Who Teaches Our Leaders?
Several months ago I shared with you a story about one of our premier LAFD officers, Captain II Bill Finn. I was attempting to capture the leadership qualities that Captain Finn shared, not only in his career, but now in retirement at the LAFD’s Leadership Academy. From that article, “University of the Kitchen Table,” I hope many of you took to heart the pearls gathered from Finn’s lecture. I hope that the shops ran out of paper towels for the kitchen dispensers. I hope that you all have been using these last couple of months to share stories and plot out structure fires. I hope that you have been sitting together in your kitchens all over the city learning from the oldest to the youngest and the youngest to the oldest.
As we start a new year I want to share with you a little more from the Finn’s lecture and tell you about what motivated him to be his best. In the lecture he referred to a bulletin he read years ago that inspired him to be the officer he became. The bulletin was written on March 1, 1943 by a Battalion Chief from the San Francisco Fire Department, Frederick J. Bowlen. He wrote a series of bulletins for the National Board of Fire Underwriters.
In his lecture, Captain Finn remarked that of all the things he adapted in his firefighting career this article was a defining moment in his development. It gave him a bench mark to become a fine officer within the LAFD.
So, who teaches our leaders? We all do! We should all be contributing to the welfare of each other. I was so inspired by what Captain Finn taught that I to share it now with you. Please remember that this article was written in 1943 and that I will quote it as it was written.
Conduct of Officers
To be an efficient officer you must be: first, a good disciplinarian and second, you must acquire and use those qualities that characterize natural leaders of men. You must have the respect of your men, their unhesitating obedience and if you are man enough to win it, their enthusiastic loyalty.
You must always be prepared and ready to play your part in the game, to master every situation and to transform chaos into order. A bluffer, on the other hand, who deliberately tackles situations containing unknown factors, is a sorry sight pretending to lead men in the ranks who know their part better than he does.
The bigger the man . . . the finer his simplicity. Remember always that pomposity or “airs” are like an inflated toy balloon. Someday a pin punctures it and the results are pathetic. Build then, your popularity on qualities of justice and fairness to all, inflexibility in demanding obedience, faithful performance of duty, constant vigilance for the welfare and interest of your men and, above all, on such forethought and preparation for the conduct of your office as will inspire respect and admiration for your ability as a leader. The proper handling of men calls for patience.
Politics often raises a man to a higher ranking that he is fitted for as a leader of men. His ego becomes inflated and he considers himself the great “I AM.” Baffled and then infuriated by unimportant happenings, he is riled and shouts commands that would put an ordinary person to shame, and he often humiliates officers of less rank through his ignorance.
An officer cannot be a good officer if he is not a good leader. He may be able to fool himself and even other officers, but he cannot fool his company. Leadership is not a matter of a physical size and physical quality, but of mental size and mental quality. The best attributes in character and personality of all the great leaders include: Simplicity, Earnestness, Self Control, Common Sense, Judgment, Justice, Enthusiasm, Perseverance, Tact, Courage, Faith, Loyalty, Truthfulness and Honor.
Be calm in emergencies, undisturbed, even casual in the face of danger. If you are a real leader your men will take mental attitude from what your’s appear to be. In danger they will watch your movement, even your facial expressions, for reassurance. It is then that you should drop some casual remark, do any simple thing naturally, showing that you are at ease and confident in abnormal circumstances, and thus help your men regain their wavering confidence.
On a personal side note, as you read this bulletin, consider examples from your own experience. I am reminded me of an intense fire fight in a fourplex on 8th Street in 11’s first in back in 1985. I remember it like it was yesterday. The backside of the structure was going like a bomb and my crew on Engine 10 was given orders to back up Engine 11 on the second floor.
To command men, one must first learn to command oneself.
We were all hunkered down at the top of the landing, not too anxious to move any further inside the structure because it was “ugly.” Captain Tony Fiori from 11’s turned to us, as he was donning his facpeice, he yelled, “Come on boys, let’s go kick some butt.” With that small encouragement we hit that second floor with a coordinated attack. Captain Fiori gave us, and me, the confidence to get the job done. So when I read Chief Bowlen’s remarks, that vivid memory from long ago came to mind.
So let’s continue:
In time of unavoidable hardship you must avoid showing annoyance and impatience too, and thereby save the strain which results from grumbling and cussing out everything in general.
In an emergency you must show perfect control. Remember that your conduct will determine that of you men. If you are excited, they will be more so. Emergencies always call for the most accurate, determined self-controlled work, and if your ideas become confused, nothing but disaster can result if your confusion is communicated to your men. You will gain time and success in the end if you regain your own perfect self-control before you say one word to betray your own mental agitation. Then with calm, self assured behavior give your directions as becomes a real leader. Directions so given are a comfort to the men and assure steady intelligent execution.
Anger by commanding officers should be used sparingly, for its use is an acknowledgement that the occasion is too large for one’s ordinary powers. Remember that a thunderbolt is not necessary to bring down a sparrow, and if you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
The Officer who loses his temper and harshly chastises his men not only sacrifices a percentage of his self control, but incurs resentment from his men. If you rob a man of his self respect, not only does he cease to respect you, but be becomes a loss to himself and to his Department. The use of sarcasm and the practice of reprimanding a man in the presence of others are the most common and cruel offenses against a man’s self respect. Punishment is often necessary and it does not rob a man permanently of his self respect if it be administered intelligently as a corrective measure, and without undue severity, for it serves to bring a man to a realization of his misconduct. When a man has paid the just penalty, his self respect returns provided he is treated as a man who has squared his reckoning and is not a confirmed offender.
If you must reprove a man, tell him courteously that his conduct is not that which is expected from his appearance and from the estimate others have placed upon him. Under no circumstances let him feel that you regard him as a hopeless case.
Give your coworkers a chance to talk, and listen to them attentively, with interest and appreciation. Treat them with the respect and consideration due intelligent men. Deal with them as you would like to be dealt with under similar circumstances. Avoid the manner and the tomes of a “boss.” Never let a man leave an interview with a feeling of resentment against you or a feeling that the punishment meted him out to him is unjust. Always give him full opportunity to state his case fully, warning him if necessary, that untruthfulness will gain him nothing if found out except extended punishment. Discipline without the elements of human sympathy and understanding on the part of the leader misses one of its biggest objects. – The making of men.
The constantly heckling officer will surely lose the respect of his men, for he is never satisfied. Nothing is ever good enough for him. He keeps his men in a continual state of turmoil and ferment by nagging and fault finding over petty details and trifles.
The organization reflects the personality of it leader. And if his personality is strong, energetic and cheerful, the same propensities will stamp the organization. If he performs all his duties with earnestness, diligence and enthusiasm, if he is always careful about his personal appearance, and cleanliness, fit and press of his uniform, the polish of his boots, his shave and the trim of his hair, all these same tendencies will manifest themselves in his organization.
When you see a man set a fine example, express your enthusiasm –not cool, official approval but personal enthusiasm. Act as if you were proud of him and glad to be in his company.
An officer can be commanding, firm and just without being harsh, abrupt and pompous and without assuming undue importance. The chief factor in all leadership is the leader himself. Leadership is not a bag of tricks, it is a matter of personality and skill and intelligence in the leader.
In large commands it is of course, impossible for a superior to know all his subordinates. The next best thing is to have the men know him by seeing him and hearing about him, thereby establishing in them a sympathetic understanding.
In self–control lies the secret of control over others. To command men, one must first learn to command oneself, for all men are quick to recognize mastery in a man who is a master of himself.”
Certainly the Chief that wrote this was from an era of the “Greatest Generation.” America was at war on several fronts and this officer gave us all a simple lesson in our conduct. Remember, you are a leader on this job. You might not have the badge that says Chief or Captain but you have a badge that says LAFD. When the citizens of our community look upon you they see a man or woman who is willing to make a difference and that is what a leader is. One who is willing to make a difference.
Build then, your popularity on constant vigilance for the welfare and interest of your men.
Use these techniques in you home, or your business, on the job. Captain Bill Finn read these years ago and it seemed to work pretty well for him. I think that if you build your leadership on these traits you too can be very successful and I believe it is what the job is looking for in our leaders.
Many of you have these traits already, while some are lacking. My encouragement for us all is to expound on the traits that you already have and seek out how to gain the traits that have eluded you.