FIRE OFFICER COACHING
LEADERSHIP BETWEEN THE ALARMS
Helping fire agencies coach up leadership in the fire service.
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Fire Agencies’ Struggles
STAFFING: According to FireRescue1’s “What Firefighters Want” 2023 Report, 94% of respondents stated they had experienced staffing issues over the past 3 years. This is not surprising. However, the next statistic is DANGEROUS regarding staffing in the fire service. 42% of respondents have considered leaving the fire service altogether. Whether firefighters leave or not, a firefighter with one foot out the door is dangerous to them, their crew, and the community they serve.
Staffing issues are struggles for fire agencies.
MENTAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING: The suicide rate for firefighters is 18 per 100,000, according to the “Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders.” This rate is 38% higher than the general population. While suicide is the top issue in mental health, other mental health and wellness issues need to be addressed. Issues like depression, suicide ideation, moral injury, PTSD, workplace incivility, and much more fall within that mental health and well-being bucket.
Firefighters’ mental health and well-being are struggles for fire agencies.
BETWEEN THE ALARMS: Firefighters’ issues are not isolated to fire ground operations. Most fire service training is tactical and operational, but the majority of the problems in the fire service are between the calls. Problems in the fire service that are between the alarms are widespread. The training for fire grounds operations will continue, as it should, but the life between the alarms for firefighters needs its own style of training and focus.
The life between the alarms is loaded with struggles for fire agencies.
SUCCESSION PLANNING: The fire service struggles to successfully implement a plan or program to raise up the next generation of officers and leaders within fire agencies. There are many justified roadblocks to succession planning though such as fire chiefs turning over every few years, fire officers unexpectedly retiring and quitting at unprecedented rates, and unqualified firefighters to take the place of outgoing officers. All of these issues and more make it hard for future officers to get trained and developed enough for success.
Fire agencies are struggling to have a succession plan in place for their fire officers.
ABOUT JARED BUCKLEY| Fire Officer Coaching on Leadership
Fire Service Leadership is Challenged by New Personnel & Societal Norms
Jared Buckley has coached, trained, and lead fire chiefs and officers over the past 5 years on how to grow their leadership ability. His primary focus in leadership is emotional intelligence. When he coaches or trains officers, he focuses on improving their unconscious behaviors that are significant indicators to their success and well-being. In addition, Coach Buckley works with teams and working relationships that are struggling or need some alteration to get to higher performance.
Fire Service’s Gap in Leadership
The fire service has exceptional leaders serving their crews, members, organizations, and citizens. There is no denying the amount of leaders that fill up the fire service. Yet, there still remains a gap in leadership within the fire service.
The leadership gap doesn’t exist in the people, but the promotion of leaders beyond their leadership capability. The Peter Principle, a popular term in the business sector, is the concept of a professional who “rises to the level of their incompetence.” The fire service is really good at this.
Great firefighters do not equate to high-performing company officers. High-performing Battalion Chiefs do not mean they will be great Assistant Chief, Deputy Chiefs, or Fire Chiefs. Good or great in one position, does not predict accurately high-performance in their promotion.
Fire personnel fail in leadership roles when they promote to their level of incompetence. Unfortunately, the fix is not in the selection process, but in the further development of a leaders’ next promotion.
Executive leadership development, success planning, and onboarding of executive chief officers are all areas that exist as gaps in the fire service. And an even bigger issue to all of this is the shifting of vision, mission, and values with every new fire chief.
Fire organizations that put their resources into shoring up these issues or even addressing these issues, will set themselves up to have a higher likelihood of success. It doesn’t guarantee anything, but unaddressed, it will shatter fire agencies.
COACHING| Executive Coaching for Fire Officers in Modern World
Fire Service Leadership Coaching
Coaching in the sports world is normal. In the business sector, coaching executives is also common. However, coaching in the fire service is largely quiet. Of course there are plenty of mentors and associations providing support, encouragement, and direction in the fire service, but coaching still remains a rarity.
Coach Buckley’s coaching started in the sports world, moved into business, and now has completely shifted to the fire service. Coach helps leaders in the fire service, specifically fire chiefs, elevate the necessary intangible skills to succeed as a chief officer and leader. Buckley’s coaching strategies include emotional intelligence coaching, reframing mindsets, stress empowerment, and much more. Feel free to reach out to learn more.
Fire Officers Need to be Transformational Leaders
There are many different types of leaders in this world. The fire service needs fire officers that transform the lives of their firefighters, officers, chiefs, administrative staff, labor, citizens, and all others connected to the fire service.
While fire officers in the past have been the best firefighters, today, the fire service has evolved into much more than firefighting. Communities look to the firefighters and agencies as an agent of help. This is why fire chiefs must become transformational leaders rather than transactional leaders.
Transformational leaders change lives. They are selfless and have an internal conviction to make people’s lives better. These leaders start first from a posture of humility and then move into integrity and unwavering strength.
Fire officers who can excel in leadership to be a change catalyst, charismatic influencer, inspiring visionary, and transcending believer in people, become a true transformational leader in the fire service.
TRAINING| Team Performance, Emotional Intelligence, & Stress
Training in Fire Service
When it comes to training, Jared Buckley is committed to elevating the skills and abilities of leaders in the fire service in today’s world. The topics typically covered are performance skills, team building, leadership development, stress, and more. In addition, there usually is a twist to apply the uniqueness to these topics in each fire agency.
Trainings are done in-person typically, but can also be done through webinars and group calls. Reach out to find out more that would best fit your team and agency.
Fire Service Leadership & Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a term that has really picked up steam in the business world around leadership. The fire service deals with more emotions than most industries and the need for highly emotionally intelligent leaders is crucial.
Many firefighters and officers have developed emotional intelligence over the years, but just didn’t know what it was called. However, there are plenty of other firefighters and officers extremely deficient in emotional intelligence.
Whether firefighters are dealing with PTSD or PTSI, controlling the emotional scenes on calls, or working the chemistry of their crews, emotional intelligence is at the center of it all.
When fire agencies and leadership put resources into elevating their agency’s and leadership team’s abilities through emotional intelligence training, educating, coaching, and programs, it improves everyone’s well-being. The fire service’s culture will drastically improve as well.
Now is the time to really pour into emotional intelligence development within the fire service and fire leadership.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you will ever have.” – Eckart Tolle
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