Courage Under Fire Leadership

Steve Prziborowski is a 32-year fire service veteran who recently retired as a deputy chief with the Santa Clara County (CA) Fire Department. His most recent book, 101 Tips to Ace Your Promotional Exam, was also published by Fire Engineering Books in 2021. He is the founder of Code3FireTraining.com through which he is an international speaker who extensively travels, providing his Courage Under Fire Leadership sessions geared towards all ranks.

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Section 1 — Personal Leadership
Prompt for Success
Learn From the Good and the Not-So-Good of Others
Always Prepare to Be the Best
You Must Continuously Grow (Personally and Professionally)
Don’t Forget Where You Came From
Get out of Your Office and into the Field!
Always Prepare Yourself for at Least One Position ahead of Your Current Position
Don’t Forget That You’re Constantly Being Watched, Tested, and Evaluated
Be Honest with People; Have Integrity
Learn Time Management Skills to Balance All of Your Duties and Responsibilities
Learn to Manage Stress, Keep Your Composure
Demonstrate Commitment
Lead by Example
Learn the Art of Communication
Become a Better Listener
Patience Is a Virtue
Yes, We All Want to Be Liked; Instead, Strive for Respect and Credibility
Sometimes You Have to Step Back to Step Forward Sometimes You Have to Step Sideways to Step Forward Always Attempt to Obtain Little Victories
Leave the Fire Service and Community Better Than You Found Them!
Service above Self
Learn to Be a Great Follower
Key Points about Mistakes
Stay on Top of What Is Going on in the Fire Service
Be Aware of Politics
Embrace Technology (But Don’t Forget It Sometimes Causes More Problems)
Learn the Names and Situations of as Many Fire Service Line-Of-Duty Deaths as You Can
Like It or Not, You’ll Have to Pay Your Dues
Be Aware of the Tone of Your Message
Don’t Provide the Spark for the Gasoline Container Next to the Base of a Bridge You Cross
Take Responsibility for What Happens and Does Not Happen
Be Humble
Be Dependable and Consistent
Have a Sense of Humor and Have Fun!
Ask Lots of Questions If There Was Ever a Time to Be Calm, Cool, and Collected in Everything You Do, Now Is It!
One Wrong Word (or Words) Can Doom Your Career or Reputation
Be the One Who Believes the Glass Is Always Half Full (Remain Optimistic)
Opportunity Knocks When You Least Expect It; Be Prepared to Take Advantage of ItThis Isn’t a Competition
Enjoy the Journey
Realize There Are Numerous Leadership Styles Remember Everything You Say Is Gospel, Especially the Higher up the Chain of Command You Go
Be Respectful of Others, Especially Your Predecessors
Have a Vision
Be Aware of Your New Liability, Commitment, and Responsibility If You Never Fail, You Never Give Yourself the Opportunity to Succeed!
You Don’t Support Fire Sprinklers; Does That Mean You Don’t Care about Firefighters or Civilians?
Put Together a To-Do List as a Checklist to Evaluate Your Performance on a Regular Basis
Have a 100-Day Plan
Immediately Take Ownership and Assume Command of Your New Position
Don’t Get Too Involved or Overcommit Too Soon While You’re Still Learning Your Job
You Can’t Please Everyone, So Remember the 50.1% Rule
Be Passionately Loyal about the Fire Service, Your Department, Your Personnel, and Your Family
Be an Expert in Something
Realize You’re More in the Spotlight Now Than You Ever Were
True Leaders Always Take the High Road!
Strive to Always Be a Part of the Solution, Not the Problem
Remember You May Win the Battle but Lose the War
Don’t Worry about the Haters
Don’t Sell Your Soul to the Devil
Know When You’ve Exceeded Your Shelf Life
MoraleSection 2 — Personnel Leadership
Want to Make All Happy, Don’t Be a Leader! If Already a Leader, Don’t Focus on Happy!
Being Responsible Sometimes Means Pissing People Off
Remember That Not Everyone Wants to Dance; They Just Want to Be Asked to DanceMake Everyone Feel Like a Valued Team Member
Give Others the Benefit of the Doubt
Don’t Jump to Conclusions; Your First Impression May Not Be Correct
Meet with Those under Your Command in a Reasonable Timeframe to Discuss and Share Expectations
Get to Know the Strengths and Weaknesses of Your Personnel ASAP
Sometimes Peer Pressure Can Be the Best Fix to a Problem
Everyone Has an Ego; at Times You May Have to Cater to It
Don’t Assume a Veteran Firefighter Is Dialed In
Be Prepared to Filter Information Provided to You to Get to the Real Problem
99.5% of Your Personnel Will Not Need to be Constantly Watched Be Extremely Creative When It Comes to Providing Training, Education, and Mentoring for Your Personnel
Constantly Provide Training, Education, and Mentoring Opportunities for Your Personnel
Always Try to Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
Utilize the Headline Test When Making Ethical Decisions
Be the Designated Adult
Don’t Allow Personnel to Come to You with Problems without Having Thought of at Least Two Solutions
Learn to Determine the Difference between Technical and Behavioral Problems
Everyone Has an Agenda
Trust but Verify
Trust Others until They Have Burned You More Than Once
Be Open to Feedback, Suggestions, and Constructive Criticism from All Around
Consider This
When Someone Doesn’t Live up to Your Expectations, Does Something Inappropriate, or Is Just Plain Stupid, Before Jumping Down Their Throat, Consider Three Things
Encourage Risk
Delegate When Appropriate
Praise in Public, Coach and Counsel in Private
Morale Leadership
Practice Management by Rationality as Opposed to Management by Emotions
The Toes You Step on Today May Be Connected to the Butt You Have to Kiss Tomorrow!
Focus on Your High-Performers
Don’t Throw Your Retired Members under the Bus
Don’t Think Your Problems Are Unique
Section 3 — Fireground or Emergency Scene Leadership
Before Requesting Additional Resources, Be Quite Sure You Need Them
Before Canceling (Or Downgrading) Incoming or Additional Resources, Be Quite Sure You Don’t Need Them
CHAOS Doesn’t Stand for Captain or Chief Has Arrived on Scene!
Do the Best You Can with What You Have to Work With
Radio Etiquette
Fire Officer Command Tips
Questions to Ask Yourself before Managing an Incident
How Many People Are Enough to Support the Incident Commander at the Command Post?
Know Where You’re Going before Leaving the Firehouse
Section 4 — Firehouse Leadership
Practice Management by Walking Around
Inspect Your Firehouses, Apparatus, Equipment, and Personnel on a Regular Basis
Start Every Shift with a Roll Call or Meeting
Do a Transfer of Command Briefing at the End of the Shift
Attempt to Provide Face Time to Your Personnel Daily
Accept Input from as Many as You Can Prior to Coming to a Final Decision
You Can Agree to Disagree, but before Coming to That Decision, Make Sure You Know Where the Other Person or Group Is Coming From
Take Care of Your Personnel
Section 5 — Administrative Leadership
What Problem Are We Trying to Solve?
Remember That Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
Be Extremely Familiar with All Department-Related Manuals and Information
Before Attempting to Change the World, Learn as Much History about the Issues as You Can
Be Loyal to Those above, below, and around You, Including the Customers We Serve
This Is Not Your Parents’ or Grandparents’ Fire Service
Keep Your Supervisor Informed and Have a Great Working Relationship
The 168 Rule
Balance Administrative Duties with Personnel Time
Leadership Is Having Others Come to the Same Final Decision, but Them Thinking They Came to the Decision on Their Own and without You Having Shoved It down Their Throat
Let Unimportant Controversies Die a Natural Death
A Couple Items Regarding Change
The Customer Is not Always Right (but They Are Still the Customer)!
Always Think Worst Case Scenario, but Don’t Necessarily Predict Worst Case Scenario
Remember That Perception Is Reality
Maybe Consider Sweating the Small Stuff
Hire or Promote for Character, Train for Skills
Decisions Made Above
Understand and Practice Followership
Learn to Zoom Out 10 Clicks
Everything Is Done for a Reason
Lead People, Manage Projects
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
If Leadership Was Easy, All Would Be Doing It
Meet with Your Boss to Discuss Expectations as Soon as Possible
Get to Know Your Boss (More Than You Already Know)
Change Agent versus Caretaker
Grants Are Okay, but They Have Strings and Can’t Be Considered a Long-Term Solution
Handle Things at the Lowest Level but Keep Your Boss Informed
Upon Promotion to Company Officer, You’re No Longer “One of the Guys or Gals”Your Job Is Not to Selectively Enforce the Rules and Regulations
Strive for Consistency
Finish What You Started before Starting New Projects or Programs
Idea Fairies
When in Doubt, Remember the Following
It’s Not “Us versus Them” Anymore
Section 6 — Leadership Lessons from Others
Jeremy Gephart
Jill Hitchman
Thomas Dunne
AJ Jaramillo
Bill Weisgerber
John Lightly
Epilogue
Index
About the Author