By Chris Kozel
To be a student of the job means you chase unfamiliar factors tirelessly until you find a solution or answer. Seeking the answer on how to start and manage a Professional Development Program became my newfound passion in the fire service. The development and implementation of this program began as a priority for McHenry Township (IL) Fire Protection District (MTFPD) Fire Chief Rudy Horist. Amazingly, my name was mentioned to help get this program started. Upon promotion to lieutenant at MTFPD, my black-shift Battalion Chief Kevin Sears threw me a curveball and informed me that my officer assignment involved establishing the MTFPD Professional Development Program.
Kudos to the chief for trusting officers and welcoming input; he always seems to have the bigger picture or the organization’s needs in mind. I began researching, networking, and studying professional development and how significant it is, yet, very few leaders and teachers laid out a pathway or guideline on how to bring it home. The following synopsis provides real-life examples of what was encountered and proudly shares how our program is flourishing and maintaining consistent interest.
Officer Meeting/SWOT Analysis
Moving forward with the Professional Development Program, an officer’s meeting focused on what direction this program might take and determining any difference of opinions among officers and command staff. This meeting involved a roomful of officers, broken out into groups, required to present their most important topics where they felt deficient in preparation and training with their role, more specifically, a SWOT analysis. Remarkably, some gripes and digs reared their ugly heads. Still, Chief Horist took the feedback like a true leader and supported the program’s development. After compiling these issues and concerns, Deputy Chief Karen Bush and I pursued a program committee, outline, timeline, mission, and vision to align with the chief’s goal to professionally develop and augment the MTFPD officer corps.
Developing the Committee
The program kicked off from an initial committee meeting arranged by Deputy Chief Bush, newly hired from the outside at the time, looking to jumpstart our culture and professionalism. The meeting was open to all interested in being part of the program to mentor, develop, and teach fellow members. One consideration, the MTFPD was a primarily part-time organization at this point, where the majority of the promoted officers belong to reputable departments in the Chicagoland Area, a melting pot of historical fire service culture. Acting as mediators, Chief Bush and I led the meeting, wrangling a lot of gripes, on a constructive and controlled path toward “What could make us better officers and firefighters? What training do we need more of or what don’t we know?” We compiled these concerns and topics and things escalated quickly, in a good way. Chief Horist was iconic with his advice and philosophy to “under-promise and over-deliver.”
Brainstorming
Once established, the Professional Development Committee was scheduled to meet every few weeks in the early stages, progressing to once a month, where members collectively prioritized training deficiencies and issues. Again, my focus was setting boundaries, keeping it to an hour, and mediating or squashing negative chatter. At this point, it was clear that the committee had bought in, and every member fought to lead a topic of interest that they believed in and wanted to share with the organization. Accordingly, we kept notes and meeting minutes. I shared my vision to offer Professional Development “workshops” each month, led by a designated instructor or committee member.
Workshop Delivery
The committee prioritized and established 12 sessions over the next year so that each instructor would have plenty of time to develop an outline, PowerPoint®, and any other resources needed for delivery. Switching to a facilitator role, it was discussed how each workshop’s outline must be presented and reviewed by the program manager and the deputy chief, just to make sure those previously mentioned gripes did not filter through and things remain pertinent, to the point, and “down and dirty.” To my surprise, we were able to fill the entire workshop calendar in the first half of a committee meeting, which was outstanding.
Now, things were starting to snowball in a good way. We made fliers a month in advance, posted them at all the stations, blasted out e-mails, and verbally reminded co-workers as much as possible. In addition to internal advertising, the future plan includes opening these workshops up to local and neighboring departments, seeking to positively impact something much bigger than ourselves. When the workshops kicked off, it was fantastic to see who trickled out of the woodwork to learn about fire alarm tricks and tips, how to set up your day, how to run company officer-led training, formal documentation, rig placement, how to think like an officer in any seat … andthe list goes on. Remember, these workshops are targeted for 45 minutes, respecting the attention span of most firefighters, to deliver the “down-and-dirty” tips, tricks, and tools that apply to the real-world, never textbook answers or reading from PowerPoints.
Mentoring Process
Additional spin-offs started taking place after the Professional Development Workshops were implemented. One included the “Mentoring Process,” where newly promoted officers, acting officers, and firefighters would be assigned a mentor to help with real-life applications and job-related knowledge. You have to be realistic with your organization. Not every officer or firefighter knows everything, lives and sleeps tactics and strategies, or studies every chance they get. Some people need a little inspiration and mentoring to take them to the next level, which enhances the entire organization. Cheers to Battalion Chief Sears, undeniably the most passionate and devoted mentor and teacher that ignited my career.
Remembering the “Why”
One of the most incredible experiences with establishing this program was my leadership techniques and theories research. When this program kicked off, I read Navy SEAL books about leadership and ownership, along with books written by some of the most renowned fire service leaders. While all the information and material were excellent, none of them could put things into “firefighter terms.” We are creatures of habit. We need laminated cheat sheets, we need bright red buttons, and we label everything so it’s “firefighterproof.” And unfortunately, we often get tunnel vision, especially when it comes to teaching. A meeting between an upcoming workshop instructor and an officer led to the critique of the workshop’s outline, “Understanding Rig Placement.” This was a precious topic that most of us could benefit from, but I saw how quickly we could veer off course.
The two officers started going back and forth about parking here or there and trucks and hoselays; it was then I realized we were missing something. I had been reading a book called Start with Why by Simon Sinek. Simon is excellent in putting things into perspective regarding motivation, team building, and leadership. I immediately interrupted to express how these workshops need to focus on WHY understanding rig placement is essential, not how we do it on tall buildings or what we do on dead-end streets. WHY should be the absolute center of your focus involving professional development. HOW officers do the job and WHAT certifications or achievements they have do not matter if they do not understand WHY they need to master their position or role (Sinek, 2009).
Suppose you are interested in developing and implementing a Professional Development Program. In that case, you need to focus on gaining buy-in through sharing your program’s vision and WHY your organization needs it. WHY is working with one officer so fun, and WHY do they always teach, train, and share knowledge with you? WHY do they talk about exciting tactics at the kitchen table instead of complaining? WHY does a good officer think about the shift and crew the night before? WHY does a particular officer always offer a solution to the problem before bringing it up?
We seem to buy new gadgets and tools or start new programs too often. Still, we fail to consider WHY we need them, which ultimately ruins our chances of success and longevity. I always hear senior firefighters tell me that we need to make this place better than we found it. I constantly hear HOW we should all be more motivated and interested or WHAT is wrong. Still, I have yet to see someone focus on getting others to believe WHY we must come together as a team and move forward. Sinek continuously preaches, “Emotions drive people, and people drive performance.”
Professional development is about getting members emotionally engaged and believing in a vision about WHY. If you focus on the WHY, your organization will become a magnet for expertise, performance, and motivation. Great leaders are those who truly become a student of the job, and their will and desire to learn, teach, and challenge inspire others to understand WHY we must strive for excellence.
Reference
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why. Penguin Group.
Bio:
Chris Kozel is a lieutenant in the McHenry Township (IL) Fire Protection District with 10 years of service and a firefighter/paramedic with the Highland (IL) Park Fire Department for 6 years, both suburbs of Chicago. He has certifications including Illinois OSFM Advanced Fire Officer, Fire Instructor II, and Incident Safety Officer. He has a B.S. in fire administration and is working toward an M.S. in homeland security: emergency management. He is a co-founder of the MTFPD Professional Development Program that aims to develop and inspire firefighters and officers through real-world applications and functional subject matter.
