Leadership @ the Kitchen Table

Deputy Chief Chris Stewart formally of the City of Phoenix Fire Department talks "No more good dudes" leadership in the fire service. It takes so much more than being just a good dude or good gal to be a strong leader. You must be highly credible and highly competent to be effective. Chris says, "Operational effectiveness and safety must go hand in hand, not either/or." He also talks the 4 components of an accountability model. Be curious, not judgmental. Culture matters!

Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb (ret.) of the New York City Fire Department talks the "Winning Mindset." He unpacks his cornerstones of leadership: Training, Teamwork & Mentorship. Mentorship in the FDNY is engrained in their DNA. Departments and its people must make mentorship a part of their everyday culture. Competency is a must, but the strongest leaders know how to match the hard skills of the job with the soft skills.. Make sure you celebrate your wins and celebrate your people!

Fire Chief Dennis Doan of Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One talks about the 5 dysfunctions of a team. Your first team should be the team that you are on, not the team that you lead. You gotta step up if you want to make positive change. No silos, leaders must weigh in to have buy in. Everyone should strive for the platinum rule, "Treat people how THEY would like to be treated!" Chief Doan challenges all leaders to make excellence a priority in "every" thing we do. If not now, then when?

Fire Chief Tony McGuirk (ret.) of several fire departments in the United Kingdom and one of the original founders of the Community Risk Reduction concept talks extensively about the "What if" in delivering customer service as a fire service. He discusses ways in which the United Kingdom continues to put the community "first" in several of its innovations. He encourages that everyone need be a customer of the fire service within the first 20minutes of a fire. He discusses the 0, 2, 5, 20 model in Community Risk Reduction.

Battalion Chief Corley Moore of the Moore Fire Department in Oklahoma, Founder of Firehouse Vigilance, "The Never Ending Battle to Fight Complacency," as well as host of the fire service leadership podcast, "The Weekly Scrap," joins the Kitchen Table to talk about fighting complacency. Author of the book, "The 9 L's" and "Challenge your Leadership," both are must have's in any leader's library. Consistency beats intensity every day of the week, and one must be mindful of where they put their energy. Chief Moore offers highly inspirational quotes as well as other must-read books on leadership, influence and culture. Chief emphasizes that leaders must always be present and supportive of those in their lead. Every day starts at zero!

Deputy Chief Steve Prziborowski (ret.) of Santa Clara County Fire Department and president and founder of code3firetraining, talks about his new book Courage Under Fire Leadership. Concepts unpacked include the followership crisis, how trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity as well as having haters is simply the cost of leadership! Steve encourages leaders to "have" a mentor(s) and also to "be" a mentor to others. Chief truly believes that everyone has something to contribute, regardless of your tenure or rank in the fire service. Leaders should find their niche and find ways to contribute, either by mentoring others, teaching classes, writing articles or even books. Steve quotes former U.S. Secretary of State "Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off." Catch your people doing things right!

Captain Troy Gibson of Hawai'i Fire Department talks about your wolfpack. Do you have one? If not, get one. Build relationships with people inside and outside your fire department, so you don't find yourself in an echo chamber. Make sure those in your wolfpack are honest with you, tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear, challenge them while they challenge you to become the best firefighter you could be. When you need help, ask for it, early and often. Listen to your people and be ok with not always having the answer to something. Be comfortable being uncomfortable!

Captain Anthony John (AJ) of South King Fire & Rescue out of Federal Way, Washington dives deep into mentorship and simply being intentional about what it is that you want to do. This includes having an all in attitude, building your relationships and with how you lead and mentor others. Leaders must always be listening and seeking out as many opportunities to learn about a diverse range of topics while always keep an open mind. AJ challenges all leaders to go out and do something with your crews off shift as that is where the foundation of success begins!

Retired Captain Bob Shannon of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue emphasizes that your organization is perfectly designed to get the outcomes that they are getting, as every organization has a leadership curriculum, formal and intentional, or accidental and by default. Bob dives into the two types of leaders: Positive impact leaders and negative impact leaders. Bob describes the leadership power quadrant including Emotional Intelligence & self-mastery, trust, accountability and effective communication. "You get what you accept, not what you expect!"

Disney Executive Lee Cockerell reveals the magic of Disney customer service. From poor farm kid to running Disney operations, Lee talks about the importance of having a good attitude, being reliable and having empathy. EVERYONE is watching! The secret is to hire the right people, train them right and treat them right! Don't underestimate your influence in the world, negative or positive, and don't underestimate what you can achieve in your life. Go be great!