Page 7 - Volume 19

Identifying and Developing the“Up-and-Comers”
in Your Organization By Assistant Chief Christopher Menapace, BBA, OFE Whitehall Division of Fire
To paraphrase an old parable for the purpose of this article: Give me a leader for a generation and the organization will continue for a generation. Permit me to develop a leader in every generation, and the organization will continue forever.
One of our main responsibilities as Fire Chief is to ensure that our organization
is stable and can sustain a leadership change. In order for this to occur, we must be able to identify our successor or at the minimum, the qualities and skill sets necessary for our successor to succeed. I will conjecture that this does not simply happen. Successful succession is not a matter of simply choosing who finishes first on a multiple-choice exam and can impress a panel of like-minded assessors. Choosing your replacement begins at the lowest promotable rank in your organization. For most of us, this is at the lieutenant level.
A Fire Chief should begin to observe those firefighters within his/her organization that have that extra quality or presence that sets them apart from their peers. Most often it is drive, a pleasant demeanor, support for the mission and the administration, and a belief that the organization is bigger than him/herself. Once identified, it’s the Chief’s responsibility to foster these leadership tendencies.
Potential leaders are those members of the rank and file you find yourself asking to complete time-sensitive, detail-oriented projects. In addition, you recognize that giving these particular individuals the ownership and empowerment necessary to complete the task will likely enhance the participation from other crew members, thus increasing buy-in by the organization. As Chief, our job is to continually push this individual to further develop critical thinking and an operational perspective.
Development of this sort can be difficult. It cannot be achieved without sharing your knowledge with the future leader. Often times, we hear “knowledge is power”. Therefore, it is often guarded, shared only with the executive management team. Nothing could be more detrimental to officer development than asking a future leader to help solve a problem and then not share the background details and knowledge necessary to complete the task.
Dan Tully of Merrill Lynch once said, “It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t seek all the credit. I find nothing is really one person’s idea”. Humility is vital as an individual begins to rise through the ranks within your organization. You will find that others will support a young leader who is willing to share the spotlight of success.
Likewise, future leaders are those who can keep their ego in check; they don’t place their career development ahead of that of the organization’s. In addition, officer development should occur at the speed of the organization. Development that is too fast or too slow creates frustration on behalf of the rank and file as well as the leader. Timing is everything!
In closing, identifying individuals that will someday lead your organization can be a daunting but necessary task. Chief officers must be diligent in their leadership development in order to ensure their legacy and the continued growth of their department into the future. u
JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 20
17 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org InCommand 7
Author Bio
Assistant Chief Christopher Menapace, BBA, OFE is a regular contributor to the magazine and a member of the OFCA publications committee.