Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
You might recall the “Owning the Job” series I began a while back. I haven’t forgotten about it. Here is another installment.
This is also part V of my FDIC wrapup. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV.
Attitude and Being a Good Officer
Chief Steve Kraft spoke in a keynote at FDIC (video below). I didn’t get to see it in person, but Jonah Smith shared it on The Hose Jockey. In it, Chief talks about looking at yourself, not others. It is a motivational speech and hits the mark. I think everyone will be able to get something out of it.
Chief Kraft’s 5 points are (from my notes and what I got out of it):
- To be a good officer, you have to be a good coach (correct mistakes).
- Show your people you care.
- learn from your mistakes. Be willing to make mistakes.
- Lead by example.
- Have a positive attitude.
Similarly, Jason Hoevelmann created an entire class about a funk he was dealing with in his career. The class “A Firefighters Own Worst Enemy” spurred the blog by a similar name FirefightersEnemy.com.
I got into a similar funk somewhere along the 13 years I have been with Roanoke. I have my excuses why I got into the funk, but I am trying to slowly dig myself out. Rick Lasky’s Pride and Ownership was a step in the right direction. I am getting there and created the “Owning the Job” series as a way for me to write, reflect, learn, and potentially even help inspire.
Here is Chief Kraft’s Keynote address from FDIC 2012
