In this episode I had the pleasure to speaking to Batt. Chief David Griffin PhD of the Charleston SC Fire Department. 

David talks about the Principles of Leadership and being a  Servant Leader.

We took this position to serve the public and the men and women on the job. Be humble, mentor your people and set up the next generation to take your job when you're gone. 

You own your own firefighter training company. The pandemic hits. What do you do? You write a 3 volume book and keep right on teaching.

This month I speak with Bobby Eckert. Bobby is a Captain with the City of Camden Fire Department in NJ.  Bobby owns Eckert Fire Tactics. A firefighter training company.

When you leave your fire training academy you know just enough to get you in trouble. Bobby takes your basic skills and enhances them with real world tactics.  

Bobby talks about his view as a Captain and how he leads his shift while gaining their respect.

In this episode I am joined by Chief Anthony Avillo Anthony is a retired Deputy Chief of the North Hudson Fire Department in New Jersey.  He is the co author of the the book Full Contact Leadership and Fireground Strategies. He is a long time presenter at FDIC.

Anthony talks about the Prime Directive and asks "are you ready to go to work, if not you culture is broken"

I had a great talk with Frank Ricci. I continue to talking about communication. Being able to talk and listen are core skills you must possess to be a successful leader.  

Being able to make decisions is key when operating on the fireground. Decision making starts when you are a new firefighter and you continue to hone that skill as you move forward in your career, so you can make decisions with incomplete intel. As better information comes in you will be able fine tune your decision making on the fly.

If you read any NIOSH report you will find that a lack of communications was a factor in most firefighters injuries or death. In business poor communications can cost money and people their jobs. Being a skilled communicator is an art. You have to be a good talker, but more importantly you have to be a good listener. You have to put your ego in check and be open to what others have to say.

In this episode I talk with Battalion Chief Sam Villani about talking with your people and listening them. The power of accurate fire ground communications and empowering your people to speak up and share their thoughts and ideas.

My guest Clay Anderson talks about being a servant leader and having a good dose of humility. Clay is active in the Navy and working on his Masters Degree in Leadership. He gives his views on servant leadership and humility. A servant leader displays the following characteristics:

• Empowerment
• Standing back
• Humility
• Authenticity
• Courage
• Accountability
• Interpersonal Acceptance
• Stewardship

Just to name a few.

This month I have a great conversation with Robert James (RJ) about training getting buy in from your shift and passing on what you have learned and motivating you people.  RJ is a career firefighter in the DC Metro area and the President and founder of Capitol Fire Training LLS. RJ has dedicated his fire service life in learning the craft honing his skills and passing on what he has learned to the next generation. 

I am joined once again with my good friend Sam Villani. Sam and I talk about how to encourage your people.  Leaders say "I take care of my people" but do they walk the walk  or just talk the talk.

Taking care of them when they are down, boosting their confidence and letting them take the lead. 

As a leader it is important to build your people up and get them ready for the next level in their careers. Treat your people as if they are the most important part of the organization. 

This month I had the pleasure of talking to (ret) Battalion Chief Anthony Kastros. Anthony is the author of Mastering the Fire Service Assessment Center and Understanding Unified Command. In this show we talk about succession planning and building up the new firefighters and line officers to one day take your position.  Anthony explains mentoring, training, getting ready for you next promotional exam and leading using the Incident Command System.

Fire Chief Tom Coe talks about his journey in the fire service as a rookie to becoming the Fire Chief and what leadership lessons he has learned along the way.