Leadership Lessons: Leadership from the Bottom Up

A diagram of a fire department organizational chart is in the shape of a pyramid. The pyramid depicts the paramilitary hierarchical structure, with administrators at the top and firefighters at the bottom. Sprinkled throughout every organization is a mixture of both formal and informal leaders. The formal leaders are in a position of authority; the informal leaders aren’t. That said, many of us will agree that informal leaders can be more powerful than formal leaders. I have asked many students why informal leaders can be more powerful, and two reasons rise above all others: trust and respect.

Note: The views and opinions that are expressed in this column are those of the author and aren’t intended to malign the author’s employer, organization, committee, or other group or individual.

From the bottom up

Leadership is a choice to take care of those who are around you. Author and speaker John Maxwell contends, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” You use influence to gain trust and respect. The fire service wins when informal leaders who have this influence become officers. However, some firefighters jump into an officer position prior to earning the trust and respect of those who are around them. When this happens, officers still must continue their managerial duties while relying on leadership influence to build relationships of trust and respect. Some do this very quickly, while others might require 5–10 years. Some never do.

When people rise to the top of the organization without earning the trust and the respect of those who are at the bottom, it usually is because those people are very good at the technical part of the job but lack people skills. We typically might refer to these people as micromanagers.

To repeat, in our pyramid-shaped organization, the administration, which is at the top, leads. These people are responsible for securing resources, setting goals, enforcing policies and procedures, and facilitating change. People who are in administration mostly start as a firefighter.

Officers—the first and midline supervisors—connect the top of the organization with the bottom. They work to earn the trust and respect of firefighters while following directions from the top. Officers often find themselves in a dilemma when they must enforce a new policy from the administration and their crew doesn’t agree with it. If officers don’t enforce the policy, they aren’t doing their job; if they do enforce the policy, they might upset those who are around them. The decision that officers make on how to handle this dilemma determines their effectiveness.

At the bottom, firefighters are the workhorses of the organization, the ones who customers see when they call 9-1-1. Most all firefighters love their job and pull together as a team. These members are dedicated to making a difference. They show true camaraderie to other firefighters and don’t hesitate to sacrifice so someone else can gain, including the citizens. Unfortunately, a few firefighters are here just for a paycheck. They do very little to contribute to the success of the team and generally have a negative attitude.

Each of the three layers has its own culture that’s based on how the members of the group view the world. In my experience, each layer views the fire service through a different lens. For example, the top (administration) might view a new initiative as the best thing since sliced bread, while the bottom might believe that the initiative is ineffective and refuse to give it a chance. The middle typically leans toward the bottom, and small issues turn into larger issues.

No matter where you are in the organization, you have the ability to lead if you so choose. A big part of leadership is taking responsibility when things go wrong and giving others credit when things go right. Many issues in the fire service can be resolved at the lower level, as long as officers are trained and empowered. Typically, we blame the administration for all organizational issues, when in reality most of those issues never should make it to the top to begin with. Tackling issues is where officers must rely on their leadership skills of influence.

This means an organization’s improvement efforts should focus on strengthening the middle of the organization through high-quality leadership development programs. Like a human body, an organization’s strength comes from having a strong core to keep the top and bottom connected.

For an organization to thrive, the members of the administration must figure out how to get everyone who is on the team to the next level. This is done by creating an organizational vision and establishing organizational goals.

It’s at the bottom of an organization where we find the informal leaders along with a plethora of talented and creative individuals who wait on information, direction and inspiration to change the world. Tapping into this talent pool is where the magic happens. I don’t know of any organization that wouldn’t benefit from better commitment, cooperation, collaboration and communication. The key isn’t having support only from the top down but also having support from the bottom up. Everyone, no matter where they are in the organizational team, must do better and take ownership in the team that they signed up to be on. Everyone must own the good with the bad.

To change an organization, its people must change their mindset, attitude and behavior individually. Organizational change doesn’t happen without cultural change, and it’s the people, not the chief, who determine the culture. If you are a firefighter, stop complaining about what you don’t have and start celebrating what you do have. If you are an officer, stop being part of the problem and start helping to find solutions. If you are a chief, stop talking and start listening.

Part of the solution

If you want to learn more about leadership, watch strong informal leaders interact with their co-workers. Watch how those informatl leaders carry themselves, their behavior, and how their attitude earns them trust and respect from those were are around them. Firefighters have so much respect for informal leaders that they would do anything to keep from letting those people down.

Through effective leadership practices, an organization ends up with more leaders at the bottom of the pyramid, and it is those people—those leaders—who drive performance, enthusiasm, energy and improvement.

In sports, championships are won by the entire team taking ownership and contributing to help everyone to do their best, whether it’s the players, coaches, athletic trainers or team doctor. This concept also works for nonsports organizations.

Administrators, officers and firefighters must have a good grasp of what their job is, of the influence that they have if they choose to use it and of the role that they play in the organization’s success. When officers find themselves in a dilemma, they must become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. If the crew disagrees with a policy, find out why, get suggestions for improvement, and send it right back up the chain for consideration. No matter the outcome, that is how we lead from the bottom up.

Candace Ashby will present “Leadership from the Bottom Up!” at Firehouse Expo. To register, visit firehouseexpo.com.