It S Time To Step Up Leadership Lessons From The Fire Service

A manager is not always a leader. Are you a leader? Would your team run through a wall for you? Do you feel like you are out on an island? You may manage but do you lead? You should be asking yourself these questions daily. If your goal is to lead your team to operate at the highest possible level, It's Time to Step Up! will help you achieve that goal. Frank Viscuso's book Step Up and Lead was written to introduce firefighters to the essential traits and skills that every effective leader must possess. Immediately upon its release, Step Up and Lead became an instant best-seller and one of the fire service's most frequently referenced leadership publications. Finally, this book, which has been referred to as the backbone of the fire service, has been adapted for leaders in all industries so they can learn and apply these same principles to everyday leadership. Strategy and tactics are not only needed when fighting a five-alarm structure fire. Sound strategy and tactics are also needed when motivating people, building morale, critiquing under performing team members, mentoring new ones, delegating tasks, and making consistent progress as a team. Leadership Defined by the Fire Service Leadership Traits Leadership Skills Customer Service Implementation Strategy Audience Business owner Manager Sales team leaders Public servant Youth athletic coach

In his new book Step Up and Lead, Frank Viscuso--author, speaker, and career deputy chief--shares the secrets of effective fire service leadership, introduces the traits and skills essential for successful fire service leaders, and discusses the importance of customer service. Designed to help you reach the top of your profession, this new book is considered must-read material for anyone who is ready to step up and lead!

What does it take to lead people into a burning building? How do the leaders of the New York City Fire Department develop so much loyalty, trust, and grace under pressure that their subordinates will risk their very lives for them? As a high-ranking officer of the FDNY, John Salka is an expert at both practicing and teaching high-stakes leadership. In First In, Last Out, he explains the department’s unique strategies and how they can be adopted by leaders in any field—as he has taught them to organizations around the country. In a tough-talking, no-nonsense style, Salka uses real-world stories to convey leadership imperatives such as: first in, last out—your people need to see you taking the biggest risk, as the first one to enter the danger zone and the last to leave manage change—the fire you fought yesterday is not the one you’ll be fighting tomorrow communicate aggressively—a working radio is worth more than 20,000 gallons of water create an execution culture—focus your people on the flames, not the smoke commit to reality—never allow the way you would like things to be to color how things are develop your people—let them feel a little heat today or they’ll get burned tomorrow Illustrated by harrowing real-life situations, the principles in First In, Last Out will help managers become more confident, coherent, and commanding. On the web: http://www.firstinleadership.com

Fire Service Ethics is the first textbook specifically developed to help fire service personnel deal with ethical dilemmas. Firefighters and fire service leaders will find benefit from this important tool to aid them in dealing with complex issues. No other profession places such discretionary burden on its practitioners as the fire service. The military, law enforcement, the medical profession, and legal profession all provide a robust set of ethical policies and guidelines to their members. Fire Service Ethics provides the foundation for creating ethical boundaries. Fire Service Ethics meets and exceeds the course outcomes and course objectives for the National Fire Academy FESHE Model Curriculum Bachelor's (Non-Core) course called Fire Service Ethics (C0303). It is also well suited for fire officer and administration development programs. Section 1 of the book is entitled Foundations. Its four chapters are intended to provide the reader with the basic understanding of ethics necessary to master the material in the succeeding three sections. Chapter 1 is recommended for all readers, as it addresses the important questions of ethical relevance to the fire service. Chapters 2, 3 & 4 are grounded in academic approaches to ethics and are specifically intended to be used in college courses. The material within the sections encourages critical analysis of ethical systems, and understanding of the basics of human behavior. Section 2 of the book is entitled Ethics on The Line. Its chapters address issues directly related to rank-and-file firefighters, and company officers. The section also deals with diversity; first as an abstract concept, and then as it applies specifically to the fire service. Section 2 is intended to serve dual purposes. First, it is designed to be included in an academic curriculum aimed at future firefighters. Secondly, Section 2 - combined with Section 4 - encompasses the majority of material appropriate for inclusion in fire service training programs. Section 3 of the text is dedicated to Administrative Ethics. The chapters within the section explore ethics issues faced by fire chiefs and senior administrative personnel. Included within the section are chapters on the building and maintenance of an ethical work culture, the ethical responsibilities associated with administration, and finally, ethics laws. Section 3 - combined with Sections 1 and 4 - is especially appropriate for officer development programs and collegiate programs in fire administration. Section 4 of the book is entitled Applied Ethics. The three chapters within the section deal with the application of ethics on the personal and department level. Included within the section are chapters on ethical decision-making, mechanisms by which unethical behavior is engaged, and a review of current ethical issues affecting local fire departments. Section 4 is universal in its application and should be used in all collegiate programs, as well as in firefighter and fire

There is no lack of available material and educational programs to teach you everything you ever wanted to know about 'management'. The bad news is that management isn't the same as leadership. Confusing management and leadership is easy. But management is how an order is carried out. Leadership is why the order was there in the first place. You want to be a leader. This book will show you how! Contents: Leadership defined Becoming a born leader Climbing the ladder of success Change is the only constant in life Failure Step down to step up Listening Motivating people Educating people Evaluating people Epilogue.

Creating and Leading High-Performance Organizations by Buddy Martinette is a compelling book that guides leaders in building and leading organizations that excel in performance. With his transformative leadership approach, Martinette shares his firsthand experience of transforming the culture of the Wilmington Fire Department, shifting it from a rule-driven and authoritarian organization to one driven by core values, empowerment, and trust. Throughout the book, readers will discover the building blocks necessary to cultivate a high-performance leadership culture within their own organizations. Martinette emphasizes the crucial interplay between personal and organizational aspects of leadership, illustrating how they work together to create an environment conducive to high performance. The concepts presented in the book are applicable to leaders at all levels, recognizing that effective leadership extends beyond the chief or CEO. By providing a framework that aligns goals and actions, Creating and Leading High-Performance Organizations enables leaders to drive their organizations toward exceptional performance. Readers will gain practical strategies, rooted in real-life experiences, that support the development of a high-performance organizational culture. Testimonials “Chief Martinette’s leadership transformed the culture of the Wilmington (NC) Fire Department from a rule-driven, very authoritarian organization to one based on core values, empowerment, and trust. That cultural change is his legacy.” —Wilmington (NC) Fire Chief Jon S. Mason

Why are firefighters so universally valued? How is it that a home can burn to the ground, yet the owners still bring the responding firefighters milk and cookies, give them hugs, and tell them thank you? While much can be written about the fire service in a post-9/11 world, one truth is constant: their customers love them. Why is that? Are there lessons for leaders or managers that can be extracted from this profession and applied to general organizational life? What would your organization gain if your customers loved you, your products, and your services? Author and management consultant Kevin Baum explores these questions and more in Lessons from the Line. Adding his twenty years' experience as a professional firefighter and chief officer to his work with organizations around the world, Kevin drills into the unique profession of firefighting to build a practical tool for organizational and leadership development-the Firefighter Model. A unique blend of management and leadership practices, this innovative model can be applied to organizations of any size, with any mission, in any place. Lessons from the Line is a fast-paced, real-world look at organizational life from the firefighter's perspective that will give you the tools to create an organization of heroes.

WINNER: CMI Management Book of the Year 2013 - New Manager Category (previous edition) The Leadership Skills Handbook from best-selling author Jo Owen reveals the essential skills you need to be an effective leader. This book shows you what works in practice, not in theory, in crucial areas such as people skills, career skills, mindset skills, organization skills, personal values and behaviours. Each skill is presented in a concise, easy to follow format, with an accompanying framework to help you deploy it in your own life. The skills are about the real challenges real leaders must master, and as you observe and record real-life examples of skills in action, you will be developing your own unique formula for success in the context that matters to you. Based on research from over a thousand leaders throughout the world at all levels in the public, private and voluntary sectors, The Leadership Skills Handbook identifies the practical skills to make you even more successful, and offers guidance on all key topics. This updated new edition includes exclusive new content on the changing demands of leadership in the 21st century and 10 whole new skills. These include the need to influence rather than control, how you get people to commit to your vision rather than comply and how career is no longer a noun but a verb for new generations of workers.