FireNuggets , Inc May 2017
Remain calm , steady and focused under pressure . Life ’ s not fair . The sooner you understand and accept this premise , the better person and leader you ’ ll become . When things get physically dangerous and hairy , the ’ troops ’ want someone they can rely upon to lead them to success . The more difficult and onerous the challenges and the more the mission appears impossible , that ’ s when the troops look to real leaders to step-up and lead from the front . These types of leaders are calm of
word , steady in action and focused like a laser under pressure . They refuse to allow outside issues and competing interests to keep them from accomplishing the mission . They thrive under pressure . If the leader is more concerned with “ careerism ” i . e . in it to principally climb the ladder , they ’ ll lose the respect of the troops . These are what I call “ Faux leaders .” They look good on the outside but “ wobble ” on the inside ; they lack the internal core values to effectively lead under stress . They ’ re “ Nervous Nellies .”
“ Calm mind brings inner strength and confidence , so that ’ s very important to good health .” Dalai Lama
Act with decisiveness even with limited information . Lead , follow or get the “ H ” out of the way . From my experiences and the real leaders I knew , when I hear the word “ Leadership ” I instinctively think of “ decisive .” What does leadership entail but to make decisions , often times with little or no concrete information ? I ’ ve heard it said that any decision is better than no decision and I guess that ’ s a valid point in most situations . Theodore Roosevelt said , “ In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing ; the next best thing is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing .” Regardless , whether the person is you , your leader or someone on your team , that inherent expectation is that some course of action will be made and an action will ensue . A person who can ’ t , or won ’ t act decisively , is not a leader and no one will follow them . To make decisions is the essence of leadership . To make decisions is critically important but those decisions must be made consistent with your core values of integrity , consistency and justice . As in life , there ’ s no silver bullet , no secret code that will guide you to make the correct decision . That ’ s why “ courage ” is an inherent core value to leadership . One definition of courage I like : “ Courage is when you stand up when others sit down .”’
“ But the cure for most obstacles is , Be decisive .” - George Weinberg
Lead with integrity . Of all the core values that are crucial to be a great leader none is as important as integrity . When I interviewed a number of people for my second book on leadership , the most important leadership trait voiced to me by them was integrity . If you don ’ t have integrity , you ’ re not trustworthy . That literally means you ’ re not worthy to have others ’ trust . If the troops don ’ t trust you , if your words and actions aren ’ t congruent , they won ’ t trust you . However , if over time you ’ ve developed a personal and professional reputation for honesty and integrity , when the chips are down , you ’ ll have the established the credibility to lead . I don ’ t believe it ’ s smart to separate the personal from the professional morality . Integrity and trustworthiness must be a way of life ; you automatically act with integrity ; it must become second nature . Integrity and trust takes a long time to build but it can be lost quite easily ; it ’ s easy to squander . Integrity is another muscle . If you don ’ t exercise it every day , it can atrophy quickly . Use it or lose it ! Set high
By Firefighters , For Firefighters ! 16 of ! 28