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United States Fire Administration
Chief Officer Training
Curriculum
Leadership
Module 4:
Group Dynamics and its Effect on Problem-Solving
Module Objectives
United States Fire Administration
 Recognize benefits of effective
empowerment and delegation
 Identify the fears and the common
mistakes made by leaders when
delegating and empowering
 Apply leadership theories and concepts
to problem-solving and decision-making
 Recognize the elements upon which
LDR 4-2
effective leadership is built.
Overview
United States Fire Administration
 Empowerment and delegation are the
leadoff topics
 Creative problem solving
 Explore the effects of mental models,
personal mastery, and systems thinking
on organizational learning and success
 Elements for building relationships
LDR 4-3
Empowerment and Delegation
United States Fire Administration
 Functions used to divide work and get
members more involved
 Delegation is more of a management
function
 Empowerment is a leadership function
LDR 4-4
Delegation
United States Fire Administration
 Increase participation
 Includes responsibility to carry out the
assignment
– Manager still responsible for outcomes
 Varies in levels of authority
– Little delegation
– Moderate delegation
– Substantial delegation
LDR 4-5
Delegation
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Varies in levels of reporting
– Frequent reports – little delegation authority
– Less frequent reports – more substantial authority
 Advantages of Delegation
– Shares the work
– Increases buy-in
– Additional talent and skills
– Time-management tool
– Professional growth
– Develops members for advancement
LDR 4-6
Delegation
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Reasons often stated for lack of
delegation
– No time to develop people
– Quality control
– Professional insecurity
– Confidential information
– Do not want to share the power or spotlight
LDR 4-7
Empowerment
United States Fire Administration
 Empowerment is used to share the
power
 Requires the member to
– Be well versed in the policies, values,
ethical guidelines of the organization
– Understand the mission and its level of
commitment to service
– Possess or obtain the KSAs for the task
– Be rewarded
LDR 4-8
Empowerment
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Members are expected to exercise their
empowerment when
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LDR 4-9
It serves the mission of the department
It meets or exceeds the customer’s needs
They have the KSAs
They have the tools
It is legal
It is ethical
They would not be shamed by their actions being
made public
– Members believe it is the right thing to do
Empowerment
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Advantages of empowerment
– Members have a vested interest in the
organization
– Draws from a larger pool of KSAs
– Members become engaged in the
departments mission and vision
– Improved communications
– Time-management tool
– Member advancement
– Member job improvement
LDR 4-10
Empowerment
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Reasons often stated for not
empowering members
– Members are not trained
– Lack KSAs
– Members do not know the organization’s
mission and vision
– Lack of trust in member’s ability
The ultimate decision to delegate a task or empower a member lies
with you and your faith in the members in your organization.
LDR 4-11
Activity 4.1
United States Fire Administration
 Field Training for Recruits
– You will look at a common fire service
scenario and dialogue about whether to
delegate or empower members to solve the
tasks
LDR 4-12
Creative Problem-Solving
United States Fire Administration
 Everyone has some measure of
creativity
– Like a muscle, the more it is exercised, the
better it becomes
 Creativity is a product of perspective
– If you look at a problem only one way, you
limit your possible solutions
LDR 4-13
Creative Problem-Solving
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Creativity in organization can be
encouraged in a number of ways
– Communication
– Commitment
– “Free time” to think and ponder
– Plain hard work
– Diversity
– Creativity can be learned
LDR 4-14
Activity 4.2:
United States Fire Administration
 Creative problem-solving for leaders
– Demonstrates the power of creative
collaboration to solve critical problems
LDR 4-15
Elements for Building Relationships
United States Fire Administration
 Leader relationship includes
– Organizational relationships
– Personal relationships
– Community relationships
LDR 4-16
Organizational Relationships
United States Fire Administration
 Beginning first day on the job
 Hanging out at the fire station
 Social gatherings
 Organizational relationships are often
carried throughout one’s career
 Pressure of Promotion
– A shift to the “dark” side
LDR 4-17
Organizational Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Often referred to as professional relationships
– Between chief officers
– Among the rank and file
 Built around assignments and areas of
responsibilities
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LDR 4-18
Personnel
Fire prevention
Operations
Administration
Training
Organizational Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 The ability to build effective
relationships throughout the
organization helps a chief officer get
things done efficiently and effectively
– Confident that she or he can deliver what is
expected
– Expected to take on more responsibility
– Tying for the top positions in the
department
– Considered desirable bosses
LDR 4-19
Personal Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Begin the first day on the job
 For some, developing personal
relationships is difficult
– Requires openness that some members are
not comfortable with
 Usually developed with strong bonds
that transcend the duty day, an entire
career, and often into retirement
LDR 4-20
Personal Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Promotion to battalion chief often
threatens these personal relationships
 Company level to management
– The promotion itself can become a barrier
to continued personal relationships.For
some, these personal relationships are
strong and help the chief make the
transition
LDR 4-21
Community Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Community
– Often developed during one’s career
• Become more necessary or important upon with
the promotion
– Becomes much larger and the positive
relationships when expanded to the
battalion level of the community at-large.
Same relationship building behaviors used
at the company level are now extended to
the larger community
LDR 4-22
Elements for Building Relationships
United States Fire Administration
 Relationships are built upon the notions
of
– Trust
– Communications
• Verbal
• Written
– Modeling
– Accountability
– Responsibility
LDR 4-23
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Trust
– Very fragile
– Greater amounts of time and effort to
rebuild
– Four specific behaviors foster and facilitate
building trust
• Honesty
• Predictability and consistency
• Clear and careful communication
• Commitment to keeping promises
LDR 4-24
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Honesty
– Honesty is ranked as the number one
leadership characteristic that is essential
• Ethical and truthful
 Predictability
– Do the right thing consistently, every time
– Deal with people fairly and equitably
LDR 4-25
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Clear and careful communication
– A leader who communicates clearly,
precisely, and timely with the right
information
LDR 4-26
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Clear and careful communication
– Written communication
• Memos to fire companies
• Requests to the shift commander for resources
• Reports on programs
• Budget documents
• City council reports
• Good grammar, spelling, and continuity in
content is very important
LDR 4-27
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Clear and careful communication
– Written communication
• Technical reports
– Not for creative writing
• Place the purpose of the document up front
• Reader may not have time to read much past
the first page
• Write clearly, concisely, with language that
communicates the message
LDR 4-28
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Clear and careful communication
– Oral communication
• Majority of a battalion chief’s communication is
oral
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LDR 4-29
Fire station visits
Customers on emergency scenes
Following up on citizen complaints
Local businesses and politicians
Schools
Personnel evaluations
Mentoring, coaching, and just sharing experiences
with others
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Clear and careful communication
– Oral communication
• Is sensitive to
– Body language (gestures), cultural differences, and
tone of voice
– Volume can influence effective communication
– Level of sophistication chosen, foul and colloquial
– Timing - Do you listen to others or are you always
interrupting to talk?
LDR 4-30
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Commitment to keeping promises
– Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver
– Follow through
– This is consistent with the notions of
responsibility and accountability
LDR 4-31
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Modeling
– Effective leadership behaviors
• One of the most important characteristics of
good leaders
• Rank-and-file firefighters validate whether you
are a good leader or not
– Expect honesty, consistent good communication, and
a commitment to keeping promises
• Modeling is built on congruency with shared
values, personal values, and a willingness to set
the example
LDR 4-32
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Accountability
– Setting measurable goals
– Same standards and criteria
– Audit personal routines
– Remember the 80/20 rule
LDR 4-33
Elements for Building Relationships
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
LDR 4-34
 Responsibility
– Take personal responsibility
– Take responsibility for the consequences for
your action
– Expect a higher level of responsibility for
self actions and the consequences of those
actions than those of others
– Be responsible for the actions of followers
and for achieving the objectives of the
organization
Activity 4.3
United States Fire Administration
 Relationship Activity: Ball-Toss
– Relationships are built, tested, and
influenced continuously
– This activity demonstrates this in an
enjoyable way
LDR 4-35
Summary
United States Fire Administration
 Empowerment and delegation
 Creative problem-solving
 Building relationships through the leadership
factors
LDR 4-36
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Trust
Responsibility
Accountability
Modeling
Communication
The leader-follower relationship