our Fallen

 

In memory of many; in honor of all!

May we all take a moment to honor our fallen through learning.

#honorthroughlearning

[Photo: Nicole Oke]

Knowing Our People and Looking Out for Their Well-Being

The wildland fire service approach to taking care of people encompasses mind, body, and spirit. Because duty can take our people into dangerous situations, fire leaders reciprocate their loyalty by looking out for their safety and well-being in all circumstances. 

Leaders learn about people as individuals, developing an understanding of what motivates them and how they derive satisfaction from their work. We consider how stress and fear can affect our people’s well-being and take steps to understand and mitigate the effects of these human factors.

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

Challenge #21: 2021 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #21: Leaders learn from tragedies of the past.

• Visit the Staff Ride Library at https://www.nwcg.gov/wfldp/toolbox/staff-ride/library.
• Select at least one tragedy to review.
• Take notes in your journal about the tragedy.
• What behavior will you change because of this event?

IGNITE: Recognition Before an Emergency

One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. - Arnold Glasgow

[Photo: Team Wildland Firefighter]

Respect: Taking Care of People

To gain respect from our people, we first respect them. Leaders demonstrate respect for our people in many ways: by getting to know them, by looking out for their well-being, by keeping them informed, by putting forth the effort to build strong teams, and by employing them in accordance with their capabilities.

Mission success or failure often hinges on our ability to understand each other and work together. Whether merging a diverse group of people as a team or dealing with the aftermath of a tragic event, understanding human behavior is inherent to being a good leader.

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

Challenge #20: 2021 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #20: Leaders share our history with their people.

• Share your staff ride stories in the comments.
• Name and location of the staff ride.
• Who were you honoring by attending this staff ride?
• What were the lessons from this tragedy?
• How did you implement the lessons you learned?

 #neverforget #honorthroughlearning

Staff Ride for Experiential Learning and So Much More

 

Many in the wildland community are familiar with the use of a staff ride in the learning process. The value of a staff ride goes well beyond training and education; it can be a very therapeutic and healing event as well.

IGNITE: The Seeds of Lessons Learned

Every failure, every adversity, every heartache carries with it a seed of an equal or greater benefit. - Napolean Hill

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

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.)

IGNITE: The Ultimate Team

The ultimate team result is resilience: teams that can bounce back when problems or errors threaten cohesion and synergy. - Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, p. 55)

IGNITE the Spark for Leadership. LIKE and SHARE throughout your networks.

[Photo credit: Josh Neighbors/South Dakota Wildland Fire]

Mentoring - Stories from the Fireline

During the five decades of his career as a firefighter, Paul Gleason worked tirelessly in many roles, ranging from hotshot crew member to specialist in the science of fire behavior. He influenced and inspired countless firefighters, many of whom name him as the one person who had the biggest impact on their lives and careers. 

Challenge 18: 2021 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #18: Leaders help their people establish strong staff value systems, team cultures, and command presence.

• Lead your team through the following values exploration exercise.

IGNITE: The Power of Synergy

Teamwork requires that everyone's efforts flow in a single direction. - Pat Riley

Share through your sphere of influence.

[Photo credit: Kari Greer/USFS]

All About L-481

Course Intent

The intent of L-481 Advanced Leadership for Command and General Staff is to produce Command and General Staff members who can fulfill the responsibilities of an effective staff officer or section chief within an IMT, contribute effectively to an IMT’s decision-making process, and perform as an effective organizational leader in their own functional area and as a member of the IMT. 

This course should engage the course participants in leadership learning within the context of managing a large/complex incident. The course content includes both collective or team tasks and individual tasks. 

• Collective tasks: functions accomplished by the Command and General Staff, maintaining a common operating picture, building and maintaining a constructive team culture, and projecting leader’s intent up, down, and across the chain of command. 
• Individual tasks: demonstrating interpersonal and communication skills necessary to function as a productive member of a team, contributing positively to team decisions, contributing to the IMT’s common operating picture, working within the team culture, demonstrating effective staff ethos, and projecting effective command presence within their functional areas.

Mentoring

Leaders also help their people grow by mentoring and sharing experiences. Mentoring them begins their journey from followership to leadership. Fire leaders coach and then step back to allow people to take on new responsibilities. Providing the opportunity to test new waters and try new behaviors is important in developing people for the future.

We consider the individual skill levels and developmental needs when delegating tasks, making sure people have appropriate challenges that press them to grow and expand their skills.

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

A Word From Our L-480 CMLs

IGNITE: Bring Your Best

(Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC)

Self-awareness enables you to bring your best self to others. - Dan Rockwell

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Setting and Achieving Standards

Leaders set standards as a means of clearly stating the leader’s expectations as well as those of the organization. Standards define acceptable performance, and holding people accountable is contingent on clearly defined standards. Fire leaders step up to the responsibility of establishing reasonable standards, training to those standards, and providing the resources necessary to achieve the standard. With standards in place, leaders help people develop technical and personal competency, enabling them to grow as individuals.

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