• Home
  • About FFTB
    • The Mission
    • Start Here
    • Disclaimer
  • The Team
    • Contributors
    • Photo Contributors
    • Guest Contributors
    • The Original Crew
  • Contact
facebook
twitter
youtube
google_plus
email
  • Start Here
  • PODCAST
    • About The Podcast
    • Podcast Episode Pages
    • Podcast on iTunes
    • Podcast Official Sponsors
    • Podcast Sponsorship
  • 5 Min Clinics
    • 5 Minute Engine Co Clinic
    • 5 Minute Truck Co Clinic
    • 5 Minute Officer Clinic
    • 5 Minute Clinic Series
  • Product Reviews
  • Articles
    • Eng Co
    • Truck Co
    • Co Officer
    • Safety & FF Rescue
    • General
      • Social Media/ Public Relations
      • FF Communications
      • Art & Science of Firefighting
      • Life Skills
      • Hazardous Materials
      • Rescue Operations
      • Special Operations
        • Marine Operations
        • Airport Fire & Rescue Operations
  • Health & Fitness
  • FF Mindset
BREAKING NEWS
3 Rule Outs of the Medical Patient
“TOP 10” Fire Station Functional Fitness Training Equipment – Part 2
“TOP 10” Fire Station Functional Fitness Training Equipment – Part 1
Keys to Conducting Comprehensive Feedback to Firefighters
3 Keys to Truck Check Success
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 3
PWR Training Sandbag – Product Review
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 2
3 Ways Firefighters can Reduce the Chance of a Back Injury
The 3 Best Types of Workouts for Firefighters – Part 1
Practice How You Play
How to Execute the Proper Kettlebell Swing
What Every Firefighter Needs to Know About NFPA 1583
5 Exercises to Improve Grip Strength for Firefighters
6 Ways Firefighters can Use Exercise Progressions and Regressions
3 Workout Tips for the Volunteer Firefighter
074 – Introduction to Firefighter Functional Fitness
Firefighter Functional Fitness – 7 Tips for Planning Weekly Workouts
The 3 Cornerstones of Firefighter Fitness Success
8 Must-Do Exercises for Serious Firefighter Functional Fitness

Building Your Leaders Compass – Part 1

Posted On 14 Mar 2014
By : Larry Manasco
Comment: 0
Tag: leadership, mindset and attitude, officer development

The United States Navy continually monitors the performance of its warships to ensure that they are always battle-ready. Over time, naval leaders noticed that some ships were performing at a higher level than others. This was puzzling because the ship classes were standardized, and the ships’ crews all came from the same manpower pool and identical training pipelines.

In the 1980’s the Navy sought to answer the question, “Why are some ships performing at a significantly higher level than others even though they are similarly manned and equipped?”

The answer they found was not surprising.

The Compass

The differentiating factor for the high-performing ships was leadership. In the high-performing ships the Commanding Officers (CO) had articulated – often in writing – their leadership philosophies for their crews. In these leadership philosophies the CO’s made explicit their expectations, their values, their pet peeves, etc.

These written philosophies provided the CO’s with a “leader’s compass” that kept them on course and provided vital sailing orders to their crews.

Your personal leadership compass does not have to be complicated or long. In fact, it should be simple and short.

Above all it MUST be YOU.

Developing Your Philosophy

To develop your own leadership philosophy, start by writing down the answers to these questions:

• What are my values?

• What are my expectations of my team?

• What can my team expect from me?

• What things make me mad? What are things I cannot tolerate?

Answering these questions takes a concerted effort at “introspection”, or looking at yourself to see what type of leader you want to be, and how you can communicate that to your team. It takes time and effort to calibrate your leader’s compass.

In part 2 we will look at putting together a plan and give you an example to work from.

Photos Courtesy: Rob Cannon
Part 1 of 2

About the Author
  • google-share
Previous Story

Recharging The Batteries

Next Story

Four Ways To Eliminate Cancer In the Fire Service

Related Posts

2

I’m Not a Bad Fire Service Leader…Am I?

Posted On 09 Feb 2016
, By Benjamin Martin
061 - Iron Sharpens Iron Episode Banner
0

061 – Iron Sharpens Iron

Posted On 09 Jun 2015
, By David J Soler
058 4 Rules for Fire Officer Success Thumbnail
2

058 – 4 Rules for Fire Officer Success

Posted On 28 Apr 2015
, By David J Soler
056 Take No Shortcuts
0

056- Take No Shortcuts

Posted On 31 Mar 2015
, By David J Soler
0

5 Tips to Handling Difficult Firefighters – Part 3

Posted On 26 Sep 2014
, By John Dixon
0

5 Tips to Handling Difficult Firefighters – Part 2

Posted On 24 Sep 2014
, By John Dixon

Search Site

Archives

DOWNLOAD FREE REPORT

Popular Posts

FirefighterToolbox Podcast

FireFighterToolbox Podcast (Internet Radio Interview Show)

48 Comments

Top 6 Reasons To Use A 2-1/2" Handline

29 Comments

The Role Of The Second Due Engine - Part 2

18 Comments
Copyright 2013-2017 FirefighterToolbox.com All Rights Reserved.