Tools for "Good is Great"

If you are a participant in the WFLDP's Professional Reading Program, you may have read Jim Collin’s Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't. If you have read or plan to read this selection from the “Wildland Fire Book on Books,” you may want to check out a couple of tools that Collins has created and placed on his website (http://www.jimcollins.com/tools.html) to apply the principles found in the book. The following links are great tools for facilitating small group discussions:

• Good to Great™ Diagnostic Tool
• Discussion Guide

Challenges to Educating the Next Generation of Wildland Fire Professionals in the United States

The Journal of Forestry, October/November 2009, featured an article titled "Challenges to Educating the Next Generation of Wildland Fire Professionals in the United States" written by Leda N. Kobziar, Monique E. Rocca, Christopher A. Dicus, Chad Hoffman, Neil Sugihara, Andrea E. Thode, J. Morgan Varner, and Penelope Morgan.

Abstract: Over the last 20 years, the duties of US fire professionals have become more complex and risk laden because of fuel load accumulation, climate change, and the increasing wildland–urban interface. Incorporation of fire use and ecological principles into fire management policies has further expanded the range of expertise and knowledge required of fire professionals. The educational and training systems that produce these professionals, however, have been slow to organize an updated and coordinated approach to preparing future practitioners. Consequently, aspiring fire professionals face numerous challenges related to scheduling conflicts, limited higher education programs in fire science, lack of coordination between fire training and higher education entities, and the overall difficulty of obtaining education and training without sacrificing experience. Here, we address these and other challenges with potential solutions and outline the first steps toward their implementation. We organize the necessary aspects of professional fire preparation into a representative model: a fire professional development triangle comprised of education, training, and experience. For each of these aspects, we suggest changes that can be made by employers, educators, and nongovernmental organizations to provide a more streamlined mechanism for preparing the next generation of wildland fire professionals in the United States.

Wildland fire leaders are encouraged to read the complete article which is available for download at: http://saf.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/saf/jof/2009/00000107/00000007/art00005

Leadership Development - A Personal Responsibility

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) supports the position that the majority of leaders are made, not born. Here’s an excerpt from page 60 of Leading in the Wildland Fire Service. The publication is available online at http://www.fireleadership.gov/documents/LeadingWFS_Pub.pdf.

Our perspective is that leaders are made, not born. The distribution of innate leadership traits in the wildland fire workforce is similar to the normal Bell Curve distribution for any set of traits in any population. A small percentage of people are natural leaders, possessing the character and traits that compel others to follow them. Another small percentage have character flaws or issues that would prevent them from ever becoming effective leaders.

Most people—the vast majority—do not come to the job as natural leaders, yet they have the ability to become very effective leaders by working to develop their leadership skills.

The wildland fire service cannot be successful depending on that small percentage of natural leaders. As a result, we accept the responsibility of making ourselves the best leaders that we can be, continuously embracing opportunities to learn the art of leadership through formal training, field experience, and self-development. The best leaders are life-long students of leadership.

Whether you are a leader of one or a leader of others, students of fire are lifelong learners who accept the responsibility to be the best leaders they can be. Even if you cannot attend formal leadership courses, the WFLDP Leadership Toolbox (http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/toolbox.html) hosts a variety of self-development leadership tools.

• Professional Reading Program
• Leadership in Cinema Program
• Online Course for Leadership Skill
• Leadership Self-development Plan
• About Leadership
• Links to Other Leadership Sites
  

We want to hear from you. If you have a leadership self-development idea or suggestion, submit it to leadership_feedback@nifc.blm.gov.

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenges

If you are familiar with Leadership in Cinema, you may have seen a recent addition to the program called Fireline Leadership Challenges (or Leadership Challenges). The challenges are easy ways to foster leadership development whether in a group or individually.

Very brief descriptions of the challenges are listed below. For complete information, visit the Leadership in Cinema homepage at http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/documents/lead_in_cinema.htm.

If you have created similar challenges and would like to share them with others, please send them to mailto:leadership_feedback@nifc.blm.gov?subject=Fireline%20Leadership%20Challenges.

Courage Under Fire

1. Engage the Professional Reading Program.

2. Participate in the US Airways Flight 1549—Competent Courage: Real-life Case Study.

Trail of Tears

1. Become a wildland fire mentor, mentee, or both.

2. Work with other wildland fire leaders in your area/agency to create a mentoring program.

Geronimo

1. Obtain a copy and read “The Leadership Teachings of Geronimo: How 19 Defeated 5000” by Donald J. Fielder and “You don’t Need a Title to be a Leader” by Mark Sanborn.

2. Implement a reading program at your home unit.

3. Read Lt. Col. Robert A. Garland’s Naval War College thesis titled “Physical and Moral Courage: An Essential Personal Attribute of a Successful Theater Strategic Commander” located at http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-in/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA494267&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf.

Wounded Knee

1. Learn more about yourself and your leadership style through informal (online) or formal assessment processes.

2. Leaders are readers. Expand your knowledge of the quite reader by obtaining a copy and reading “Leading Quietly” by Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr.

3. Obtain a copy of the 2004 Annual Fireline Safety Refresher The Numbers Tell the Story which touches on lessons learned and policies and procedures that came out of historical wildland fires.

MCS Launches Leadership Website

Leadership training provider Mission-Centered Solutions (MCS*) announces a new leader development website for graduates of MCS programs.

Available to all 15,000+ MCS program graduates worldwide, CostaRicardo.com is designed to provide a common resource where graduates can openly share leadership ideas, tools, and training. Although the site is in its infancy, it is expected to grow as graduates add materials and information from their units and organizations.

Visit the website at http://mcsolutions.com/costaricardo.shtml for information on accessing the site.

*MCS is an approved L-380 and L-381 vendor.

Leading Up

If you are like me, your inbox has been flooded with vacancy announcements. I recently received an outreach announcement searching for nine senior level leadership positions in wildland fire—one day, nine GS-14 and -15 vacancies. The same day I got the e-mail, I began reading John Baldoni’s book “Lead Your Boss.” His book stresses the importance of middle managers who lead up and pondered whether we have properly prepared our middle managers to take the helm.

On page two of his book, Baldoni quotes Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) ally and esteemed professor of Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Michael Useem from his book “Leading Up” (a must-read suggestion from our Wildland Fire Book on Books). “Leading up requires great courage and determination.” He also goes on to write, “We might fear how our superior will respond, we might doubt our right to lead up, but we all carry a responsibility to do what we can when it will make a difference.”

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) has made great strides in building a pathway for future wildland leaders. I believe that the WFLDP is bringing about a cultural shift where senior-level managers are fostering an environment where middle-managers are encouraged to lead up thus allowing senior-level leaders, as Baldoni puts it, “the freedom to think and act strategically without getting bogged down in tactical matters.”

If you are an entry- or middle-level wildland fire leader, I encourage you to join me in reading “Leading Up” by Michael Useem and “Lead Your Boss” by John Baldoni and discussing your findings here. Together we can build a stronger tomorrow!

Leadership Videos

During their 2009 fall meeting, members of the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee discussed the TED--Ideas Worth Spreading website which hosts a varitey of videos. The following videos were suggested as videos the Subcommittee might find applicable to leadership development. You may find them beneficial for use at your local unit.


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_logan_on_tribal_leadership.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge:
Do you know of a leadership clip worthy of sharing with the wider wildland fire community? Share it here. Provide a comment.

New Feature Added to the Staff Ride Library

A new animation feature has been added to incidents in the Staff Ride Library. Users now have access to a Google Earth fly-around animation under the "Information Sources" section.

Some users may receive a "restricted content" and security match error message near the top of the screen. This is due to the security issues some agencies have placed on this type of content. If you are authorized to utilize Google Earth, selecting the "Click here for options..." typically opens the Windows Media player.

TLC's "Brace for Impact"

If you've had a chance to review the "Courage Under Fire" lesson plan within the Leadership in Cinema program, you noticed Fireline Leadership Challenge #2: US Airways Flight 1549--Competent Courage. This real-life case study, follows Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III's heroic safe landing on the Hudson River.

The Learning Channel released a documentary on January 12, 2010, featuring a look back at the event with Captain Sullenberger. Although not available for full viewing on the Web, wildland fire leaders may wish to consult local listings to view this program. Additional information can be found at http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/brace-for-impact/brace-for-impact.html.

Harvard Center for Public Leadership Releases "The Best Leadership Books of 2009"

Our "leaders are readers" contingent may be interested in the Harvard Center for Public Leadership's recently released list of The Best Leadership Books of 2009. A few books included on the list are Managing by Henry Mintzberg, Walk the Walk by Alan Deutschman, Leading Your Boss: The Subtle Art of Managing Up by John Baldoni, and Greater than Yourself: The Ultimate Lesson of True Leadership by Steve Farber. The complete list can be found at http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadershop/best2009.html.

Wildland fire leaders/readers are encouraged to contribute to the Professional Reading Program by suggesting publications for inclusion in Wildland Fire Book on Books. Information about the program and how to submit can be found at http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/documents/pro_reading_room.htm.