Fire Officer Leadership Academy Blog
The Fire Officer Leadership Academy blog is a resource for fire officers committed to continuous growth. Here you’ll find practical insights on leadership, communication, career development, and character-based decision-making—drawn from real-world fire service experience and written to support officers at every stage of their leadership journey.
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Recognizing and Resolving Unhealthy Team Conflict, Part 2
In Part 1, I wrote that leaders need to exercise discernment when subordinates ask questions because not every question is an automatic indication of conflict. General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.” This requires a greater familiarity of your team members and an understanding of human…
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Recognizing and Resolving Unhealthy Team Conflict, Part 1
It has been said that human beings are perfectly imperfect. Consequently, team conflict is inevitable. However, not all conflicts are bad. In fact, healthy debate and honest disagreement can lead to innovation and stronger team dynamics. Nevertheless, when conflict becomes toxic, it damages morale, reduces productivity, and creates a hostile work environment. As a leader,…
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The Williams Street Fire and Communication
When I was a firefighter in the Air Force, one of the bases I was stationed at was Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the last name of a good friend of mine from the fire department was Williams. Hiss family often invited me to their house for supper, and oddly…
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The Power of Clear Communication: Why It Matters and How to Improve It
Effective communication is the foundation of any successful interaction, whether in your fire department, during a public education event, or at home. Clear communication allows people to share ideas, understand one another, and collaborate efficiently. Even though this sounds simple, effective communication is frequently complicated. Why is Clear Communication Important? Clear communication is vital because…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 6
This is the final article in a series devoted to addressing the problem of captains who do not want to promote to the level of battalion chief in their fire department. The top three reasons that I have heard for not pursuing a promotion are current battalion chiefs: This should come as no surprise, but…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 5
This article is the fifth in a series regarding the top three complaints about battalion chiefs that I hear when I teach at different fire departments around the country. Previous blogs covered failing to listen to subordinates and an authoritarian approach using open and veiled threats against subordinates. This week I am addressing battalion chiefs…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 4
My blog posts this month revolve around a conversation with two out-of-state fire department captains who told me they have no interest in pursuing a promotion to battalion chief (BC). Their reasons involved three issues related to current BC’s. Not surprisingly, I have heard these reasons more than one time as I have traveled across…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 3
My January blog series is based on a conversation that I had with two captains from the same fire department. They don’t know each other and the conversations are separated by two years. Both explained why they aren’t interested in pursuing the position of battalion chief and both gave three issues related to battalion chiefs…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 2
In last week’s blog, I discussed a conversation that I had with two captains from the same fire department, but the conversations were two years apart. I asked both if they were interested in becoming a battalion chief and both emphatically said no. What is the underlying reason for this? For starters, a January 2022…
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Me? Promote? No Way! Part 1
In December of 2024, I was in another state teaching incident command, rapid decision making, and haz mat response tactics to a large group of firefighters and environmental health workers. Within the class there were four captains from three different fire departments. During one of my conversations with a captain from a large, regional department,…
