Is there a difference between being goal oriented and growth oriented? I believe there is and I believe there is an answer to this question without throwing out one or the other.
The goal-oriented person
All of us need to have goals in life: personal and professional. However, there are people who are so goal oriented that they start fast-tracking through life. Let’s look at someone new to the fire service: the Certificate Collector or CC.
CC graduated from the fire academy with certifications and entered a probationary period. Soon afterwards, CC’s goals and desires were to obtain every certification available in the fastest possible manner. CC may or may not work for an organization that tempers the fast-track approach. Unfortunately, there are fire departments that encourage this type of behavior.
The bricks
CC met his goal and obtained multiple certifications, and they are the bricks needed to build a structure. But do bricks alone make a complete building? No.
Firefighters and officers like this have bricks that are stacked one upon another, but that weak wall will not withstand the demands of the job or the test of time. The pile of bricks eventually topples over because there is nothing to hold them together.
The growth-oriented person
Let’s look at another individual, Balanced Firefighter or BF. BF graduated from the same academy as CC, but their career growth plan is completely different. BF believes that it is necessary and proper to gain experience before racing after every certification available to the fire service.
BF also realizes there is a lot to learn for a well-rounded career. This person understands that the bricks of certifications are necessary and required, but there is something else that must be present to make a wall and have it become part of a sound structure. That something is mortar. Unless there is mortar between the bricks, the wall is going to fall over.
BF has goals, but they rest within a growth-oriented mindset. BF is a mature person who grasps the fact that there are multiple elements in a career beyond obtaining certifications and qualifications. I am referring to the mortar holding the bricks together. Next week, I will go into more detail about the mortar.
Podcast
Please tune in to Firehouse Talks with Jersey Rick: Igniting Leadership Excellence. My daughter and I cohost this podcast, and we talk about anything and everything related to leadership. You do not need to be a firefighter to listen, and we strive to keep the podcast to thirty-minutes. You can find us on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart Radio every other Thursday.
