Have you ever known someone who was an absolute asset to the department–I mean someone who did a great job participated contributed to the department and looked like a shooting star–then they got promoted and turned into a big ol’ pile of worthlessness? I call this false advertising.”
Think about it. If someone is willing to do something for several years (establishing expectations) then gets what they want (a badge) but then stops doing what they did to get that badge that’s false advertising.
As I’m writing this I realize my theory sounds strikingly similar to what comedian Chris Rock says happens when people get married. He talks about certain things being “on the menu” before you get married but then after you get married the “menu” changes. His response to false advertisers: “If you’re willing to do something once then it’s on the menu.” Now we all know Chris isn’t talking about on-the-job performance but the concept behind his comedy holds true for everyone whether you’re in the fire service or not: If you set a behavioral standard for yourself you shouldn’t be allowed to alter that standard to your liking once you get what you were working toward.
It’s like the conversation I had with my 11-year-old son just the other day. He didn’t get a very good grade on an assignment so we had a little chat-’em-up about the situation. When I asked him why he got such a grade to my amazement he said “I didn’t study.” (Well at least he was honest.)
Generally he gets good grades so I know he was just being lazy and not putting in the time and effort to study. He thought he could take studying off the menu because he’s already proven he can get good grades; he thought he could take a little break this time around. Of course he was wrong.
Why do we let people in the fire service take things off the menu? And by the way this practice isn’t reserved for people who get promoted. What about firefighters who the second they get off probation do a complete 180-degree turn in their behavior? Everyone changes some when they get off probation but they shouldn’t be able to get away with acting like a completely different person.
How Does It Start?
Something usually happens that lowers a person’s work standards; it doesn’t happen all by itself. From my experience it results from one or more of the following:
- The supervisor: Check them out first. If the employee is a lump there’s a high probability that the supervisor is also a lump.
- Personal and/or professional life: Something has happened that either discourages the employee from continuing their behavior such as a younger less experienced crewmember getting promoted before them or they may have a family crisis that’s causing them to become preoccupied depressed exhausted etc.
- Other employees: One co-worker wants the performance standards to remain low so they don’t look bad. After all why bring your standards up when you can bring others’ down and accomplish the same goal? The co-worker will coax the employee into no longer doing certain tasks.
These are just a few explanations for the false advertiser behavior; I’m sure you could add to the list. The bottom line: As a supervisor you can’t let it continue.
How to Deal with the False Advertiser
To deal with the false advertiser properly the first thing I do is look at myself and ask whether I’ve set a good example. If I haven’t or I think my actions have been a contributing factor then I change that first.
If I don’t think I’ve been the problem then I talk to the employee and try to find out what’s going on. This is the not-so-fun part of being a supervisor because once you’ve uncovered the problem you have to help fix it. But it must be done.
In talking with this person let them know they’ve already set a standard for themselves (which is great because they set it not you) so it’s obvious something isn’t right. Note: Don’t get the “department standard” confused with “individual standards.” The department standard is the bare minimum requirement that you must meet to not get your ass fired. (That’s a pretty technical way to describe department standards but hopefully you get it.)
Also remind them that you know what they’re capable of because you remember how hard they used to work how much they contributed and how much you appreciated their work. When people feel respected and acknowledged for their work they generally want to continue performing at the same level so they can maintain that appreciation and respect.
Important: Company officers have an absolute duty to act in these situations. If you’re a supervisor and you choose to screw up your career by being an unproductive member that’s your choice. But if you stand by and watch one of your subordinates do the same thing you’re ruining your career as well as theirs; you’re taking someone else down with you someone who may need only a little bit of guidance to help get them back on track someone who may have a family that relies on their paycheck.
If you’re a false advertiser and a company officer you shouldn’t be a supervisor and sooner or later everyone will realize it.
A Final Note
Most of us in the fire service take pride in what we do but we all veer off course at one time or another.
If you notice one of your crewmembers isn’t performing as well as they used to make sure you address the problem as soon as possible letting them know the change in their quality of work has been noticed and their participation is sorely missed. In other words remind them of what used to be “on the menu”–and tell them to start serving it again.
