Knife Hand Strong!!

(By Kurmis - Own work, CC BY 3.0, Wikipedia)

When I was younger and playing collegiate and professional basketball, "leadership" focused on the direct and constant yelling of orders. This communication style was based on colorful language that cannot be repeated here with the yeller using the "knife hand." 

Challenge #13 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

 

Challenge #13: Servant-leaders invite feedback.

• Reread “Guidelines for Receiving Feedback” in Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership, pp. 65-66, by Sipes/Frick.
• Practice giving and receiving feedback with members of your team using the guidelines.
• Dig deeper on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

The "Cost" of Caring

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Empathy is exhausting. Compassion fatigue is real. - Dan Rockwell

Pain and distress is around every turn these days. As wildland firefighters, we see the effects of climate change on the communities in which we live and serve. Many of you have protected those communities only to see them burn to the ground. We push our emotions aside in order to accomplish the mission and head to another. Some of us have loved ones gathering our belongings as fires bear down on our own home while we protect someone else's home. Each image is a slide with emotion attached. That slide carousel is getting heavy. For some, the cost of caring is a great burden.

So what do we call this heavy load? Is it depression? Maybe, but likely it is "compassion fatigue." 

This blog is about awareness of the "cost" of caring. Once we have knowledge, we can better search for answers. We hope this is a first step in taking care of yourself by seeking understanding.

Challenge #12 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #12: Servant-leaders practice empathy.

• Download and take the 12-Day Challenge Guide from 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication – In Love, Life, Work—Anywhere! " by Bento C. Leal III
• Dig deeper on the Portal at http://ow.ly/jVBj50M1zKB.

IGNITE: Empathy and Attunement

“Empathy and attunement are not a waste of time in today’s business climate, but essentials for success.” ♦ Daniel Goleman ♦ 

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS] 

#fireleadership

Challenge #10 - 2023 WFLDP Campaign

Challenge #10 – Servant-leaders practice validation in order to communicate with empathy.

• Watch Naomi Feil’s “Validation, communication through empathy” Ted Talk

• Dig deeper with other servant leaders on the Portal.

IGNITE: Empathy - The Connective Tissue

 

If communication is the joint that holds relationships together, empathy is the connective tissue. 

James Sipe & Don Frick, Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

[Photo: Kari Greer]

IGNITE: Through Each Other's Eyes

 

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” – Henry David Thoreau


[Photo: Kress Sanders/BLM]

IGNITE: When Presence Precedes Practice

 

“For empathy, presence must precede practice.” – Carl Rogers quoted by James Sipe and Don Frick, "Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership"

[Photo: Ventana Handcrew]

IGNITE: To Hear What Isn't Said

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. – Peter Drucker

[Photo: Entiat IHC]

Confessions of a Poor Communicator

(Photo: Kari Greer)

I have a couple confessions to make. First, I am not the world's greatest communicator. I talk in riddles. I use pronouns too much which confuses the heck out of people. My mind has wandered, and I've interrupted people more times than I care to admit. There are times I am so distracted by my electronic devices or whatever has my attention that I am not fully present when others are talking to me. There are times (I am embarrassed to admit it) but I just don't care enough about the person to engage. I have been a horrible communicator.

Impact versus Intent - The "Thorn in My Side"

 

("hammers 'n nails" by douglasjonesjr is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Within the world of wildland fire, we talk a lot about intent. Today I want to talk about the impact our communications and actions have on others, regardless of our intent.

IGNITE: Empathy and Attunement

“Empathy and attunement are not a waste of time in today’s business climate, but essentials for success.” ♦ Daniel Goleman ♦

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]

#fireleadership

IGNITE: Decisiveness and Toughness

While decisiveness and toughness in a leader signal conviction, courage, and resolve, when untampered by empathy or compassion these same characteristics come off as egotism, arrogance, and insensitivity. ♦ Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Executive Presence ♦

[Photo: Kari Greer/USFS]

#fireleadership #empathy #compassion