Following a successful 28-year career in Shreveport, La., I arrived on Jan. 2, 2008, in Atlanta, excited about the challenges and opportunities of relocating to a new city and a new fire department.
In my first cabinet meeting, the first item on the agenda yielded my first official assignment as fire chief: All cabinet members were instructed to cut their department budgets by 50 percent. Atlanta was facing a $140 million budget shortfall as we entered the preparation phase of the FY 2009 budget.
After 3 months of intense budget preparation workshops and presentations to city administration, the impact on my new department was clear: The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department (AFRD) FY 2009 budget was reduced by $13.1 million, from $86 million down to $73 million.
But that was just the start. First-quarter revenue estimates revealed a $50—60 million shortfall for the city. Additional city employees were laid off, a citywide hiring freeze was enacted and all city employees were put on furloughs, reducing the workweek by 10 percent. The hiring freeze and furlough led to an additional $2 million budget reduction for the AFRD.
How did we meet these seemingly impossible reductions? Simply put, we transformed our organizational structure and service delivery. Budget reductions include:
- Closed Fire Station 7
- Decommissioned Squad 4 (heavy-rescue truck)
- Eliminated pay for relief days (Kelly days)
- Laid off 27 firefighters
- Reduced overtime by $2 million
- Implemented “brown-outs” in staffing
- Demoted one deputy chief, two assistant chiefs, six battalion chiefs, 10 captains, 10 lieutenants and nine fire apparatus operators
- Eliminated 120 positions (15 of which were civilian)
- Implemented furloughs that resulted in a 10 percent pay reduction for all employees
- Implemented a hiring freeze
The first anniversary of my tenure as fire chief of the AFRD has just passed. And what a difference a year makes! It’s my hope that my experience with leading during tough times, and the subsequent strategies that worked for me, will encourage my fire service colleagues to strive and thrive as their departments face similar budgetary pressures.
What It Means to Strive & Thrive
The challenges associated with budget reductions can be overwhelming on the organization’s members and leadership–especially the fire chief.
By definition, “striving” means to try hard and to work hard. Even when times are good, successful leaders are striving. They refuse to get too comfortable. Their vision creates an insatiable desire to keep pushing, keep pursuing and keep driving forward. Striving becomes such an innate part of the character of the leader that during the tough times, trying hard and working hard is such a natural instinct that the leader barely skips a beat.
I’m not trying to suggest that there are no difficult days, only that the vision and work ethic associated with striving create a relentless determination that keeps us going when going doesn’t seem to make sense.
“Thriving” means growing or developing well, growing vigorously and being successful. Every career and life experience has prepared the thriving leader for their current assignment. We’re not leaders during these tough economic times by accident; we’re meant to be right where we are. Thriving leaders grow vigorously–through deliberate, assertive pursuit of professional development opportunities and opportunities to serve. Ultimately, thriving leaders achieve unusual, unplanned, unanticipated and unprecedented success.
As a leader, you have a choice: Either be a passive victim of circumstances or become the active hero of your organization. Regardless of the challenges, striving and thriving leaders press on during tough times. They embrace the old axiom, “Tough times don’t last; tough people do.”
During the difficult times, someone must take responsibility and take charge. If a fire department is going to strive and thrive during tough times, that person must be the fire chief.
Maintaining Momentum
Although the formula for success will vary according to the specific challenge and the leader’s unique traits, certain essential elements are necessary to maintain forward momentum during tough economic times: vision, mission and core values.
The fire chief’s personal vision for life and career, when aligned with the vision of the organization, sustains them and the organization during difficult times. Likewise, a personal mission gives our life purpose and allows us to remain focused on a day-to-day basis. Those who believe in a “calling” are relentless about pursing their purpose during tough times.
Core values such as honor, integrity and humility, aligned with the department’s values, also sustain momentum. For me, faith is essential, too; my unwavering confidence in God affords me an unwavering belief that things will get better.
And don’t overlook the power of relationships. During difficult times, striving thriving leaders stay connected and in right standing with their families, spouses, children, friends and co-workers. Having no unresolved issues in relationships makes tough times much easier.
The common thread that binds all of these things: self-awareness. If you know your strengths and limitations, you’ll be more adept at balancing priorities. You’ll get enough rest and exercise, and you’ll know when to say no to additional opportunities. Self-awareness will help you manage expectations and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
The Choices Facing Us
During this critical period in our country, communities and fire departments, we as fire service leaders have several choices in front of us: hope, commitment, courage and leadership. Let’s take a closer look at each of these choices and how they impact our actions.
Hope over despair: Hope is full of drive, determination and tenacity; despair drains you of energy, excitement and enthusiasm. Although it may not always seem like it, it’s our choice to have hope. Hope made the difference for Holocaust survivors and African slaves; it made the difference for our ancestors during the Great Depression. We have a heritage of hope that has transcended generations. The striving and thriving leader will choose hope.
Commitment: “I want to make a difference” demonstrates the commitment and desire of a striving and thriving leader; “I can make a difference” demonstrates the confidence of a striving and thriving leader. When a leader’s motives are authentic and their intentions honorable, the choice of commitment creates a “never say die” attitude.
Courage: As firefighters, we inherited a culture of courage that’s critical to our success in fighting fires and saving lives. It takes a different kind of courage to take on the leadership challenges and responsibilities necessary to overcome tough times. As leaders, we’ve got to fight discouragement in ourselves and the members of our organizations. We must have the courage to believe that our backs aren’t against the wall, and that we’re not at the end of our rope. Our members are looking to us every day for such courage. Our daily appearance and expression must inspire hope and encouragement. Remember: Throwing in the towel is not an option for the striving and thriving leader. Be of good courage!
Leadership: The choice to lead cannot be taken lightly. If a fire chief is wrestling with thoughts of retiring or leaving for greener pastures, it’s time to make a decision. It may be best for the chief to get out now and allow the organization the opportunity to appoint someone with the vision, passion and tenacity to take on the challenges of the tough times.
You Can’t Hide
During tough times it’s tempting to hunker down in our offices, working late hours to crunch the numbers and solve the latest problem. But we can’t. Tough times require leaders to be visible, accessible, approachable and predictable.
Fire chiefs must create opportunities to be seen in meaningful interactions with citizens and firefighters to inspire hope and optimism, and to minimize uncertainty. In Atlanta, I attended monthly Neighborhood Planning Unit meetings and established a roving fire chief’s office–literally running the department from battalions, while engaging in fire station visits.
In tough times, the fire chief must be more accessible than normal. When times are good, you can delegate to other chief officers the task of communicating with citizens and department members, but when there’s an economic crisis at hand, there are simply some issues that no one will be able to communicate more effectively than you.
Along the same lines, you must ensure you’re approachable. Don’t allow your rank and title to become a barrier to honest communication. Put members and citizens at ease by using a direct, approachable manner.
Finally, communicate your expectations and reinforce them every chance you get. Model the behavior you expect of other chief officers. Strive for a consistent demeanor, gate and temperament–don’t be a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde leader.
Keep the Bar High
Chief officers will face sundry temptations during tough times; one of the most dangerous is allowing your standards to slip so that poor performance and complacency are tolerated.
I call this “normalization of deviance.” We’re tempted to allow minor to moderate violations of rules and policies because subconsciously we feel we owe something to our members who’ve had to make sacrifices in tough times. Over time, however, those behaviors will become normal and have the potential to become a permanent part of your culture.
Don’t give in to that temptation! Continue to address inappropriate behavior and poor performance.
Similarly, as despair and pessimism creep in, members will be less inspired to “keep on keeping on.” Consequently, chief officers will be tempted to allow laxity in routine duties and assignments and to tolerate less vigilance in maintaining safety practices. That’s another temptation we must resist.
Being deliberate and focused as a leader can also provoke fears of loss of camaraderie due to the perception of appearing too supportive of administration and insensitive to members. Although authentic empathy toward your members is a must, you’re also obligated to support the leadership direction of your government officials. Most important, we cannot allow our subordinates to wallow in despair and self-pity.
Conclusion
We’ve got to hang in there. President Barack Obama and many financial forecasters have underscored that things will get worse before they get better. In the City of Atlanta, we are experiencing this firsthand. Second-quarter revenue is down approximately $20 million. Preparation for FY 2010 has begun, and we’ve been asked to prepare three budget scenarios: a continuation budget (at current operating levels), a worst-case scenario budget (below continuation) and a tsunami budget (significantly lower).
Even so, I know that being in the City of Atlanta as fire chief is exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m not discouraged or dismayed by our difficulties; I have no regrets and no second thoughts. To borrow a phrase, “I’m still standing, better than I’ve ever been, looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid.”
I’m still striving and thriving as a leader in the profession I love, and I hope you can say the same. This is not a time for hopelessness and despair. To the contrary–it’s time to lead!
A Little Help from Friends
The IAFC provides resources to help leaders during tough economic times
As a chief officer, you are frequently faced with tough fiscal decisions, and you should expect that to continue into the foreseeable future. Even the most optimistic financial forecasts warn that the economy could remain weak for years to come.
In response to this situation, IAFC President Chief Larry Grorud has formed a task force to provide guidance and assistance on how best to deal with this issue head-on. The IAFC Economic Challenge Task Force represents the assembled wisdom and best practices of experienced fire and EMS chiefs from across the nation. They address how to better lead fire/EMS departments through these tough times.
The task force has created a PDF (available to IAFC members) on how to weather the economic storm, as well as an online discussion forum and resources library. Other opportunities to learn about best practices leadership will follow. To learn about these offerings, visit www.iafc.org/economy and check back often for updates.
If you need specific help, advice or assistance with budget/economic issues, contact the task force at economy@iafc.org.
