For years, one of the motivational pieces hanging in my office has been a picture of an eagle with the word “Excellence.” It reads, “Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible.”
This definition really is the edgy essence of progressiveness. It sounds forward-thinking, dramatic and some may even say careless (“risking more than others think is safe”). I certainly don’t read the statement as careless, nor do I hold that responsibility lightly. This edgy essence epitomizes the traditions of the fire service: pushing harder, doing better, expecting more from and for our people, while trying to ensure that everyone goes home. In reality, true excellence may be unattainable, but it is impossible to even come close to excellence with a mindset (or acceptance) of carelessness.
As we examine the concept of excellence in this article, let’s consider how it can be compared to the expression “bull in a china shop,” where the “bull” is you and the “china” encompasses all the things that are important to you (and us). The reference is usually associated with careless and aggressive abandon. In stretching to achieve excellence, I challenge you to drop the carelessness, while maintaining that aggressive edge. In other words, have the aggressiveness of the bull, but be mindful of the things that are important to you and others—the fragile things, like your safety, wellbeing and the public’s trust.
To accept the challenge, I ask you to consider the possibility and weigh the probability of excellence through examination of the “5 Steps of Excellence” listed below. Some of you will recognize indirect parallels to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Step 1: Take care of you
Be attentive to your needs. You can’t help anyone if you can’t help yourself, whether this is in the emergent moment or in the planning of your life. Make sure your “house” is in order and that you are prepared mentally, morally and physically to do what needs to be done. Keep in mind that you don’t have to “do it all”; however, in the emergency service business, I expect that you have grown past those sometimes-awkward years of total dependency. Bottom line: You need to meet your needs before you can take care of the china.
Step 2: Belong
Be a part of SOMETHING positive! No fire or EMS department exists because of any ONE person. The collective “Power of ONE” (firehouse.com/12317472) represents our successes and our failures. We succeed as part of a social fabric that makes up our world, yet we often fail when we live like straggling strings outside the fabric. As such, it is important to maintain a physical sense and functionality of belonging to a family, whether in the biologic or practical sense. No ONE person can do “it” all alone, nor should one person be expected to do it alone. To rise to excellence, your “belonging” must be able to safely transcend levels of professionalism, personal intimacy and family (biologic, work, community—this is the china). Forging relationships with our communities (the china) is critical. Recognizing those will not always be warm and fuzzy relationships, any trouble balancing those relationships while trying to attain excellence should always swing toward serving our communities.
Step 3: Maintain sound moral character
Perfection and excellence are part of a journey and, in some respects, a state of mind; they are not a singular place or attainment. The things we do on and off the job, at or away from the firehouse, representing the department or not … they all make a difference. Once you accept this profession (paid or volunteer), the expectation of our moral character rises infinitively. Recognizing that we’re human (not super-human), I also recognize that the public trusts and respects us during their darkest and most vulnerable moments. Like it or not, that expectation of trust and respect extends to you 24/7, on or off duty, in or out of uniform. To ensure you can take care of your community (being the bull without breaking the china), you MUST respect yourself first. The choices you make in your personal life will transcend through your professional life and performance, one way or the other. I challenge you to live as “clean” a life as you possibly can and to value the trust and respect others will give you in return. It is also important to recognize that while some will not return that trust and respect, you’re still expected to rise above that and get the job done.
Step 4: Be a life-long learner
The world is evolving around us daily, indeed hourly. It is imperative that you always keep your edge, you never lose your motivation, and that you are constantly aware of what’s happening around you. Think of this as your “personal 360.” Keeping your edge and maintaining your motivation comes from a combination of your functional experiences and through learning new things and new WAYS of doing things—like new ways to be the bull without breaking the china. Whether it is firefighting, EMS, building construction, personnel management, administrative/budgetary operations, recruitment/retention, capital purchases/improvements, prevention, community engagement, etc., “things” are constantly evolving and coming at you from all directions. Attend classes, conferences and training programs, and when it’s appropriate, challenge your instructors to explain. Be the bull, aggressive to understand new information.
Step 5: Become a leader
Leaders are not born, they develop. Maslow simply said, “What a man can be, he must be.” Leaders take many formal and informal forms, and your challenge is to become, well, “what you can be.” It is critical to understand the difference between being a “friend” and being a “leader.” Leaders CAN be friends with their crew; however, the true leader must be prepared to be the leader people NEED, which will not always be the leader people WANT (firehouse.com/12279287). This is where it is most poignantly visible that leaders are not “born.” Leaders encompass the 5 Steps of Excellence by weaving a combination of formal AND informal education, personal pride and sound judgement, belonging and, ultimately, personal transcendence into the realization that you have become “what you can be.”
Protect the china
And then we have the “64,000-pound bull in the room” that many of my readers will understand. It is NEVER acceptable for bullish and careless aggressiveness to get in the way of service delivery or membership status. Far too many times we read headlines like, “Firefighters Fight While Fire Blazes,” “Firefighters File Charges on Firefighters,” “Prospective Member Dies in Fire Department Hazing Incident” or “Sexual Assault Covered Up by Fire Chief.” There aren’t enough words to describe it, but this recklessness, silliness and insanity must stop. As you’ve heard me opine MANY times, it doesn’t matter if you’re career or volunteer; the citizens we serve don’t care, and neither should you. Training and mutual respect—MUTUAL, not superior—must trump the mindless, meaningless triviality that litters these headlines. Fighting on a scene is absurdly childish and results in the folly and irrational daftness that cannot leave our leaders speechless. Bullying, hazing and sexual misconduct must be zero-tolerance issues for our service. Regardless of how many will try to “reason” these things away, the fire service is not a fraternity of reckless abandon. It is madness when the public that we are sworn to protect can’t depend on us to show up in one piece. Protection from the erosion of that public trust (the china) is a cornerstone of leadership. Deal with the issues forthrightly, stop defending mediocrity and foolishness, and do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons. You can be a bull in a china shop when it’s necessary, without breaking all the china.
We will NEVER achieve excellence if we’re ALWAYS behaving carelessly. I denounce careless and aggressive abandon in the fire and EMS service, while I embrace aggressive personal and tactical decisions to do the right thing at the right time. Test your personal and professional limits and trust your gut. Embrace the 5 Steps of Excellence and understand your limits.
You want “excellence”? Become the bull that protects the china!
