Challenge #52 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #52: Effective leaders put knowledge into practice.

• Congratulations! You have spent a year learning about servant leadership.
• If you are willing to serve, obtain a copy of The Servant Leadership Journal – An 18 Week Journey to Transform You and Your Organization.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: Operating Out of Love

 A moral person operates out of love—love of self and others. – James Sipe and Don Frick, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

[Photo: Ben Strahan/El Dorado IHC]

IGNITE: Happy Holidays

To our followers all around the globe, we extend holiday greetings to you and yours. 

Thank you for your faithful service!

- The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program -

Challenge #51 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #51 – Servant-Leaders share their power.

• Watch WFSTAR’s “Command and Control.”

• How does this command-and-control model distribute power?
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: A Person's True Value

A person’s true wealth lies not in material possessions but in the depth of their kindness and compassion. – George Raveling, coach

[Photo: Northern California District BLM]

IGNITE: Truly Humble

 

No one knows less about humility than he who is truly humble. – Martin Luther quote from "Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership" by Sipes and Frick

[Photo: San Carlos Agency/BIA]

Challenge #50 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #50: Servant-Leaders lead through influence and example.

• Read “Ascending the Second Mountain.”
• Optional: Read David Brook’s book The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: An Inward Sense of Right and Wrong

 

A Servant-Leader lives, loves, and leads by conscience—the inward moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. - James Sipe & Don Frick, The Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

[Photo: Greg Haxby/BLM (retired)]

IGNITE: Taking on Partners

When it is time to delegate responsibility, Servant-Leaders take on partners rather than subordinates. – James Sipe and Don Frick, "Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership"

[Photo: Tatanka IHC]

Challenge #49 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #49: Servant-Leaders lead through influence and example.

• Watch “How Benjamin Franklin and his club generated awesome ideas!
• Create your own club.
• Share answers to the questions from the video.
• Create questions of your own.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: Vision with Action Can Change the World

Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world. – Nelson Mandela

IGNITE the Spark for Leadership and SHARE throughout your networks.

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]

Staff Rides - Immersing Yourself in Learning

Staff Rides - Immersing Yourself in Learning

by Shane Olpin

Staff rides have long been recognized as an effective technique for experiential learning in the wildland fire service. This unique approach allows fire professionals to gain a deeper understanding of past fire events and apply those lessons to future incidents. In this essay, we will explore the concept of staff rides, its benefits, and how it contributes to the development of fire professionals.

IGNITE: A Servant-Leader Is Worthy Of...

 

A Servant-Leader is worthy of respect, inspires trust and confidence, and establishes quality standards for performance. – James Sipe and Don Frick, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

[Photo: J. Leonard/BLM]

Honoring Our Fallen Through Learning - Point Fire

On November 30, 2023, members of the BLM Fire Operations Group (FOG) and Engine Subcommittee visited the site of the 1995 Point Fire to honor fallen Kuna volunteer firefighters Bill Buttram and Josh Oliver. 

Challenge #48 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #48: Servant-Leaders accept and delegate responsibility.

• Journalize your responses (Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership, p. 165).
• If I want others to give me moral authority:
• Do I really trust others to be responsible, or do I only trust myself?
• Am I generally “in integrity” with myself?
• Do I feel like a victim because others ask me to do so much? If so, how can I set appropriate boundaries?
• In the next week, will I accept the challenge to delegate two tasks that I prefer to do myself?
• Dig deeper on the Portal (http://ow.ly/jVBj50M1zKB).

IGNITE: Building a Strong Team

To build a strong team, you must see someone else's strength as a complement to your weakness and not a threat to your position or authority. - Christine Caine, author/speaker


[Photo: Zephyr Fire Crew]

Informal Leadership is Always Available

(Photo: Aaron Bartz)

Over a year ago, I dove into the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program self-study leadership level courses on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal. These courses have been a huge help in guiding me along on my current path. One of the first lessons I came across was the idea of informal leadership (specifically, leading up). At first, I didn’t understand or even know how to lead informally. With more reading, a lot of trial and error, and bumping and locking horns along the way, I felt ready to try to lead up and share what I learned with others. 

IGNITE: Contributing to Relationships

We cannot control a relationship. We can only contribute to a relationship. All relationships, business or personal, are an opportunity to serve another human being. ♦ Simon Sinek ♦ 

[Photo: Koreena Haynes/BLM]

#fireleadership

Challenge #47 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #47: Servant-Leaders create team members who depend on one another.

• Listen to MCTI’s Podcast with Sebastian Junger.

• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: Happy Thanksgiving 2023

Give thanks with a grateful heart.

We are thankful for you! Happy Thanksgiving!

[Photo: Union IHC]

Busy Bandwagons and Infinity Pools

 

("Free 3D Business Men Marching Concept" by lumaxart is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.)


How are you doing today?

If your answer was or has ever been “I am busy,” this blog is for you. 

IGNITE: Care and Appreciation

 

Servant-Leaders demonstrate a level of caring and appreciation that unconditionally affirms others—whoever they are, whatever their circumstances, allowing each person to feel understood and appreciated. - James Sipe & Don Frick, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

[Photo: Utah BLM]

Challenge #46 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #46: Effective leaders and followers value relationships.

• Read “A Simple Approach to Relationship Building.”
• Journalize a plan to build relationships with your people.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: Listening is Understanding Why

 

Listening is understanding why the words were spoken. – Simon Sinek

[Photo: Midewin IHC]

You Are Worth the Work

We pick up today's blog where my last blog ended. At the end of See, Solve, Scale, Danny Warshay introduced the concept of “ikigai” (pronounced ee-kee-guy). “Ikigai” is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. – Wikipedia

Reugebrink Honored for Mentoring & Teamwork

(Michelle with Patrick Morgan)

Michelle Reugebrink
Resiliency and Personal Effectiveness Program Manager/USDA Forest Service (previously, now working for OPM HR Solutions)

Honored for Mentoring and Teamwork

Michelle Reugebrink has been selected as one of the recipients for the 2022 Paul Gleason Lead by Example award. Three individuals from across the wildland fire service have been chosen to receive this national award.

Jorge Amaya Honored for Innovation & Initiative

(Patrick Morgan, Jorge Amaya, and Ashleigh D'Antonio)

Jorge Amaya
USFS R3 Coronado NF – Nogales RD
Honored for Initiative and Innovation

Jorge Amaya has been selected as one of the recipients for the 2022 Paul Gleason Lead by Example award. Three individuals from across the wildland fire service have been chosen to receive this national award.

IGNITE: Be Excellent to Each Other

 

BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER! - Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Happy World Kindness Day!

[Photo: Kyle Miller/ Wyoming IHC]

Challenge #45 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 Challenge #45 – Servant-Leaders measure team performance against a set of standards.

• Transfer the standards for team performance (pp.89-90) in Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership into your leadership journal.
• Evaluate your team's performance against the standards.
• Develop a plan of action to address areas of weakness and acknowledge areas of strength.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: Responding to the Needs of Others

The more you become aware of and respond to the needs of others, the richer your own life becomes. – Mollie Marti, author

[Photo: Tatanka IHC]

See, Solve, Scale

 

"Human Hamster Wheel - West Midlands Fire Service" by ell brown is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

We find ourselves in the midst of great change and instability. The speed of change is not likely to slow in our lifetime…if ever. Check out the last four revolutions:

• 1^st Industrial Revolution (production/textiles): mid- to late 1700s to mid-1800s
• 2^nd Industrial Revolution (electrification and mass-production): mid-1800s to late 1900s
• 3^rd Industrial Revolution (digitalization): late 1990s to 2009
• 4^th Industrial Revolution (digitalization transformation; think bionics): 2010 to present

IGNITE: Shine a Light

Leadership is not about pulling people to follow your path. It's about shining enough light for them to find their own route. – Adam Grant, author and professor

[Photo: Tallac IHC]

Challenge #44 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #44 – Servant-Leaders engage all members/leaders of the team.

• Transfer the leadership roles (pp. 87-88) in Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership into your leadership journal.
• Match the various leader roles with members of your team.
• Consider assigning roles to team members to increase the effectiveness of your team.
• Collaborate with other SLs on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: You May Be Someone's World

 

"To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world." – The Daily Coach blog

[Photo: Jeremy Bennett/BIA]

Perfection or Excellence

("3D Bullseye" by ccPixs.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

I don’t know about you, but I have found myself seeking perfection throughout my life. When I began my job at NIFC over 20 years ago, a co-worker knocked me off my perfection pedestal by telling me I would never get a product on the shelf if I wanted perfection. His advice changed my world and allowed me to give myself a little grace and redemption when writing. I learned to embrace my failures which allowed me to be more vulnerable and put myself out there on the Wildland Fire Leadership blog and with courses and publications.

This blog contains a tasty morsel from Adam Grant, organizational psychologist. Is our culture adding to our need for perfectionism? Is it limiting you from sharing your gifts with others? Is it burning us out?

·       Click here to listen to “Breaking Up With Perfectionism.”

·       Click here to see the "Perfectionism Spiral" Adam included on his Twitter (X) post.W

WWildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper

Feel vulnerable? Join the “Church of Fail” and confess a recent work failure.

• What did you fail at?
• How did you cope with it?
• What did you learn from it?

___________________________________

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.

IGNITE: Change Isn't An Occasional Event

Change isn't an occasional event but a constant companion on our path of self-discovery and leadership. – George Raveling, coach


[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Challenge #43: 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #43 – Servant-Leaders know what drives their people.

IGNITE: A Leader's Duty

 

A Servant-Leader helps others meet their highest priority development needs. – 7 Pillars of Servant Leadership by James Sipes and Don Frick

[Photo: Alpine IHC]

Bossing your Buddies

Taking a step up in leadership brings with it challenges that are hard to anticipate. One challenge is leading the people you call friends. Turning the table from friend to boss brings an entirely new dynamic to a group. The good-natured jokes and fun you once shared don't land the same. So how do you make the transition from friend to leader? 

IGNITE: Be Willing to Share

 

We must be willing to share our information and create an environment of learning and growth. – The Daily Coach blog

[Photo: San Juan IHC]

Challenge #42 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #42: Servant-Leaders promote growth mindsets.

• Watch Simon Sinek’s “Coaching with a Growth Mindset.”

• Conduct the blind spot exercise as appropriate.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: Reputation & Character

 

“Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree.” – Abraham Lincoln

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Sullivan Honored for Motivation & Vision

  

(Cass Palmer, Chris Wilcox, Shawn Sullivan, Mike Ellsworth, Amy Lueders)

Shawn Sullivan

Supervisory Forestry Technician
Buenos Aires NWR, FWS

Honored for Motivation and Vision

Shawn Sullivan has been selected as one of the recipients for the 2022 Paul Gleason Lead by Example award. Three individuals from across the wildland fire service have been chosen to receive this national award.

Are Your Roots Deep and Strong?

Leadership development is similar to growing a tree. With proper care and nourishment, our roots grow deep and strong. Without proper care, we may still grow. Our roots may grow shallow, reducing our ability to withstand the elements. Our future growth and ability to thrive compromised.

The Leadership Environment
The environment in which growth occurs has an impact on development. The tree on the left (below) is the parent to the one on the right. Neither has a pot big enough to support proper development. The parent gets an abundant amount of light from an east-facing window; the offspring, only light from a north-facing window and weekday office lighting.

 

Both trees are root-bound, but the branches give us insight into their early development. The parent probably had a container, possibly this pot, large enough to support its initial growth. The offspring was transplanted from the parent's pot into one about half the size of the one shown. When transplanted to its current pot, the offspring had plenty of room to grow. Now, the pot inhibits growth and resiliency. Because the pots are not the plant's native enviornments, they must rely upon outside intervention to provide for their care.

Becoming the Master Gardener of Your Development
Just as with tree growth and development, we need a quality leadership development environment in order to grow and thrive. To develop strong, deep roots, we need space and proper care; and we cannot rely upon someone else to provide for our nurturing. If we only take the classes our superiors allow us to take and never dig any deeper, our roots will grow shallow--our roots bound by the limitations of our environment. By becoming the master gardeners of our own development, we remove the limits for growth and development, and the opportunity for developing strong roots and sturdy branches emerges.

Continued Nurturing
As with the trees, we cannot just plant the seeds of leadership and ignore them. We cannot take a class or attend an event, feed it for a short period, and then drop our care for the next best thing. We owe it to ourselves and those with whom we live and serve to be good leaders--to become life-long learners both on and off the fireline. Leadership transcends wildland fire service boundaries; we are leaders in our homes and communities as spouses, parents, and productive members of society.

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper

• What are you doing to further your leadership development? Take a moment to develop a strategy to nurture your leadership self-development. Schedule time in your calendar to grow and thrive. This may include reading, volunteering, mentoring, taking a class, attending an event, listening to a podcast, or assume a leadership position outside your day job.
• Be an active participant in leadership development activities. Avoid the "listen-to-me" courses and "do" leadership development. Try things outside your comfort zone. Play as you learn by using experiential learning tools.
• Assess your leadership environment. Are you limited by your present job or environment? What can you do to overcome the limitations of your container? Do you need a new job or a different perspective? What will help you grow and thrive?

*********************************************
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.

IGNITE: Architects of Our Destiny

We should aspire to be the architects of our destiny, designing our lives with intention while purposefully leading ourselves and others. – George Raveling, coach

[Photo: Sam Lammers/Midewin IHC]

Challenge #41 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #41: Servant-Leaders are committed to the growth of their people.

• Read “7 Employee Growth and Development Ideas for Leaders.”
• Help your team members create a self-development plan.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

IGNITE: The Ultimate Test of Integrity

 

“The ultimate test of integrity is what we’re willing to risk to uphold our core values.” – Adam Grant

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]

IGNITE: An Expression of Ethics

“Action, indeed, is the sole medium of expression for ethics.” - Jane Addams, social reformer

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

Challenge #40 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #40: Servant-Leaders help others help themselves.

• Read The Skilled Helper – A Problem Management and Opportunity Development Approach to Helping by Gerard Egan and Robert J. Reese
• If you are serious about helping others, complete the Skilled Helper Training Course (with Prof. Gerard Egan PhD and Kain Ramsay) 
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.