•Fire Chief, Prince Albert Fire Department

•Hired 1982•Deputy Chief 2002•Fire Chief 2005•Fire Dept.-52 full time staff

The Tides of LeadershipFCABC 2013, Penticton

The Seven Guiding Principles

The Tides of Leadership, Leadership is Within You, Understand the Unwritten Guiding Principles

Seven Guiding Principles

• The Principle of Trust• The Principle of Accountability• The Principle of Attitude• The Principle of Adversity• The Principle of Desire• The Principle of Self Awareness• The Principle of Forgiveness

Guiding Principles

-Precepts that guide a leader through all circumstances

-Those unspoken attributes that make fire department leadership successful.

The Principle of Trust

Trust is the hardest thing to earn, and the easiest to lose.

November 2012 -1,200 workers-500 companies-Top 100 companies

Assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

-60% employees do not trust their senior leaders.

1-Follow through on what you say.2-Make sure your actions align with your values.3-Do the right thing even when there is pressure not to do so.4-Make your decisions based on what is right for the department.

The bald guy says...about trust.

The Principle of Accountability

The truth will set you free-but first it will make you angry. If you want to be realistic, you need to get comfortable dealing with the truth and face up to it.-John Maxwell

An obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions 

The Principle of Accountability

Successful departments have people that hold others accountable for their actions.

An obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions 

...a Fortune magazine article noted that the single greatest reason why unsuccessful CEO’s fail is their “inability” to deal with poor performers.

The bald guy says...about accountability

1-Communicate your expectations and help your people meet them.2-Give your people the tools to do the job.3-Never turn a blind eye to bullying, harassment or poor performance.4-Be prepared to hold people accountable for their actions.

Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking.-David Schwartz

The Principle of Attitude

“The only way to do good work is to love what you do.”

-Steve Jobs

A feeling or emotion toward a fact or state

The Principle of Attitude

“Stinkin’ thinkin’ leads to a hardening of the attitudes” -Dr. Rich Gasaway

A feeling or emotion toward a fact or state

The Principle of Attitude

Positive expectations will influence individual performance positively, while negative expectations will influence performance negatively.

A feeling or emotion toward a fact or state

Rosenthal & Jacobsen (1968)

1-Without a positive mental attitude you cannot authentically lead with passion. 2-You are in complete control of your attitude.3-There is very little difference between people; this little difference is “Attitude” and it determines success or failure.

The bald guy says...about attitude

4-Leaders understand that positive or negative attitudes impact their department.5-A positive attitude is a key ingredient of leadership.

The Principle of Adversity

• 27 years in prison• 1990 released from prison• 1993 Nobel Peace Prize• 1994 President of South Africa• 1994 end of Apartheid

It always seems impossible until it’s done-Nelson Mandela

A state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune.

“Adversity introduces a man to himself”-Anonymous

The Principle of Adversity

I don’t measures a man’s success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.-George S. Patton

A state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune.

1-Even the best of teams face adversity. The winning teams grow from it.2-You will be faced with adversity and how you deal with it determines your success or failure. 3-You must believe in your ability to survive the adversity and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The bald guy says...about adversity

4-Everyone encounters storms in life that threaten to shipwreck their attitude-have courage and face your storms and grow from them.

The Principle of DesireTo exhibit or feel desire for.

ISThe most necessary precondition to becoming a leader

The Principle of DesireTo exhibit or feel desire for.

-Why do I desire to become a leader?-What do I desire to accomplish as a leader?-Am I willing to pay the price for my desire to become a leader?

1-The desire to lead “IS” the greatest attribute of a leader.2-You must have a desire to lead and to push the envelope for a bigger and better future.3-Desire “IS” the path of a successful leader.4-Desire “IS” the path of a successful department.

The bald guy says...about desire

5-Desire “IS” the trait that will guide you during adversity.

The Principle of Self Awareness

A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.-Mahatma Gandhi

An awareness of one’s own personality or individuality

The Principle of Self Awareness

Who we are today is a result of the choices we made yesterday. Tomorrow we become the result of our choices made today.

Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you are right-Henry Ford

An awareness of one’s own personality or individuality

1-Do not fool yourself...doing so will only lead to disappointment.2-Quite simply, if you do not know who you are, your real authentic self then you cannot truly lead others.

The bald guy says...about self-awareness

3-Successful leaders have a clear sense of their calling in life and have a vision for the future which creates a positive force in the world.

The Principle of Forgiveness

True forgiveness is when you can say,“thank-you for that experience.”

-Oprah Winfrey

The act of forgiving

1-We are human and our feelings will get hurt. 2-Without understanding the impact and the power of forgiveness in your life, you will fail to reach your true potential.3-With forgiveness comes growth, and real leaders understand that in order to grow, you must forgive.

The bald guy says...about forgiveness

4-Unless you learn to forgive, you will plant the seeds of anger and resentment.

• Trust• Accountability• Attitude• Adversity• Desire• Self Awareness• Forgiveness

The Tides of Leadership:The Seven Guiding Principles

In Conclusion

Thank-you...God BlessLeadership is a lifelong journey. You should never arrive at your leadership destination and never forget you have to earn it one day at a time.