Devoted LeadershipThe Creation of a Disciple

Captain Ian CassidyNorthwest Fire District

“E pluribus unum”

~Motto for Seal of the U.S.A Adopted 1782

Objectives• Define followership and leadership in the fire

service.• Understand the differences between inspired and

required action leadership styles.• Understand how the traits of a good follower

produce a good leader.• Become familiar with good followership and

leadership traits and practices for career advancement.

• Recognize the difference in following and being a disciple.

Followership

“I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?”

~Benjamin Disraeli

ACTIVITY #1

How would you define Followership?

Write down your teams/tables definition on the easel pad and then post it on the wall near your table. You have 5 minutes.

Followership• My definition: (Verb)– The ability to recognize and respect the

leaders appointed over you and granting the privilege of leadership to those senior in rank or experience.

• Webster's: (Noun)– The capacity or willingness to follow a

leader.

Followership

• Col. Larry R. Donithorne (Ret.)– [A leader’s] success depends in large part on

how well they have learned to follow. Followers’ jobs are at their essence to do as they are told. They are asked to surrender - for a time - their independence and devote themselves exclusively to practicing the values of the institution they have joined.

Teamwork

• Webster’s Definition– Joint action by a group of people in which

each person subordinates his individual interest and opinions to the unity and effectiveness of the group

Followership• Followership:– Does not imply being seen and not heard; to

the contrary it keeps leaders informed of all issues that may not be seen by them so that mindful decisions can be made for the betterment of the team. (even bad news)

– Respects rank in spite of personal differences.– Is not prideful.– Is aware that failure of the leader is a direct

reflection of the team or failure of the team.

Followership

– Is mindful of the overall team mission and acts accordingly to complete the mission.• “Building a Church”• General systems theory - Ludwig von Bertalanffy

– The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

– Understands the “cause”(mission) and is a raging evangelist!• “Disciples”

– Does not put the interests of self above those of the team/mission.

Video: Believers

Followership

– Completes mission objectives when noticed without prompting from “the boss”.

– Understands the proper time and place to ask “why” and also when to follow orders without question.• “Combat vs. Daily Routines“

– Does not undermine the leadership ….EVER. In fact a good follower attempts to build-up the leadership…You’ll be there one day.

Video: Stonewall Jackson

Followership

– If not told “the cause” and “the why” behind the cause, seeks out that information to become a believer.

– Always mindful of the things in your sphere of influence and identifies problems in that sphere and fixes them before being told to.

– Requires little direction because of the mindfulness of the follower.

Followership

“It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when we aren’t concerned with who

receives the credit”~Assistant Chief B. Savage

Lakeside Fire

Original quote ~President Harry Truman

Followership Traits

• Summed up:– Loyalty– Initiative– Dependability

Leadership

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone; and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

~President John Quincy Adams

Leadership

• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

~Abraham Lincoln

Leadership

• Moral Principals:– Honesty– Integrity– Loyalty

Leadership

• Knows & understands the customer’s expectation of the public servant.–Moral principals– Ethical behavior

ACTIVITY #2

List any lessons (good or bad) those in your group have learned from leaders that were over them in the past.

You have 5 minutes to complete the list, please post your list on the wall near your table.

Leadership

• Just as the diamond requires three properties for its formation—carbon, heat, and pressure—successful leaders require the interaction of three properties—character, knowledge, and application. Like carbon to the diamond, character is the basic quality of the leader.… But as carbon alone does not create a diamond, neither can character alone create a leader. The diamond needs heat. Man needs knowledge, study and preparation.… The third property, pressure—acting in conjunction with carbon and heat—forms the diamond. Similarly, one’s character attended by knowledge, blooms through application to produce a leader.

~General Edward C. Meyer

Chief of Staff, Army (1979-1983)

Leadership

The Big Three:

1. Character

2. Knowledge

3. Application

Leadership

• Leader: A person who is driven by principals and values

• Manager: A person who is driven by policies and procedures. (Has its place)

• Good leadership:– Focuses on doing the right things and not doing things

right.– Deals with uncertainty not complexity.– Focuses on effectiveness and not efficiency.– Makes decisions even when the time to gather facts is

restricted. Is deliberate in action.

Leadership

– Formulates questions and identifies problems.– Establishes principals not policies.– Inspires action doesn’t require it.– Convinces they work for subordinates not the

reverse.– Is clear in the overall mission (cause).– Knows the answer to “Why am I here”.– Is able to create disciples not blind followers.

Leadership

• The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an example - good or bad - with every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty.

-U.S. Army Field Manual 6-22

Leadership

• People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

What

How

Why

Video: Leadership/Followership

Inspired or Required?

• What kind of leader are you looking for?• What kind of leader do you want to be?• The Chain of Command– Top-down management– Tradition– Biggest mistake made in work life– Useless leadership, is required action.

ACTIVITY #3

Answer the two previous questions and write your answers on the easel pad.

You have 10 minutes to complete the list, please post your list on the wall near your table.

Required Action

“The real leader has no need to lead - he is content to point the way.”

~ Henry Miller

Video: Required Action

Required Action• Required action is only as good and thorough

as the person who is giving it.– No pride, no extra mile.– Something might get missed.– Often only happens once.– Requires little or no decision making or critical

thinking on the part of the follower.• Robots….

– Creates no believers, no buy in. Does not explain “the cause”.

– It’s a trap!

Required Action

• Effective tool in high risk situations.– Combat (Fire)-Essential

• Used when a single-source of responsibility is needed.

• Always requires constant input from the single-source (“boss”) to achieve goals and remain effective and efficient.

Inspired Action

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

~President John Quincy Adams

ACTIVITY #4

Write down as many ways to inspire others around you as you can.

You have 5 minutes to complete the list, please post your list on the wall near your table.

Inspired Action• When you are commanding, leading [Soldiers] under

conditions where physical exhaustion and privations must be ignored; where the lives of [Soldiers] may be sacrificed, then, the efficiency of your leadership will depend only to a minor degree on your tactical or technical ability. It will primarily be determined by your character, your reputation, not so much for courage—which will be accepted as a matter of course—but by the previous reputation you have established for fairness, for that high-minded patriotic purpose, that quality of unswerving determination to carry through any military task assigned you.

General of the Army George C. Marshall

Speaking to officer candidates (1941)

Inspired Action

• HARD WORK!• Takes time, integrity and effort.– Begins now at the beginning of career.

• Requires a change in heart.– Convinces subordinates that you (“boss”) work

from them. Not the reverse.

• Makes people believe that what they are doing is the right thing and essential.– “You don’t just do a mission, you believe in it”

~Dr. Story Musgrave, Astronaut

Inspired Action

• When inspired, people will:– Do all that is required with little guidance

needed and often without needing to be reminded.

– ALSO…Will do what needs doing (extra mile) often before the leader ever knows it needs to be done.

• Always produces better results than orders (required action).– The “this sucks” formula.

Video: Inspired Action

Inspired Action• “Why am I Here?”–We all fall into one of three categories:• Know why you are here and will never forget it.

(Some of us)• So wrapped up that you need two weeks vacation

to clear your head to remember why you are here. (Most of us).• “It’s just a job” and you never knew why you

came here in the first place. (Rare animal that we cannot help to much).• McDonald’s is a job, the Fire Service is a

profession, career & lifestyle

ACTIVITY #5

Working within your team come up with the mission of the fire department.

(Do Not use your mission statement)

You have 10 minutes to complete the list, please post your list on the wall near your table.

“The Why”

• Save Lives…..It’s that simple.• Every job in the fire service has this at it’s core

mission.– If finance stops cutting checks, people quit, people

die.– If safety doesn’t put out safety bulletins, people die.– If LSS doesn’t do inspections and fire codes are

violated, people die.– If Logistics doesn’t keep fire trucks safe and running

correctly, people die.– Get the point?

“The Why”

• So do you know why you are here?• Have you forgotten?–When you stop believing in the mission or

forget why you are here you are just going through the motions and are doing what is required.

– You will never do a good job living this way.– You owe it to the taxpayer and the guy/girl

next to you on the fire truck.

Video: “The Why”

Video: Reminder

How do we get there?

"There are no bad regiments, there are only bad officers."                ~Field Marshall Lord Slim

“Where there is no vision, the people perish”

  ~Proverbs 29:18 KJV

Followership Leadership

• Armed with the knowledge that being a good follower will make you a better leader is the first step in the process.

• Someone must be in charge, that’s just the paramilitary way.

• Leadership is granted by you to others, or granted to you by others.– Informal vs. formal leaders.

Video: Informal Leadership

Followership Leadership

• People remember….Start today.– If you begin your career as a poor follower and

promote quicker than your peers they will remember and treat you the same as you treated the leaders appointed over you.

– Credibility = Time, Consistency & Endurance

• Followership is a mission, you must believe in it. – Firefighters see through the bull, we are the best

at it.

Followership Leadership

• Being a good follower means knowing your job (Tasks) better than the next guy.

• Being a good leader means that you have mastered those tasks as a follower and added to them in your career.– You should have the answers when asked by those

subordinate to you.– Creates confidence and security for those subordinate

that the mission is able to be accomplished by the team.

– Can’t create believers if the mission is unattainable.

ACTIVITY #6

Working within your team come up with as many leadership traits as you can that you desire to see in

those appointed over you.

You have 5 minutes to complete the list, please post your list on the wall near your table.

Leadership Traits

• INSPIRES! Only requires in the correct situations.• Makes decisions. Good, bad or indifferent the

decision is made taking into account all KNOWN facts.

• Is NOT bossy….This one is tough…remember inspire.

• Always has the believers best interests in mind.– They are the ones who complete the mission, you can’t

do it without them.– Be dedicated to the success of your evangelists.

Leadership Traits

• Knows what the chain is there for and comprehends that top-down is broke if you want a mindful organization.

• Is never to proud to admit failure. Big or small.– Don’t just air your dirty laundry..wash it.

• Works harder on the mission than their people do. Always be the hardest worker. They will see it.

Leadership Traits

• Know more than they do. Or at least try to.

• Catch people getting it right more than you catch them getting it wrong. – Know where commendation forms are and

USE THEM!

• Talk up the mission…Remind them of it! Write it down.

Leadership Traits

• When delegating or assigning tasks start with “the why”. They will often tell you the what before you are able to finish.

• Study those you want to be like, traits you want to have.

• Write down good things about people and send it to their supervisor or someone in their chain. This ALWAYS MOTIVATES!

Leadership Traits

• Mission Statements:– Are not a quick fix to directionality.– Can be useful, but only when backed up by inspiring

actions.– People want to feel apart of something bigger than

themselves. When you make work about completing required actions you rob them of that feeling.

– “YOU” are not the something bigger they had in mind.– If you use your position, authority and privilege to

inspire they will do what you want them to, even the mundane with more pride and commitment.

Thank You!Go out and Inspire Someone to

Greatness

Questions?

Special Thanks & References

• Mario Vittone• James Colvard• Army Field Manual 6-22 Leadership• Assistant Chief B. Savage-Lakeside Fire• Colonel Jeff O’Leary• Karl E. Weick & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe