Public safety professionals rarely work individually. EMS professionals usually work in pairs. A chase medic will rendezvous with an ambulance, joining a team; firefighters enter burning buildings as partners. Rarely do those who put their lives on the line each day work exclusively, alone. Nor do they accept all the credit for the work they do.
First responders know the importance of having a partner who bolsters your weaknesses, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to listen to your stories or someone to simply grab a 7-11 Slurpee with after a particularly rough call.
Having grown up in the public safety system, with a fire chief father and a paramedic, then registered nurse brother; and working myself as a paramedic, I’ve always known partners and teams are extremely important. I believe recognizing those teams, clinicians and firefighters who bring ideas forward to better a system should be identified and recognized.
A manager or director who believes they are the sole reason a system is growing, and who gives no recognition to the many shift officers, paramedics, EMTs and firefighters working under them is dangerous for an organization. This type of militant, blind leadership is degrading to the countless hours that a public safety professional spends on the job and off the job with continuing education to maintain their certifications.
A respected and humble EMS/fire service manager and director should practice the following four steps:
1. DO YOUR RESEARCH
It is imperative as a new manager or director that you research the program you will be leading. It is your responsibility to know what resources your department has; the staff and their locations, and the areas they respond to. Know the procedures and terminology common in the field. Nothing is more degrading to a team than having a manager in place who doesn’t know the mission of an organization. To add insult to injury, not understanding your team’s dynamics and then going public and not able to answer simple questions from reporters or community members is laughable.
2. KNOW YOUR TEAM
Being a chief, manager, director or leader is challenging. One of the easiest elements of leadership is getting to know your staff. This doesn’t require any special training, college degree, fancy title or elaborate resume. Simply sit down with your crew and talk. Join them for a ride-along and see your clinicians working, and their interactions with the community and patients. Learn their strengths, weaknesses, what make makes them excited, what motivates them and their passions.
3. PEER AND SELF-EVALUATIONS
EMS operational staff are familiar with different evaluations – patient assessments, annual reviews and student/preceptor evaluations, to name a few. As clinicians promote to shift officers, station officers and program directors, peer and self-evaluations shouldn’t stop. These are vital to grow as a leader and see where you can improve. Every manager can benefit from feedback from their team. This is especially important in situations where you have directors and managers who are appointed by city or county governments to lead teams where they have no background or experience.
4. PUT THE TEAM FIRST
Finally, leaders should put the team first over personal and professional gain. Using the news media to publicly gloat about accomplishments made “under your direction” is egotistical and arrogant. In many situations, the clinicians and supervisors working under the director are the real leaders and “directors” of change. These critical team members show up to work each day, putting their lives on the line to serve the community that they live and work in. Their diverse backgrounds bring new ideas and opinions to the table to continue to progress the agency or department. In many situations, they are working for pay that is far below what they deserve.
Get to know your team, and call them by name when you acknowledge their wins.
