What a surprise and a humbling request to share my view about leadership. I have had the opportunity to “grow up” in the fire service and meet some amazing people along my journey. My 12 years have been spent with Decatur FD, a combination fire department, most of those years as a Captain. My time and experience have taught me that leadership is constantly evolving and rarely formal. Some of our most powerful and influential leaders are the ones with no brass on their collars. Leadership is not always about rank, title or seniority but one’s attitude.
For me personally leadership centers around a person’s capacity to lead. Having the correct capacity ties right to our attitude in a rapidly changing fire service. The leaders of tomorrow are our folks out teaching recruits, doing inspections, developing quality Fire/EMS professionals and the list goes on.
We are part of so much more than just the rank and file, our communities depend on us to deliver numerous services time and time again without fail. Members with contagiously good attitudes toward an evolving fire service are the brand of leaders that will propel the Fire Service forward for years to come!