Lessons in Leadership: Deutsche Bank

It does not take someone long to realize from my stories that my FDNY career was full of crazy events.  Some funny, some tragic, a couple down right weird.  But perhaps none was so reflective of all of the lessons in one eight hour period as the fire that happened 11 years ago today. I have written about it before, so I will not belabor the details.

Today,  I would just like to offer some of the highlights.  I encourage you to think about people you know who exemplify these traits and those who you know who may not.  For those of you who may have to deal with ineffective leaders today, I do not think that this list will fix them. The only thing that can "fix" anyone is their internal decision to commit to doing better, learning, and adjusting how they practice their leadership and management skills. 

Till they do, and remember it is possible they never will, you must remember it is about you! Well, at least in the sense that our worst leaders sometimes help grow our best leaders.  Must like the burning down of a forest is necessary for a new generation to sprout there, sometimes those who illustrate how not to do things manage to inspire a single or whole group of new leaders to start a journey of mastery which will positively impact themselves and all those whom they encounter.  

So, in a way, we should always be thankful for the challenging souls we are led or supervised by for without them we might never be forged into the person we were created to be. 

In that spirit, here are a few items for your "great leaders" list: 

• How you perform on the slow day when things are not crazy will set the stage for how you will perform on your worst day.  You will never find a missing talent, only elevate an existing one to a higher gear. 

• If you are a supervisor, leader, dispatcher, director, etc. never ever stop learning.  Know your job frontwards and backwards, upwards and downwards.  Whenever you hear something you do not know about-- whether a policy, a unit, or a person-- ask who it is and what it does. Knowledge is power. 

• Never be afraid to make a bold decision based on your intuition and the information at hand. On that day, based on one phone call, we sent an entire first alarm assignment and special units (HazMat). Could we have gotten in trouble if we were wrong? Maybe. But we knew what the potential severity of the incident was and we acting accordingly and we were right. 

• Trust your people.  When it is hitting the fan you do not have time to check everyone's homework. As a supervisor, you need to develop the skills of those you work with to get to the point where you trust them to do their jobs.  If they cannot, that is on YOU,  not them.  This means taking the time to get to know them, establishing what your expectations are, and ensuring that every member of the team is on the same page! 

• If you are in-charge of the entire organization, make sure EVERYONE is on the same page.  From day one to day 10,000 every employee should know what success means-- what they are expected to do-- and how they are a VALUED  member of bigger team with an important mission. If you do not show them this by example-- if you do not ensure that they see their place on the team-- then you will always be at the mercy of your weakest performer and the team will as well.  You will not accomplish as much as you could and you will be left to wonder-- why? 

• Ask questions-- but know which ones to ask.  Questions are the key to understanding an incident or a person.  In a stressful situation, you need to MINIMIZE your instructions.  The more you bark and balk the more it stresses out those who are doing the work.  Take a step back and ask yourself, does what I want to say really need to be said right at this moment?  Maybe it can wait, maybe a hand gesture will do. Or maybe someone just needs you to make a joke or pat them on the back. Whatever works.  

• Sometimes the most important thing is HOW you say it. As a leader, you must be aware that if you yell or come off as a jerk you can undermine the entire operation.  So stop the yelling!  Also stop the interrupting and the ranting.  It serves no purpose on any day, much less when things are crazy. 

• Finally, realize that to lead people is a gift.  To be put in the position of looking out for them and the public and your organization is a great privilege. Not because of the massive paycheck (humor intended) or the great power (humor also intended) but because the higher power put you in a place where you will have an enormous impact on others. Whether that is a positive or negative impact is entirely up to you but at the same time, it is not about YOU. It is about them-- all of them.  You will make some mistakes, you will not be perfect. But if you always remember your first obligation is not to a spreadsheet or a stockholder but to the people who are going to get the work done-- then you will do a pretty decent job as a leader. 

I am sure there are more and I will share them someday in the not so distant future.  But to the (2) FDNY members we lost that day and the over 100 who were injured as well as the many FDNY Dispatchers who processed and transmitted alarms, maintained fire coverage, and proved yet again they are the best of the best, I say God Bless and Thank You for your dedication, your service, and the many ways you taught me and  the many more you still do. 

Lessons in Leadership: Memories of Sandy

I still know how I felt. If I close my eyes and hold the image in my mind the anger will boil from somewhere deep.  From an even deeper place will well the sadness and the frustration.   It will rise up and pool just behind my eyes and without knowing it I will clinch my fists.  Then I will sigh, shake my head, smile just a little, and breathe deeply with the sweet and bitter tingle of memory.  Strong.  Severe. But, as I look back now, just another stop on the gameboard. 

The superstorm had past. In its wake billions of dollars in damage, dozens of lives lost and a community crippled.  Not just any community—the largest city in the United States.  Among the damage left by that October storm—over twenty fire dispatchers with no homes—and over 80 fire dispatchers who had worked through the disaster, non-stop, for three days. These were my colleagues—my friends—my family. 

We asked to get help for them—physical and emotional.  PTSD was a “thing” then. When I mentioned it I was told I was not a psychiatrist. My pleas to go outside to help start the long process of physical recovery for those who lost their everything was met with a snotty look and a flicked wrist. “I survived 9/11 just fine, they do not need any help now.” 

I stormed back to my office, slammed the door and realized right then a few truths that have always stuck with me.  Just because someone is supposed to do the right thing does not mean they know how to. Just because someone is supposed to care does not mean they will.  Sometimes those whose job is to care for you will, at the worst possible time, fall into their personal cauldron of whatever makes them tick and you will be left to wander and wonder.  Alone. 

I do not think the terrible reactions of those in-charge meant they were bad people.  It just meant there was danger of their ignorance hurting something far bigger than themselves.  With their callous disregard for the wellbeing of the people they were supposed to serve, they risked finding ways to make a terrible disaster even worse. 

What happened next is important in my life story.  And maybe a day like it will be important in yours as well.  Perhaps it was emotional fatigue or exhaustion or the spirt of a higher power that took me over completely. Maybe a mix of all three. Whatever it was, I knew what I had to do, roadblocks be damned. There was a right and there was a wrong and I knew what side I wanted to be on.  I knew what side those whom I served wanted me to be on. 

I made the calls anyway. I sent the emails anyway.  Others stood up to and the help eventually arrived. Seven months later I replaced the first of the roadblocks, nineteen months later I replaced the other one.  Along the way I tried to show others the way things can and should be.  What it means to look out for those who need a little extra help every day and maybe a great deal of help on the worst days.

How the rest of the story unfolded is full of lessons about how to manage change, how to communicate, how to engage others in a mission to improve the world, or perhaps a small part of it.  Some of the times I succeeded, some of the times I failed.  Every time I learned.  But no matter what, I know that from that terrible morning after onward, my best days and hours have been when I remembered the feeling of knowing things can and should be better and when I accept my responsibility to make that “better” a reality.  And even more when I remember it is not about me—ever.  To serve is about others. First, foremost, always.  To lose sight of that in the field of public safety is to risk losing it all, and hurting people in the process.  Maybe without even knowing it. 

I hate to admit I know that you too will have a day like that.  Maybe it is the context of a personal event or maybe it is part of you facing something much larger.  Whatever it is, I pray that you find the strength and the passion to forge your anger into resolve and your frustration into progress.  We will all be better for it if you do. Especially those who depend on you to do nothing less. 

The Scariest Power of All

I have this friend. She is truly brilliant in her profession and, honestly, mostother endeavors she chooses to pursue. At least for a little while. The pattern is familiar. Extreme excitement at the “new thing”. Enthusiasm. Engagement. Sharing. And then, not very much longer—silence. No more shared stories of progress or how this great new thing is going to radically change everything. It is as though some meteor brilliantly sailed by, then passed into dust. In its wake is left the echo of the fleeting memory of something wonderful, now completely distant but unfortunately not totally forgotten. 

The oddest part is that this is not the way it is for everything. Her professional success is constant. And growing. But she never takes any credit for making it happen. Success at the job is an accident. She is only a willing bystander as she reaches number one in her company out of thousands. Red runs in her cheeks as she proclaims it has nothing to do with her. Ever.  Each new advancement is described as just another “happy accident.” 

It took me awhile to realize that, for her relationships are much the same way. They are a play in which she serves only as an extra. Whatever happened is largely due to the other person. If they decide to stay, or make the first move all the better.  If they never call, well then there will be no call. The end result is she lives in a constant place of remembrance.  As her mind, like everyone’s, glosses over the valleys and the peaks and transfigures the past into one gallery worthy painting.  But like so many great paintings, the truth is in the eye of the beholder and a distant eye can affix whatever truth it wishes to see in the brushstrokes or the memory of a love thought true. 

It took me longer to see the challenges of my friend more clearly in myself.  Realizing that the affliction of my friend is often an affliction for us all.  It was and is a reminder of just how terrified some people can be of the dreaded word:Accountability. If we never acknowledge that we have the power to be good, that is us who earned the promotion or lost the weight or held it together during a crisis, then we never have to admit it is us who pulled the lever on the slot machine, took the drug, or gained the weight. Once responsibility is absolved—then so is blame.  But so is power.  Power to make the same mistake—or power to make a better choice. 

I thought about that this morning as I was jogging around my hotel parking lot. Mid stride of my attempt to lose weight—again.  Every once in a while, I get a clear view of myself in a mirror and an argument ensues somewhere deep in my psyche. One voice saying: you lost it before and gained it back, why will this be any different—why bother?  The other voice saying: you know you can do this—just keep at it longer this time and it will become a habit and you CAN keep the weight off.  This morning I caught a glance of a young woman walking out of the hotel. In her hand a large coffee/milk/sugar concoction with probably 1000 calories or more.  In the same hand was a lit cigarette. Under her clothes was about 100 pounds of extra weight.  I instantly felt bad for her.  I had a view of her future—our current and future national health crisis propelled by millions of people making the same choices she did and slowly descending into a life of crisis that is part of a world of crisis. I could not help but connect the dots from my friend to this stranger and my own choices good and bad. Taking a chance on love—good. Taking a chance on some other things—well, not so good.  

But in the end, we have to acknowledge that the painting we paint is indeed our own.  We chose the colors—we make the strokes.  Some will be great, some not so much.  But the image is ours.  If we can do that, make that first great acceptance—then we open a door to a great many possibilities and the realization that we are not the victim of another person’s choices—but the byproduct of our own creation. Spider Man said: “with great power comes great responsibility”—but how many realize that the power belongs to everyone and so does the responsibility and, even more importantly: the possibility.  

More Thoughts on EMS

It really is not hard.  In fact, it comes down to match and data.  I realize that for many public safety leaders their biggest fear is to be labeled a "bean counter." Chastised as no longer one of the boys, but rather a faceless bureaucrat who cares only about dollar signs and spreadsheets. 

Avoiding for now the debate about the egos and self-esteem issues of those who serve in leadership roles in Public Safety, the reality remains that we must get smarter about how we deliver EMS services.  This is especially true for those agencies who run fire based ALS EMS.  Many of them, across the country, are experiencing rising workloads, lowering employee morale, and the reality that what they are doing is simply not sustainable. 

A "bean counter" who concerns himself or herself with the paychecks, time off requests, and pension paperwork is actually a friend of all in the organization, no matter what bathroom stall walls or their modern equivalent of social media posts may say.  That is also true of Leaders who take the time to actually crunch the numbers to determine how best to serve the needs of their community. The foundation of that action is the same, no matter what sized community we are talking about: 

1) Plan for the call volume you have and will have over the next five years.  Is it growing? Then you need to start figuring out where to find additional resources YESTERDAY.  The budget process is slow, the $$ can be hard to find, and politicians love to get credit for reigning in the free-spending ways of public safety chiefs. (But hell fire on the department if you are late responding to the City Council President's heart attack... but I digress).  Having good data about your run volume is essential to move to the next step. 

2) Plan for the resources you really need.  What is your percentage of ALS calls versus BLS?  What is your average response time?  What density of ALS coverage do you need to ensure an (8) minute response time most of the time? Do you need to explore ALS service on Fire Suppression Apparatus to meet response time goals?  Thankfully, there are any number of ways to get this data. Starting with the IAFF that runs a data shop to help fire departments make better decisions.  You can also buy software or even get a consultant.  This really is not rocket science. One very important tool to consider are peak time ambulances, especially in areas where demand fluctuates over time.  If you do half the calls at 2am as you do at 2pm, then having the exact same number of ambulances on the street during both times is not a very effective way to do things.  Keep in mind, that is DIFFERENT than fire suppression apparatus.  A fire needs the same number of people 24/7/365, and the standard for arrival time and activities is also the same.  For EMS however, nighttime buys you reduced driving times (less traffic); less demand; and the ability to mix up or rotate staffing. 

3) Practice resource management.  Look for anyway to SAFELY reduce assignments.  Especially if you are already stretched thin, using what you have more effectively may just be the way to go. It may also buy you just enough time until you can convince the city to staff another ambulance or build some needed stations.   And remember, just because a unit is responding to one call does not mean it cannot be diverted to another.  If your one ambulance is going to an ill person and is about to drive by a heart attack and you do not have a system in place that gets that ambulance diverted to the higher priority call, then just like Lucy, You have some explaining to do! Likewise, during periods of extreme demand, such as storms, your department MUST have a resource management plan to put in place automatically, or you will have extremely bad outcomes in a very rapid amount of time. 

4) Finally, use the 9-1-1 system to get data on the calls as they are happening.  The use of EMD allows you to prioritize what you are responding to.  This is an essential part of meeting the demands of the public more effectively and managing your resources. 

Together, we can all play a role in meeting the challenge of EMS delivery and not bankrupting our departments and communities.  This is the challenge of the leader and the bean counter and it is one we must meet.