As Firehouse Sees It: Are You “All In”?

When compared to his college teammates, Sean Miller didn’t have the speed or athleticism of a top-ranked basketball player. What he possessed was an above-average knowledge of the game. As a freshman playing at the University of Pittsburgh, Miller’s teammates recognized him as the leader of the team. His knowledge and natural leadership abilities were welcomed and acknowledged even by the upperclassman.

Today, Sean Miller serves as the head basketball coach for the University of Arizona Wildcats, a position he has held since April 6, 2009. In his first five seasons as head coach, Miller was twice named the Pac-10/12 coach of the year, and his recruitment efforts have attracted some of the nation’s best high school athletes. He ultimately elevated Arizona as the No. 1 signing class in the nation, surpassing the well-known powerhouse, Kentucky.

As he prepares for his sixth season, Coach Miller begins his recruitment efforts with a résumé of career success including the longest active home winning steak in Division 1 men’s college basketball (38 wins), three Pac-12 regular season titles and a Pac-12 Tournament title.

Last month, I had the privilege of attending an NFFF fundraiser in which Coach Miller was the featured keynote speaker. As he took the stage to a rousing applause from the capacity crowd of Wildcats fans, Coach Miller opened his address with a simple thank you to the firefighters and family members who were in attendance.

In a very humble and respectful manner, Coach Miller acknowledged that while serving as a head basketball coach may not be at the same level as what we do as firefighters, his message, titled “All In,” was a recipe for success we all could relate to.

“All In” is Coach Miller’s philosophy for team success. His recruits have achieved great success during their high school careers. But as a member of the Arizona Wildcats, they must first and foremost learn the importance of personal sacrifice. Where in the past they were the stars of their team—possibly even the top scorers, playing nearly every minute of every game—at Arizona, they’re simply 1/12 of a team.

To be successful as a team, each member must be willing to avoid the selfish temptations of individual success. To be all in means that 24/7/365, both your on-the-court and off the-court actions and decisions must represent the team and the university with pride and professionalism, and you must willfully dedicate yourself equally as an athlete and as a student to support your success outside the world of athletics.

As I listened to Coach Miller’s message, I began to ponder what the All In philosophy might look like in the fire service. Would it be an aggressive fire department representative of a diverse group of talented professionals? Would each firefighter willfully accept the need for personal sacrifice, hold themselves and their fellow firefighters accountable for their actions and decisions and forgo personal biases in support of the department’s overall success? Would the long-standing embodiment of brotherhood and sisterhood represent the pride and professionalism on duty and off duty, in the station and in public?

As firefighters, we’ve long acknowledged the importance of teamwork; our system is built on relying on each other to accomplish the assigned tasks. But have we taken the time to evaluate what it means as an individual firefighter to be all in?

Being all in is not a part-time commitment (paid or volunteer); all in means that each and every day, we serve. We serve with the same level of passion and professionalism regardless of the call or the assignment. All in means that we arrive fit for duty, well rested, and capable of performing our tasks. It means that we inspect our equipment with due diligence, that we willfully accept and demand the challenge to improve our knowledge, skills and abilities, and that we never rely upon our past successes as our sole source for our future efforts. All in is a full-time commitment to professionalism.

While Coach Miller’s role as a head basketball coach may not parallel the role of a firefighter or fire officer, his All In philosophy is a message that speaks volumes about what it takes to achieve team/organizational success.

Simply stated, for a fire department to be successful, we must be willing to relentlessly dedicate ourselves to the organization, be willing to sacrifice our individual success for the betterment of the team and selflessly apply ourselves to the department and community we serve each and everyday.