Leadership Lessons from the Line

By Denis Onieal

The principles of leadership aren’t mysterious; there are as many leadership theories and principles as there are authors and books. Most of the well-known authors on the speaking/writing circuit will reveal that they are continuous students of leadership. The good ones are. They read, they practice, they learn from their successes and failures (yes they fail!), and they share with others. You see, good leaders create cadres of other good leaders.

The challenge for the students of leadership is “trying to translate”–taking the words from an article, a text, or an observation and translating them into personal action, a behavior. There are some who just can’t do that! At the top of the “can’t translate” heap are the super-dogmatic, who are cruel or intolerant of others who are different. Moving down the scale are the people in leadership positions who read all the books, have all the answers, and know all the principles and techniques but couldn’t lead a one-car funeral down a two-lane country road without getting lost.

To be truthful, most of us probably learn more from the leadership mistakes of others than we do from the exemplary leaders. It probably starts in childhood when we’re admonished or punished by our parents for some misbehavior. Our first thought, even at age 5, is, “When I grow up, I’ll never do this to my children.” Of course, as a parent, it’s the first tool out of your toolbox! You know from personal experience what works and what doesn’t.

And so it goes with life. As you advance through grammar and high school, college, and that first job, you observe. What is an effective teacher? What is it that they do or say? Why is someone a poor teacher? Why can’t they connect? Is that first boss motivating? Do they train and encourage, or are they constantly on the prowl for mistakes?

And by the time we’re entrusted with a leadership role, even if it is acting for a short period of time, we try to emulate the traits of good leaders and avoid the mistakes of the bad ones. At the company level when you’re leading a handful of firefighters, it’s a challenge because you are so close to them. You’re with them, and they with you, for the entire shift. In a few weeks or months, you’ve got them figured out, and you can bet they have you figured out. Once in a while, there are some personality conflicts or some challenge that pops up out of nowhere, but by and large you can keep the seas calm and the ship moving forward. The leadership principles work and they’re easy to apply. Even during the tough times, the company officers probably have a group of chief officers more than willing to provide some guidance.

There are fire officers who love the company level and have no higher aspirations. They’re good at it, they have a good crew, the seas are mostly calm, the company has a good reputation, the ship is moving forward, and they see no need to progress to higher levels of responsibility. We need those leaders; they’re the bedrock of the organization.

Those officers who choose to progress to higher ranks are challenged by the complexity–the complexity of the organization and the complexity of personalities. While a company officer can quickly assess the crew (and the crew the officer), leading a battalion is a different experience. There are probably too many personalities for you to assess quickly; it will take months. At the same time, there’s a whole band of brothers and sisters assessing the new chief; it doesn’t take them much time. They made phone calls before you got there; they’re watching your every move and listening to your every word. In addition to the personalities, the chief officer is assessing the company officers’ leadership and the company’s level of competence. Which is the best? (Hint: If you ask, they all are!) Which officers are too aggressive? Which are recalcitrant? Who gets it right all the time? Most of the time? Never? Have the “gets it right all the time” companies and officers been overloaded while the “never get it right” group had it easy? What’s it going to take to move the “never’ group up to the “most of the time” group?

The next leadership level (division/deputy/assistant) is going move you pretty close to the chief’s office and some of that sunshine is going to cross your desk. You will see and hear things that some days you wish you hadn’t. You will be dealing with more complex problems and the more difficult personnel issues. You’ll certainly recall the days when you were a firefighter at the kitchen table with all the answers about what the chief should do. Now you realize that the decisions are not as clear or as easy; most of them are either between bad and worse or pretty good and better. You will think long and hard about whether you want to take the top job; it’s not as glamorous as you once thought.

I’ve been fortunate to have a remarkable career, some combination of right time/right place, luck, education, wonderful mentors, and a bit of talent that I gleaned from others. I’d like to share a few leadership lessons from the line that I learned–many times the hard way. Hopefully, you’ll find them helpful:

Throughout this journey and beyond, the one single, constant element (and challenge) is going to be people. Whether you’re a firefighter dealing with other firefighters or the chief dealing with the mayor and city council, it’s people. When you’re dealing with people, the first thing you need to do is to learn from them and about them–who they are, what motivates them, where they’re coming from, what their concerns are, and what they’re interested in. And you can’t do it in a 20-minute interview. It’s not a series of questions. It’s a process that begins with listening.

The foundation of all leadership is trust. It’s not a technique that you use on occasion; it is something that is developed over time. You can spend years building trust and lose it all in one afternoon. How do you build and maintain trust? It’s about communication, and the first step is to listen. Everyone has a story, and if given the opportunity, they’ll tell it. You can’t learn by talking; you only learn by listening and observing. Someone (probably several people) told you that you have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. It’s probably the right proportion.

The second step is understanding that your word is the foundation for that trust. If you promise something–deliver. Better yet, under-promise and over-deliver. If you try and fail, take the time to explain why so that others know that you didn’t overlook the issue. People understand failure, but they won’t tolerate being ignored. General Colin Powell said that when people stop bringing you their problems, you stop being their leader.

My favorite quote is from the poet laureate Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” If you’re interested in people and take the time to listen and learn about them, speak the truth, and deliver on your word, you’ve made significant progress toward building trust and becoming a leader.

Excellent leaders also understand that rank is a responsibility–it is not a privilege. You are promoted to do something for the organization and its members. It is never about you; it’s about them. When you have to point to the rank on your collar, you’ve already lost the argument and the group’s respect.

Leaders praise in public, correct in private. They never, ever publicly embarrass, correct, or admonish anyone in public. Leaders understand that they will create a mortal enemy for life and lose the respect of others.

Leaders never play the blame game. When something goes wrong, they stand up and take the blame first. Whether you’re a firefighter or the chief of department, take the blame. No one knows what to say or do after that.

Every organization has people problems–the larger the organization, the more there are. Leaders understand that organizing around people problems never, ever works. Transfers and reorganizations just move the problem to somewhere else, sometimes creating worse problems. One more “new rule” rarely works because the miscreant has a doctorate in getting around the rules (that’s why they’re the problem!). In any unpleasant/difficult personnel matter, a horrible end is better than horror without end. Take on the problem child. Call the personnel department and the law department and get their help and guidance to deal with the problem. You’ll be much more successful taking on the problem than making another rule for the 1,000 nonproblem people.

Leaders understand the importance of ethics–deciding what is best for the organization rather than what is best for the individual. Said another way, does this pass the smell test or the headline test? Leaders know that it is much easier to be 100% ethical than it is to be 99% ethical. The 99 percenters have to make a decision every time. Eventually they slip up and make the wrong decision. The 100 percenters don’t have any decision to make–they know.

Leaders are stable. They don’t scream at a fire when they see flames in a window. They don’t blow up every time someone brings them bad news (actually, good leaders thank the messenger!). They support the policies/rules/ regs of the department even when they may not totally agree (they keep their opinions to themselves). Leaders don’t criticize the organization or their superiors, but they do quietly question when they feel it’s necessary.

Finally, leaders understand that good leadership is an aspirational goal–never quite there, always trying to improve. Leaders listen to their critics even when they don’t agree with them 100%. They’re conscious of the supplicants, flatterers, and “yes” people with whom they shouldn’t agree 100%!

BIO:
Dr. Denis Onieal previously was the deputy United States fire administrator; superintendent of the National Fire Academy, and deputy chief in the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department. He has a doctor of education from New York University, a master of public administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a bachelor of science from New Jersey City University.

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