The Fire Service Department - Essay Example

Fire service Specific Model of Leadership Name Date Course Fire service Specific Model of Leadership Introduction The fire service department plays an essential role in saving lives and limiting the extent of damage to a building in case of fire outbreak. The leadership concepts are required in the fire service department for the purposes of ensuring that the operations are effective. This is considering that the nature of operations for the fire department is risky. On the other hand, the ability to make decisions is also required due to the risky nature of the operations. The decisions have to be made with little information as the fire fighting process is usually an emergency. Leadership and management skills are thus required at the fire department for the purposes of ensuring that the right decisions are made in relation the fire incident. This is considering that the wrong decisions may lead to loss of lives and total destruction property and building (Smeby Jr, 18). The incident commander should have adequate knowledge on the managerial concepts. This will ensure that the commander is able to make decision that will ensure loss of live is avoided. Just like the other departments and organizations, leadership is required in the fire departments. Several traits are linked to leadership and it determines how the decisions are made. In order for the fire department to be successful, objectives have to be developed and excellent leadership skills have to be displayed. The commanders should have good leadership skills although thi8s is not enough. The paper thus discusses the concepts of leadership in the fire department in relation to the issues raised by Carter (2007). Carter’s arguments According to Carter, various authors have attempted to define leadership which has led to several definitions. However, no single definition of leadership is conclusive. This is because of the complexities and the requirements. However despite the lack of clear definitions of leadership, the fire department has some requirements that may not be useful in the other departments and organizations. This is because the decision making process in the fire department is different from the other departments. In the fire department, decisions have to be made without necessarily identifying the problems and analysis them. Little information is also used during the decision making process. This is unlike the other departments which may require a lot of information. Time is also limited in the incident of a fire and the leader may not have enough time to carry out an analysis of the situation (Rowold, 630). However despite the lack of a proper definition, leadership in the fire department involves influencing the others to perform certain tasks willingly. This is because of the risky nature of the fire fighting process which may lead to resistance from the fire fighters. On the other hand, leadership also involves developing a good relationship with the other people. This is because the relationship with the fire fighter determines the ability of the commander to fully influence the team. Inspiring the others to perform is also an important quality that is required in the fire department. It is through inspiring the team that the commander is able to influence them. According to Carter, the leadership in the fire departments requires a combination of leadership attributes and models. The attributes of a charismatic leader is just one of the attributes which are important. A simple size all-fit leadership model is not available for the purposes of describing the leadership in the fire department. The leader in the fire department must also understand the tasks that need to be accomplished in the fire department. This is for the purposes of fully influencing the followers to work towards achieving the tasks. The understanding of the followers is also important in the fire department since the operations in the department involve life and death (Poplin, et al, 228). Stimulating the team members is important for the purposes of ensuring that they comply with the requirements during the fire fighting process. The transformational theory of leadership is also important in the fire department. This is usually applicable during the training of the employees in order to enhance their skills and knowledge. On the other hand, servant leadership is also required for the purposes of ensuring that the leaders fully understand the needs of the employees. In the fire department, leadership is usually developed through conscious efforts. This means that a leader has to undergo a lot of training and should also be experienced for the purposes of making the correct decisions in the event of a fire. This is considering that the fire situation is always an emergency. The combination of the leadership attributes are also important for the leaders in the fire department during the decision making process. Literature Review The leadership skills that are required in the fire department can be equated with that of the military. This is because both situations deal with a matter of life and death. A fire fighter may die as a result of being engulfed with smoke or burnt to death. This is similar to the military where a solder can be killed by enemy fire. In the fire department, fire is considered as the enemy as it has the potential of killing the fire fighters during the process of fighting it (Elliot, et al, 230). The fireground is thus similar to a battle field and it requites good leadership skills and qualities in order to combat the fire. Influencing the followers is thus important in the fire department and the military (Baran, 12). The concept of influencing the followers is classified as charismatic leadership. A charismatic leader will play ensure that the fire department is able to achieve its goals and objectives. The three components of charismatic leadership involve envisioning, energizing and enabling. It is also important to note that being technically and tactically proficient is also important for the commanders in the fire fighting department. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the operations are successful. It is also the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that the fire fighters are well trained and informed in order to successfully deal with the fire. During the fire fighting process, the decisions must be made quickly in order to ensure that lives are not lost. On the other hand, massive damage of property may occur incase the decisions are not made quickly. The leadership concepts in the fire department are very critical. This is because of the risky nature of the job. During the fire incidence, the leaders must always take a proactive role and make decisions that will ensure that lives are saved. This also includes the lives of the fire fighters as they are equally exposed to risks. A high number of fire fighters have died during the process of putting out fire due to the lack of proper information and communication with the leaders. It is thus important for a leader in the fire department to have different leadership attributes. The leaders in the fire department may have the situational leadership attributes. This is for the purposes of ensuring that they make decisions in relation to the situation during the fire fighting process. In the incidence of a fire, the leaders is supposed to respond quickly by making decisions that will ensure that lives are not lost and properties are not damaged (Lewis, 236). On the other hand, the fire situation varies with one situation being different from the other. This means that the leaders may not be able to apply the same concept for the different situations. The leader in the fire department should therefore posses the situational leadership attributes ion order to respond effectively to a given situation. However, this attribute is not enough for the leader in the fire department. Apart from responding to the situation, the leaders also face the challenge of ensuring that their team members are able follow their instructions. The leaders in the fire department require the charismatic a leadership attributes in order to influence their team members. This is because the team members may be reluctant in some of the situation that is life threatening. Incase of an inferno, a leader must be in a position of influencing their followers in order to encourage them to work despite the risks that they will be facing. It is difficult to influence someone to take a risky job that is life threatening. This is an indication that a manager in the fire department must posses’ different leadership skills and attributes. However, it is also important for the leader to ensure that they do not set unrealistic expectations as this may lead to the opposition by the team members. In case of an inferno, the leader must ensure that they influence the team members to perform realistic tasks or tasks that can be accomplished. This is because some of the tasks may not be accomplished and it may loss result to loss of lives. Energizing the group is also an important task that the leader should be in a position to achieve (Bass, 12). This is because the fire fighting task is a matter of life and death and the fire fighters can easily loose their morale and hence impacting negatively on the fire fighting process. The influence that a leader has is also useful in determining their relationship with the fire fighters. This is because a poor relation wit the fire fighters impacts negatively on the process of influencing them to perform complex tasks. The fire fighting services are usually offered in time of distress. The relationship between the leaders in the fire services department and the followers is important during the emergency. This is because the needs of the employees have to be well known by the leader. This brings in the concepts of contingency leadership attributes. According to the theory, the leader must have a good relationship with the followers for the purposes of ensuring that the aims and objectives of the organization are met (Andriessen, 321). A healthy and competitive spirit is required in the fire department just like the other departments. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the operations of the organization are able to meet the required objectives. A solid team is also required for the purposes of ensuring that tasks are accomplished in the department as required. The leaders should therefore know each of the team members so as to develop a strong team. This requires the leaders in the fire department to interact with the fire fighters from time to time (Della-Giustina, 14). The leader is also required to show concern ion order to develop a sense of belonging among the fire fighters. On the other hand, the fire fighters may have different demands that should be looked into. This includes the issues of safety and health. The contingency leadership attribute is thus useful to the leaders as it ensures that they are able to address any issue affecting their teams. Showing a genuine concern for the team members has a positive impact on the process of influencing the team members. Citizen leadership is important in the fire department as it is useful in influencing the fire fighters to perform their operations. Citizen leadership compliments the contingency and charismatic attributes of the leader and hence ensuring that the needs of the fire fighters are understood and taken care of. Through the concepts of citizen leadership, the leaders in the fire department are able to ensue that the fire fighters are well trained and equipped for the purposes of preparing them to perform their tasks. The concepts of citizen leadership enables the leaders to be flexible during their decision making process. This is considering that the fire situation is usually an emergency. The flexibility is important in ensuring that the leaders are able to save the lives of the people and minimize the destruction of property (Smith, 170). The training of the leaders is also important in enabling them to embrace the concepts of citizenship together with the other attributes. This is because the training equips the leaders with more knowledge and hence improving on their decision making process. However, the leadership concepts unlike management are not just learnt. This is because the leaders may be judged on how they treat their followers. In the volunteer fire departments, the leaders are usually chosen or elected which bring in the concepts of citizenship and democracy. In this situation, the leaders have to display a lot of professionalism in order to retain their position. The citizen leadership is thus useful as it also ensures that the needs of the followers are addressed. In the fire department, the treatment of the employees is important. This is because their morale can easily be impacted negatively by poor treatment. This therefore requires the concepts of servant leadership. Servant leadership concepts require the leaders in the fire fighting department to understand the needs of their followers due to the complex nature of the tasks that they have to accomplish. Servant leadership also requires active participation in the operations of the organization in order to ensure that the welfare of the employees is considered. It is also through the servant leadership concepts that the leader is able to gain the trust and supports of the fire fighters. Servant leadership therefore enables the leaders to influence the fire fighters and hence accomplishing the required tasks (Tyssen, 55). The attributes of transformation leadership is also required in the fire department. This enables the leaders to understand the needs of the organization. Understanding the needs of the organization is useful in ensuring that the leaders perform tasks that support the growth and development of the organization. This may involve the training of the employees and equipping them in order to ensure that they perform their tasks effectively. Transformation leadership is also important in creating an environment that enables the employees to work effectively and achieve the aims and objectives of the organization. It is also useful for the leaders in the fire department to be people oriented in order to fully understand their needs. This is important in ensuring that the employees in the fire department develop a sense of belonging and hence improving on their performance. Barriers to the Model in Leadership Leadership in the fire department requires a combination of different leadership attributes. However, effective leadership is hindered due to the presence of various barriers. Most of the leadership attributes requires a lot of training as the leaders do not acquires the attributes naturally. Some of the leaders in the fire department may lack the time to undergo training which has a negative impact on their leadership skills. The required resources may also be lacking for the purposes of sponsoring the training programs. This impacts negatively on the ability of the leaders to enhance their leadership skills as proposed by Carter. The lack of support from the fire department or organization is also a barrier to effective leadership among the leaders in the fire department (Spector, 10). The managerial support from the organization is usually important in ensuring that talents are developed and skills are enhanced within an organization. Although the leaders in the fire department may be willing to undertake the training, the lack of support from the management has a negative impact on the process. Some of the leaders in the firer department lack concern on the issues that that their followers are facing. This is also a barrier to the leadership as impacts negatively on the relationship between the leaders and their followers. The lack of understanding of the leadership issues and concepts by the leaders themselves is also a barrier to the proposed model. The leaders are thus required to understand the leadership concepts before the model is implemented. The lack of clear policies and guidelines in the fire department is also a barrier to the model. This is because most of the leaders in the department are not concerned about the leadership aspects as the policies do not provide a clear guidance on how the leaders should develop their skills and hence the little emphasis on the model. The model emphasizes the change of leadership behaviors in order to accommodate the different leadership attributes. The leaders themselves may also lack the willingness to change and embrace the new concepts in the model. This is because the changes may make them look weak in front of their juniors. This is especially common for the servant leadership which requires the leaders to be more of servants as opposed to masters. The lack of willingness is thus a huge barrier to the process as it is difficult to influence such leaders to change and embrace the concepts in the model (Schyns, 140). The attitude of other leaders in the fire department is negative and this also affects the process of embracing the model. The lack of support from the employees is also a barrier as it frustrates the efforts of the leaders and hence impacting negatively on their leadership attributes and skills. The barriers to the model are thus internal and external and have negative impacts on model. Conclusion In conclusion, the fire department requires a combination of leadership attributes for the purposes of ensuring that the leader is able to succeed. It is for this reason that it is difficult to define a leader in terms of the fire fighting department. It is also evident that the model that has been suggested by Carter is important in the fire department as it is aimed at enhancing the leadership skills of the leaders in the fire department. The combination of the attributes is important for the fire department leaders due to the complex nature of the operations. It is evident that the incident of fire requires little time to make decisions and it is usually an emergency. Although experience is also important in the event of a fire, the decisions have to be made quickly. However, despite the evident effectiveness of the model, the presence of some barrier impacts negatively on the process. The lack of resources as well as the understanding of the leadership concepts has a negative impact on leadership in the fire department. References Carter, Harry. Approaches to Leadership: The Application of Theory to the Development of a Fire Service-Specific Leadership Style. International Fire Service Journal of Leadership and Management. 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