One of my favorite stories comes from my friend and former coworker Deputy Fire Chief Chantal Botting, Fort Lauderdale (FL) Fire Rescue. Years ago, she told me that when she gets to work in the morning, she has a choice.
On her way to her office, she can make a right or make a left. If she makes the right, she goes into the elevator, heads up to the third floor (Fire Admin), and can make a beeline to her office leaving no one the wiser. If she makes the left, she must first head into the bay at Fire Station 2, where everyone is doing their morning shift transfer. She’ll engage in hellos, short conversations, hugs, funny comments and maybe some razzing from those who know her best. With a smile, she heads up the first flight of stairs and then goes into the kitchen on the second floor. Again, she engages with the crews at the firehouse kitchen table. This includes the firehouse lawyers, the firehouse marriage counselors. They’re all our beloved experts who, for the 30 minutes or so between shifts, do their best to assess and change their worlds while they sip their morning coffee.
She gets to hear what’s hot, who made a grab or field save, and who’s mad at whom. She hears what policies are goofy, and what they each would do if they were in her shoes. And she gets to feel the pulse of the shift before heading down the hall to the elevator. It may take her anywhere between 15 minutes to over an hour to get to her office, but the time spent with the team is irreplaceable. Most importantly, she was seen—simply because she chose to show up.
There’s a beautiful simplicity in just showing up. Being physically present is so critically important for us as fire service leaders. The risk of becoming disconnected from our crews in the field is a real possibility. This is why we must be intentional and deliberate in fostering time for relationships with our personnel. This is especially true when we make the transition to day shift or admin life. Those who know can relate to the crazy-busy workloads placed on us and the feeling that we simply can’t leave our offices lest our to-do lists grow too big to handle. It’s so easy to say, “No, I can’t go to lunch,” or “No, I can’t attend that class,” or “No, I can’t train today,” because of this or that.
Leading Through Being Physically Present
In November 2017, I wrote my first article for Fire Engineering. It was titled “10 Things Every New Training Chief Should Know.” The eighth point I made was to “Get outside, be seen, and don’t grow roots.” I don’t always win that battle, but when I do, I never regret it. Here are a few things that happen when we simply show up.
1. Collisions
“Oh, hey! I’m glad I ran into you.”…