|
|
|
|
|
31 May 2024
|
Featured FRI Magazine article: Are you waiting on a leader to show up? by Wayne Bailey (FRI Vol 2 no 4)
https://www.frimedia.org/uploads/1/2/2/7/122743954/vol2no4_final_lr.pdf
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Are you waiting on a leader to show up? by Wayne Bailey (FRI Vol 2 no 4). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Are you waiting on a leader to show up?
By Wayne Bailey
I don’t have the opportunity to respond to calls like I once did but I do serve on a local fire department board and talk frequently to fire fighters while at the station. I often ask “What can I do for you or make life easier for you from the Office State Fire Marshal perspective? I usually get a reply; “A million dollars would be good to start with.” After giving me a sheepish grin, they open up to me on their needs. It could be more training opportunities, add more regional exams in the state or why does the test have to be 100 questions? All good requests and comments and most of the time it is something we can do. Though my responsibilities have grown over the years, our major responsibility is making sure our fire and rescue personnel have the needed training so “Everyone goes home.”
There is a well-known story of Mother Teresa that happened some thirty years ago in Calcutta. Late one evening her sisters came to her concerned that there was no bread for the next day for them to feed the hundreds who would be at their door in a few short hours. Mother, undaunted by the news, told her sisters “Earnestly pray and go to bed, tomorrow, if need be, we will beg on the streets to feed the poor.” Very early the next morning some schools in the area were closed unexpectedly and they sent truckloads of bread that were designated for the schools to the Missionaries of Charity.
Now, the second part of this story is a miracle. The schools closed and truck loads of bread showed up on the door step of the school.
What I didn’t know was that Mother Teresa had told them if the bread did not come they would go out on the streets and beg for the poor themselves. She and her sisters would beg on the poor people’s behalf. She was not going to convene a task force on hunger or “see what she could do.”
She was willing and planning to go out and beg for food for those she believed that God had entrusted in her care. No committees, no speeches, no assessment of the need, she knew people were hungry and that was all that mattered.
Mother Teresa was known to say, “Don’t wait for leaders.”
Her and her sisters were prepared to do what was necessary to feed those who were hungry that morning.
Now, in emergency services, we do have incident command systems (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in place to manage our fire grounds. It’s necessary to have someone looking at the big picture and watch our backs.
There are times when a leadership position are not needed while back at the firehouse. How about a car seat check unexpectedly from a mom with three kids? Taking a blood pressure of someone that stopped in just to make sure their health was not in danger?
Don’t hand off the task to someone else; be the person that will accept these responsibilities and more.
My thought is you act like a leader before the position is bestowed on you. If you’re already a leader, lead the way by an example.
One way to lead outside the fire service using the story of Mother Theresa, is to help the less fortunate at a local rescue mission and feed the homeless or be a mentor to kids.
Whatever you do and it’s for the good for the community, you’re on the way of becoming a leader.
This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Are you waiting on a leader to show up? by Wayne Bailey (FRI Vol 2 no 4). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Are you waiting on a leader to show up?
By Wayne Bailey
I don’t have the opportunity to respond to calls like I once did but I do serve on a local fire department board and talk frequently to fire fighters while at the station. I often ask “What can I do for you or make life easier for you from the Office State Fire Marshal perspective? I usually get a reply; “A million dollars would be good to start with.” After giving me a sheepish grin, they open up to me on their needs. It could be more training opportunities, add more regional exams in the state or why does the test have to be 100 questions? All good requests and comments and most of the time it is something we can do. Though my responsibilities have grown over the years, our major responsibility is making sure our fire and rescue personnel have the needed training so “Everyone goes home.”
There is a well-known story of Mother Teresa that happened some thirty years ago in Calcutta. Late one evening her sisters came to her concerned that there was no bread for the next day for them to feed the hundreds who would be at their door in a few short hours. Mother, undaunted by the news, told her sisters “Earnestly pray and go to bed, tomorrow, if need be, we will beg on the streets to feed the poor.” Very early the next morning some schools in the area were closed unexpectedly and they sent truckloads of bread that were designated for the schools to the Missionaries of Charity.
Now, the second part of this story is a miracle. The schools closed and truck loads of bread showed up on the door step of the school.
What I didn’t know was that Mother Teresa had told them if the bread did not come they would go out on the streets and beg for the poor themselves. She and her sisters would beg on the poor people’s behalf. She was not going to convene a task force on hunger or “see what she could do.”
She was willing and planning to go out and beg for food for those she believed that God had entrusted in her care. No committees, no speeches, no assessment of the need, she knew people were hungry and that was all that mattered.
Mother Teresa was known to say, “Don’t wait for leaders.”
Her and her sisters were prepared to do what was necessary to feed those who were hungry that morning.
Now, in emergency services, we do have incident command systems (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in place to manage our fire grounds. It’s necessary to have someone looking at the big picture and watch our backs.
There are times when a leadership position are not needed while back at the firehouse. How about a car seat check unexpectedly from a mom with three kids? Taking a blood pressure of someone that stopped in just to make sure their health was not in danger?
Don’t hand off the task to someone else; be the person that will accept these responsibilities and more.
My thought is you act like a leader before the position is bestowed on you. If you’re already a leader, lead the way by an example.
One way to lead outside the fire service using the story of Mother Theresa, is to help the less fortunate at a local rescue mission and feed the homeless or be a mentor to kids.
Whatever you do and it’s for the good for the community, you’re on the way of becoming a leader.