Any career development plan must be assembled using both building blocks and stepping stones. Building blocks are specific bodies of knowledge that provide the technical competency to operate successfully. They are somewhat topically specific and related to the ability to perform a technical skill. Stepping stones are positions within an organizational structure that are used to obtain experience.
Building Blocks
The most fundamental of building blocks in the contemporary fire service is the idea of a rookie academy. Firefighters must know the “tools of their trade.” From the fundamental task of rolling fire hose to the complicated task of applying a fire stream at a real fire, the building block concept goes from simple to complex. The ability to perform a task goes from learning how to do it to doing it without even thinking. Another example of the building block concept is an apparatus operator course or an officer development program. One might look at the building block approach as consisting of the foundation of responsibility and accountability.
The reason the building block concept is important to know about in the career development process is that each set of building blocks takes an individual into a specific area of expertise. The field of emergency medical services (EMS) has several building blocks that lead to a person becoming more and more skilled to provide life saving techniques. One can become a first responder all the way up to becoming a physician if he so desires. However, as one assembles his building blocks, it also tends to cause him to choose a journey that may or may not result in being prepared to be in a leadership role. One way of looking at the building block approach is that blocks of knowledge stack up over time to create a complete inventory of what makes up a specialization.
There has been a phenomenon that has occurred in the fire service over the past 50 years of specialization, including fire suppression, EMS, hazardous materials, fire prevention and code enforcement, and urban search and rescue. The decision you make to accumulate these bodies of knowledge will be part of your preparation and selection process at the beginning and middle periods of your career trajectory. As you approach the top level, executive opportunities, these speculations are either going to be an asset or a liability to you; they are not going to automatically be either. What will make the difference in how building blocks are used is the degree to which you can still maintain a broader view as you promote into higher levels of responsibility. That is what the stepping stones are for.
Stepping Stones
As you proceed in the development of your career trajectory, what building blocks have you already achieved? A good example of building blocks is demonstrated in the number of certificates that you have accumulated by attending courses of instruction.
The next question to be asked: To what stepping stones have you pledged yourself to assume higher levels of personal accountability and responsibility? This will likely be reflected in the number of promotions you achieve but equally important are the number of assignments you have been given such as chairing committees, leading projects, and interacting with your peers.
This concept of stepping stones and building blocks is often best illustrated by your resume. In the career planning process, you need to have exposure to both. A person who has gone to school forever but has not applied what he has learned is vulnerable. And a person who takes on more and more responsibility without a solid grasp of the facts is equally vulnerable.
Important Questions
This raises a series of questions that you might want to answer as early on in your career as possible:
- What building blocks do you perceive you will need to go forward?
- What plans have you made to acquire these building blocks?
- What stepping stones are available to you to acquire experience?
- What plans have you made to stand on those stepping stones at some point in your career?
Finding ways to use both building blocks and stepping stones will lead you to your career path.
Ronny J. Coleman is a retired state fire marshal for the State of California. He has achieved chief officer designation at both the state and national levels. Coleman has a master of arts degree in vocational education, a bachelor of science degree in political science, and an associate of arts degree in fire science. He is president of Fireforceone, a consulting firm in California.
