Friday, October 16, 2020

Challenge 40: 2020 WFLDP Campaign


2020 WFLDP Campaign logo and challenge

Challenge 40: Effective leaders spend time with their people.
  • Estimate how much time you spend, both digitally and face-to-face with your people.
  • Vow to make face-to-face time with your people a priority.
#2020WFLDPCampaign #commandpresence

Thursday, October 15, 2020

IGNITE: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

 

hotshot crew hiking up a hill

To gain respect from our people, we first respect them.

[Photo: Pioneer Peak IHC]

#fireleadership

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Change is Coming

("Swiss Cheese" by thenoodleator is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

We live in a period of such uncertainty. Worldwide pandemic. Wildfires raging across all western states. Double hurricanes forming. Meteoroid headed to earth. Political and social unrest. Worldwide hunger and water shortages.

Monday, October 12, 2020

IGNITE: Beyond the Illusion of Control


wildland firefighter memorial

Adversity teaches us how to live beyond the illusion of control. ♦ LaRae Quy, author/trainer/coach ♦

[Photo: Justin Vernon]

#resilience #adversity #fireleadership

Friday, October 9, 2020

Challenge 39 - 2020 WFLDP Campaign

2020 WFLDP Campaign logo and challenge

Challenge 39: Effective leaders are good communicators.
  • Read Braja Deepon Roy’s blog “Active Listening and Its Importance in the Workplace.” (https://bit.ly/3dPXqHL)
  • Write the tips in your journal. Develop a plan to increase your active listening skills.
#2020WFLDPCampaign #commandpresence, #fireleadership

Thursday, October 8, 2020

IGNITE: More Than Working Together

wildland firefighters around a campfire
 

“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.”

 ♦ Sinek Sinek♦

Photo: La Grande IHC

www.fireleadership.gov

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

The Eternal SWEAT award



I am fortunate. I worked as a hotshot under a leader that provided purpose to my daily grind. As a hotshot you can find yourself working on crews that are the most physically fit, the best trained, the highest qualified, the most skilled group of firefighters that you can imagine. But when you get down to what comprises the highest performing crew, I point to leadership’s ability to ensure purposeful work day in and day out. It’s the ability to make sense of chaos; it's the ability to see through the myriad of shit and persevere with a plan that gives you a sense of why you are there. You find yourself contributing to the mission. The influential leader motivates you to give a little more effort so the next crewmember has the capacity to also give a little more effort. The work ethic is contagious; it stirs in you. You fight to bear the burden of the work and relieve the next in line. There are times when you physically wrestle the responsibility of additional work away from your peers. You mentor others with less experience, you follow, you learn, you listen, you are respectful, and you show up with a smile or at least are as cordial as you can be after swamping for five days in poison oak. You take care of each other. When you are with your crew there is a synergistic energy fueled by purpose to overcome obstacles in the day’s mission. There is not a better experience in wildland fire than the experience of hotshots working at the highest level of efficiency, with trust in each other, communicating without having to speak.

Monday, October 5, 2020

IGNITE: Leadership Challenges

helicopter siphoning water from lake
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” ♦ Publilius Syrus ♦

[Photo: Kyle Miller/Wyoming IHC]

#fireleadership

Friday, October 2, 2020

Challenge 38: 2020 WFLDP Campaign

2020 WFLDP Campaign logo and challenge

Challenge 38: A leader's command presence is highlighted during times of crisis.
  • Select one leader who currently exhibits good command presence and one who does not.
  • Journalize the characteristics shown by the leaders. Select one positive aspect you would like to follow.
#2020WFLDPCampaign #commandpresence #fireleadership

Thursday, October 1, 2020

IGNITE: Know Your People

helicopter in AlaskaIf you don’t know what your people need, how can you lead best? ♦ The Daily Coach ♦ 

[Photo: La Grande IHC]

#fireleadership