Side Alpha Leadership

This episode I speak with Steve Prziborowski. Steve and I talk about the low recruitment numbers in the fire service. Many jurisdictions are struggling with recruiting the number of potential candidates to come to the job.

Once again I discuss officer development and how to get experience to become a successful officer.

This month I talk with Steve Hamilton. Steve explains the complex incidents the police face and how the fire department fits in to help. There are many hurdles to overcome:

• building trust
• building relations
• training together
• knowing each others limitations
• having each others backs

There is a role for the fire department during active shooter incident, barricade incidents and SWAT/SRT callouts.

This month I go solo with no guest. I took the time to answer some questions from listeners from social media. I touch several subjects

• Promotion exams
• Dealing with difficult people
• Recognize your shortcomings
• What made me decide to be a chief
• My advice to the new firefighter
• How do we make training friendly to volunteers

This month I speak with Stephanie White. Stephanie is an 18 year veteran career firefighter in the Washington Metro area. She hosts a podcast on Fire Engineering called "5 after Midnight" Stephanie and I talk about EEO in the fire service and how it falls short in the fire service. Although we follow the laws there are gray areas that EEO does not account for. As firefighters and officers we must navigate the gray areas. Strive to be good human beings and trust that each person on your shift has you back during an emergency.

We discuss moving forward in the fire service and how to attract new firefighters of all sex, race and religions without having politicians change physical entrance requirements to achieve their vision of a diverse fire service.

We close with being a mentor and leader for the next generation.

This month I speak with Jessica Shafer. Jessica talks about her time as a young Coast Guardsmen to being the first female commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment. She navigated many hurdles to become a respected officer in the Coast Guard. Her thought about leadership, self-reflection and desire to be better everyday, made her the strong person she is today.

I welcome back Dr. (Capt.) Shelly Wheeler We talk about risk management, how we approach it on the fire ground and how the business world deals with it. Our fire service has evolved over the years, but the dangers are still there. We have become a smarter service and we still do the job, accept the risk, but now we are armed with the lessons from the past. Our job will always be dangerous and we are still aggressive and will never lose sight of our mission.

On this episode Frank Ricci and I offer advice on dealing with a boss who only has his interests in mind. How can the Sr. firefighter approach the officer to initiate a conversation. What to do if there is a trust issue with line officers or chief officers and how to have effective conversations. Frank and I offer advice on starting the conversations in a respectful way and getting the positive results.

I welcome Asst. Chief Justin McCarthy of the New Haven Fire Dept. to the show. Justin and I talk about the lack of leadership training in the fire department. What would a good leadership class would look like. How do we encourage our people to make decisions and not live in fear of getting in trouble.

Never forget we are always students and we must strive to learn everyday

I took the show in a different direction this month. As emergency service workers and military, we are exposed to terrible things. There are times we need help to cope and process. We are fortunate to have Behavioral Health Specialists imbedded in the fire service, police force and military to help.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Frederick County's Behavioral Health Coordinator Natalie Bowers. Natalie discussed her work and what she offers to the men and women of Frederick County Fire and Rescue. We don't have to suffer alone there is a path to good mental health for us and our families.

This is such great information in this podcast. Please take the time to listen. There are links on my Facebook as Instagram to seek addition help and information.

Sam and I talked about what to do when the boss has his hands in your job and how you can resolve the issue. Good respectful communication is key. Most likely the boss does not realize he is micromanaging you.

As an officer you need to make decisions. it is ok to make mistakes. Own your mistakes and share what you learned with your crew and peers.