Teach Them to Fish

 

(Photo credit: sasint/Pixabay)

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime

Chinese Proverb

Leaders help their people grow by coaching, mentoring, and sharing experiences. Coaching 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. In the process, we might even learn a little something ourselves.

I challenge you to watch Tracy Fitzgerald's video "Leadership - The Butterfly Story."



Contemplate the following:

• Are your feeding others for a day or for a lifetime?
• Do you need others to need you?
• Are you coaching or enabling? How do you know the difference?

About the Author: Pam McDonald is a writer/editor for BLM Wildland Fire Training and Workforce Development and member of the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee. The expressions are those of the author.

Adapted from our September 18, 2018, blog.