By Al Duffy
Congratulations! You studied hard and finally received the promotion you’ve been waiting for, company officer! Now is the time for you to step up and lead the crew assigned to you, along with molding them into the fine-tuned fire company you want them to become.
One of the greatest challenges you will face in your new position of company officer is that of gaining the respect of your crew. The biggest thing to remember when it comes to gaining respect is that it must be earned and not given. You should not force your respect on your crew just because you now wear a bugle or bugles on your uniform shirt. To earn the respect of your crew, you most definitely will need to prove yourself to them.
To assist you in accomplishing the goal of gaining the respect needed from your crew, along with being a successful company officer and beyond in your fire service career, I have chosen the mnemonic RESPECT. Each letter is a step to becoming a successful, respected company officer.
R–role model. The successful company officer should be a positive role model for both the fire company and the department. Be the type of company officer members of your company would want to aspire to become. Lead by example and be a good example of the characteristics required to efficiently lead your company during the day-to-day activities, training drills, and incidents.
E–engage. Engage with the crew by getting to know each of them and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Engage their experience and try to use it to make a proficient company. If you have a crew member who excels in a specific topic, use that talent to pass on to the rest of the crew. Take the time to know a little about their family, since you will be sharing most of your time together and the fire company becomes the extended family. During my time as a company and chief officer, I always asked about family members by name to show I cared. Take the time to interact with your crew. Don’t become a “shut-in” type of officer who stays in the office, only coming out when needed or during training, alarms, and mealtimes.
S–supportive. Be supportive of the crew. For example, stand by them when most needed, especially through the bad times. Be supportive of both the company’s needs and each of the individual crew member’s needs. Be supportive of family needs as well. One of the most important qualities of an effective, successful leader is the ability to listen. Listen to the needs of your crew and support them whatever way you can.
P–passionate. Show strong feelings, beliefs, and commitment not only in your position as the company officer but also in your career, crew, and department. Bring a positive attitude and environment to your crew to help foster a more positive atmosphere within the company. Train and keep training with your company. Be motivated; stay up on the latest tactics and trends in firefighting. Attend classes and seminars to enhance your knowledge and encourage your crew members to attend also. Never discourage someone from wanting to learn. Along with passion comes pride: Take pride in making the fire company the best it can be. Make your company the one company personnel within your department will want to be assigned to. Remember, firefighting is one of the most sought-after and best careers, so make sure to instill that philosophy to your crew members so they will carry it on throughout their fire service career.
E–evaluate. Just like on the fireground when the incident commander is constantly evaluating the situation to see how conditions are and what changes may need to be made for a successful outcome to the incident, successful company officers need to evaluate both themselves as the leader of the company and the performance of each member assigned to the company to see how the company can be successful within the department. After each training drill and alarm, evaluate the overall performance of the company by seeing what went well and what didn’t. Discuss any deficiencies and bring them to the attention of the crew or individuals so that they can address any corrective measures. Give praise when praise is due. Also, when you are constantly evaluating your crew and each member assigned to your command, if you are in a department that requires company officers to complete an annual evaluation on the personnel assigned to them, this constant evaluation will make it easier for you to sit down with each member under your command during the evaluation period and inform them on how they are doing. Periodically sit down with your company both as a crew and individually to let them know if your expectations are being met and how they are doing overall. Constantly evaluating your company also makes you aware of how you are doing as their leader. Don’t be afraid to be critical about your leadership skills, especially if you notice deficiencies that you can correct. Remember, nobody is perfect.
C–confidence. Display confidence in your leadership and decision-making skills at an incident and at the firehouse. Your crew is looking for a confident, competent individual to lead them. When you bring confidence to the crew, it will make them feel good knowing this and help build up both the morale and confidence of the company. Be careful not to be too overconfident and always admit to your crew if you made a mistake. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know the answer to something. Be honest if you don’t have the answer and research to find it. Remember, your crew is looking for someone to lead them and when you show them that you are that leader then they will follow you anywhere and be confident in doing that.
T—trust. This is perhaps one of the most important qualities along with respect that a company officer can gain from the crew. The definition of trust is the reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. A company officer can gain the trust of the company members by demonstrating these characteristics, showing the crew members that you are reliable and of good character and that you have the ability along with the strength to lead them. Your crew should be able to confide in you and if they come to you with issues, they know that you will resolve those issues the best way you can. Never go behind your crew’s backs. Keep your crew informed and relay to each member what you expect from them as an individual and as a company. Just like respect, your trust will also have to be earned by your crew.
Becoming a company officer is the first rung in a career as a fire officer within your department. Other qualities and characteristics of good company officers include the following:
- Take pride in yourself for wanting to move up through the ranks and taking on a leadership role within your department.
- As a company officer, you should become a buffer for your company and crew members when it comes to chief officers, because you are ultimately responsible for the actions of your crew.
- Stand up for your crew and give them the guidance they are looking for while you are their company officer.
- Become a mentor to each of your crew members; teach them what you have learned throughout your career so they may be able to move up to their next position within the ranks.
- Always look forward in your career and keep planning for the future.
- Always remember the fire company is a team and must work together to accomplish the goals and tasks assigned to them.
- The fire company is a direct reflection of the officer leading that company. Think of the company officer as a coach and a counselor. As a coach, you should demand the best from your players (crew members) every time they step on the playing field (the fireground). That’s why sport teams practice for that big game, so in this case make sure your company trains for that big call. Make your company training educational, informative, interesting, and fun. Most of all, make sure your crew members learn something from the training.
- You will have to make decisions and possibly counsel a crew member on a disciplinary action, so make sure you are open minded and objective during your decision making. Get all the facts before making your final decision. This is where being an effective listener helps.
- When giving orders, make sure your directions to the crew are clear, concise, and understood.
- Be yourself and enjoy being a company officer!
Being a company officer is probably going to be one of the most rewarding accomplishments in your fire service career. As legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi once said: “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” So, if you want to be a successful company officer and leader within your department, you will have to work hard at it to achieve that goal.
BIO:
Al Duffy is a 30-year veteran of and a battalion chief (ret.) with the North Collier (FL) Fire Rescue District and a more than 40-year veteran of the fire service. He has an AS degree in fire science technology and is a fire commissioner with the Greater Naples (FL) Fire Rescue District.
Photo from PxHere
