To get enough quality individuals to step up to the plate to lead the fire service in the future, we have to recognize and emphasize talent development and succession planning as an important part of our job.
If you aspire to serve as a fire chief, there will be many opportunities to do so in the future. Baby boomers currently hold the lion’s share of such positions across the country. They are retiring, or will be retiring as the economy improves. As the boomers move on, they will create openings for those who are coming up behind them.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics there are — or will be once the boomers retire — about 10 million more jobs than people available to fill them. Currently, about five of every eight public-sector employees work in local government. Those who are Generation X (born between 1964 and 1977) and Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1997) seemingly have different values than the boomers.
They seem less willing to sacrifice family and other personal interests for their careers compared with the boomers. As a boomer, I applaud them for that. They also perceive that we boomers are singularly focused on work and have observed that we often are overwhelmed by our jobs, as well as abused and attacked by our employers and the people that we are trying to serve.
How then will we get enough quality individuals to step up to the plate to lead the fire service in the future? First, we have to recognize and emphasize talent development and succession planning as an important part of our job — and as a critical component of leaving a legacy. We need to identify up-and-comers and involve them in self development. We need to stop whining about how tough our jobs are and help them see the positive aspects of our careers. And we need to create specific opportunities for young talent to develop their leadership skills.
As leaders, we should engage aspiring fire chiefs in conversations about big-picture issues and the politics of local government management. We should challenge aspirants to stretch themselves by taking on new and different roles within their departments, and by serving as the department’s liaison to other divisions in the city. And we need to allow them to fail, to take missteps without fear of getting hammered, which will allow them to learn and grow from their mistakes.
Additionally, we should introduce aspiring chiefs to the leaders inside and outside our profession. We have developed many contacts over our careers and helping them meet and learn from those folks will give them a head start in their leadership development. Also, while I know that they may resist such a maneuver, we should move them around in our organizations so that they can gain staff experience as well as line experience.
Finally, we should give them the opportunity to learn different disciplines of local government so that they can understand and appreciate the many different perspectives that exist.
One of the best things we have to offer aspiring fire chiefs is our own experiences. We can motivate these aspirants by describing our personal journey and encouraging them to create their own experiences.
Al H. Gillespie is the president and chairman of the board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He also is fire chief of the North Las Vegas (Nev.) Fire Department.
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