Promotion Issues

The other day I was thinking about how we grow and progress in our careers, and how our perceptions change over the years. As a young firefighter, I remember believing that I had such a clear understanding of how certain things worked in the fire service. Over the years, my views and understanding of these things have changed, in some cases dramatically. For example, my understanding of what chief officers look at when promoting people to company officer has changed. I can’t speak intelligently about how every fire chief makes their promotions, but I have spoken to several chiefs about how they make their decisions, and I wish I had had a better understanding of this information while I was trying to promote.

It’s Not All About the Test …
Each chief looks for things that are important to them as individuals, so it’s difficult to rattle off a standard list of items that help get people promoted, but there are a few commonalities out there. One fact that seems to be fairly consistent among small- to medium-size departments is that test performance is a relatively minor factor in the overall promotion process.

Don’t get me wrong; the actual exam is very important because you have to do well to put yourself in the game. But in most cases, one stellar test day isn’t enough to get you into the front seat; it takes a bit more than that nowadays. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ability to erase five to 10 years of being a sub-par firefighter in one test-taking afternoon.

… It’s Also about “Tattoos”
Another commonality: Everyone is affected by their metaphorical “tattoos,” or the mistakes they make. For those of you who don’t know what it means to “collect tattoos,” it’s very simple: Fire department tattoos are like real tattoos. They’re easy to get and difficult to get rid of. And like real tattoos, some are good and some are bad–really bad.

We begin to collect tattoos the first day on the job, and we wear them every day for years. Some of us will wear our tattoos for the rest of our lives. As a result, you unfortunately won’t be able to “scrub off” years of collecting bad tattoos right before your big promotional interview with the chief.

We can’t take away all the stupid things we’ve done over the years, but we can make them fade away over time and with some better decision-making on our part. Important: There are very few single mistakes that will haunt you for the rest of your career and keep you from promoting some day. Rather, it’s a compilation of bad decisions and poor character that might hold you back.

Consistency Is Key
So what do chief officers really look at when deciding who gets some collar brass? There are several things that they consider, but from what I’ve learned over the years, most decisions are greatly affected by one word: consistency. Observing what someone has done and how they’ve behaved for an extended amount of time is the best indicator of what they will continue to do at the next level.

If someone treats people poorly, thinks of themselves first, creates more problems than solutions and constantly bad-mouths the department, then–just a guess here–this person likely won’t contribute much as a company officer or make positive change. In fact, if this person does get promoted, the fire chief will be viewed as condoning their behavior and will send a message to everyone else that this type of behavior is acceptable.

Based on what I’ve learned through experience (good and bad), and through talking to numerous fire chiefs and observing patterns in people, I’ve boiled the topic of consistency down to what I call “The Two Consistency Factors.”  

Consistency in Character
This is one area we can’t change much because our character is who we are. It’s deeply rooted in years of individual development that occurs on a subconscious level. So the character traits we portray as firefighters are generally the same ones we carry over when we promote to company officer.

I know it’s possible to change some of our character traits, but these changes occur because we’ve made a conscious effort to make them. This effort stems from two basic factors: 1) a serious, life-changing event, such as a close call at an emergency incident or 2) an intense influence from someone else who spends a tremendous amount of time trying to inspire and motivate us to change.

Unfortunately, neither of these factors permanently alters a person’s poor character traits–and they require a unique set of circumstances and effort–so the chief making the promotions should assume the person’s traits will remain relatively similar, with possibly some small changes once they promote to company officer.     

Consistency in Actions
Our actions tie into many things, such as character, work habits and decision-making skills. What a person actually does says much more about a person than their words ever could.

If you want to get the Reader’s Digest version of a person’s actions, just watch them on the fireground during a critical incident. These types of incidents require most everyone to make good decisions, work hard, work as a team and display mental toughness. As a result, they tend to clear away a lot of illusion, or smoke and mirrors. Nobody in their right mind would knowingly act like a moron in front of a chief officer, so people will generally be on their best behavior when the chief is present.

How someone conducts themselves during a working fire or other critical call also serves as a great indicator of what to expect from them once they promote. If someone shies away from the frontline or a difficult task, displays poor critical-thinking skills, is the first one to take a break and generally doesn’t know their ass from a hole in the ground, don’t expect them to magically transform as a company officer.

Conclusion
If you’re having a difficult time promoting and can’t figure out why your name isn’t being called, start asking yourself where you fit into the two consistency factors. Work on getting some good “tattoos” by making solid decisions, developing high-quality character traits, building a solid skill foundation and learning from your mistakes in a consistent manner. In the long run, that’s a much more proven method than doing really well on a day of test taking.