Student Manual FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION : INCREASING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS QQP ;# NFA-SM-FSST FEM1.8:, F51/3/ student/I £ 984-2 August 17, 1984 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY M" URBANA-CHAMPAiGN NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Doc . • ?; F HE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INf ' f " TEAM EFFECTIVENESS Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 0* Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/fireservicesuperOOnati NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY TABLE OF CONTENTS Pag e Foreword iii Acknowledgements iv Standards v Comment Sheet vii The Integrated Emergency Management System viii UNIT ONE: Group Dynamics 1 Overview 2 Objectives 3 Course Introduction 4 Note-Taking Outline 5 Suggested Further Activities 23 References 24 Recommended Reading 25 UNIT TWO: Communication 26 Overview 27 Objectives 28 Note-Taking Outline 29 Suggested Further Activities 55 References 56 Recommended Reading 57 UNIT THREE: Motivation 58 Overview 59 Objectives 60 Note-Taking Outline 61 Suggested Further Activities 93 References 94 Recommended Reading 95 UNIT FOUR: Counseling 96 Overview 97 Objectives 98 Note-Taking Outline 99 Suggested Further Activities 117 References 118 Recommended Reading 119 Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER i NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page UNIT FIVE: Conflict Resolution 120 Overview , 121 Objectives 122 Note-Taking Outline 123 Suggested Further Activities 135 References 136 Recommended Reading 137 Supplementary Reading 138 Increasing Team Effectiveness 138 Increasing Personal Effectiveness 183 Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER ii NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER FOREWORD The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was established in 1979 and is now directed by The Honorable Louis O. Guiffrida. FEMA's mission is to focus federal effort on preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery of emergencies encompassing the full range of natural and man-made disasters. FEMA's National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, includes the National Fire Academy, the United States Fire Administration, and the Emergency Management Institute. This center is directed by The Honorable Clyde A. Bragdon, Jr., Acting Associate Director for Training and Fire Programs. To achieve the Academy's legislated mandate (under Public Law 93-493, October 29, 1974) "to advance the professional development of fire service personnel and of other persons engaged in fire prevention activities," the Field Programs Division has developed an effective program linkage with established fire training systems which exist at the state and local level. It is the responsibility of this division to support and strengthen these delivery systems. Academy field courses have been sponsored by the respective state fire training systems in every state. This course, along with the Field Programs course 'Tire Service Supervision: Increasing Personal Effectiveness," is intended to upgrade the management skills of company officers so that they can improve their own efficiency and that of their personnel. For more intensive coverage of the topics addressed here and related material, students are referred to the Academy's Resident Programs management programs. The staff of the Training and Fire Programs Directorate is proud to join with state and local fire agencies in providing educational opportunities to the members of the nation's fire services. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER iii NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of this course was made possible through the assistance, cooperation, and dedication of many people. The National Fire Academy wishes to thank all of the following persons and organizations for their roles in the development of this NFA ADMINISTRATION J. Faherty Casey, Deputy Superintendent, Field Programs Division Gerry N. Bassett, Chief, Training Materials Development Branch, Field Programs Division Michael T. Mitchell, Deputy Superintendent, Resident Programs Division PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP Susan Hills, Energy, Management and Marketing Division, IMR Systems Corpora- tion, Falls Church, Virginia Ann Murphy Springer, Management Consultant and Fire Chief, Bodega, California John Cragan, Department of Communication, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois ASSOCIATED DEVELOPERS Tom Lorraine, Fort Wayne Fire Department, Fort Wayne, Indiana Donald Wood, Fire Chief, Wayne, Pennsylvania Karen Zucco, Professor of Behavorial Sciences, East Peoria, Illinois MEDIA AND EDITORIAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT Donald Begg, Academic Support and Operations, Office of Management and Admin- istration, Media Production Center Susan Ewald and production staff, Energy, Management and Marketing Division, IMR Systems Corporation, Falls Church REVIEWERS Paul Anderson, Instructor, Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Robert S. Cassaday, Deputy Fire Chief, Fort Worth, Texas Albert J. Fekete, Assistant Fire Chief, Louisville, Kentucky Diane Hoskins, Director, Fire Prevention Bureau, San Diego Fire Department, California Tom Lorraine, Fort Wayne Fire Department, Fort Wayne, Indiana Joseph L. Donovan Superintendent National Fire Academy Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY STANDARDS The National Fire Academy strongly supports the standards-making process of the National Professional Qualifications Board for the Fire Service, which operates under the jurisdiction of the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations. The Academy, in its preparation of this course, reviewed the appropriate professional qualifications standards to determine which specific standards were to be addressed in whole or substantially in part. Those addressed in whole or substantially in part are: NFPA-1021 Fire Officer Professional Qualifications 2-2.2 The Fire Officer I, given a summary of the functions of a leader, shall: (a) describe the officer's responsibility in promoting cooperation (b) describe how group cooperation may be obtained 3-1 The Fire Officer II shall demonstrate knowledge of the emotional and behavioral characteristics of the individual or working group as they apply to the responsibility of subordinates and supervisors. 3-2 The Fire Officer II shall describe how each of the following affects the group behavior within the organization: (a) understanding people (b) motivating the worker (c) handling disputes (d) introducing changes (e) gaining cooperation (f) supervisory cooperation (g) job attitude (h) company policy (i) emotional status (j) handling complaints (k) handling the problem worker 3-3 The Fire Officer II shall demonstrate knowledge of written and verbal communications skills. 4-7.3 The Fire Officer III shall identify and define two types of approaches to counseling. 4-7.5 The Fire Officer III, given records or forms used in evaluating personnel, a summary of the methods of evaluation, and a summary of the common errors in evaluating, shall: (a) describe the objectives of an employee evaluation program (b) describe how the common errors in evaluating can be avoided (c) describe the procedures for conducting an evaluation program (d) describe how to plan an evaluation conference (e) describe how to conduct an evaluation conference Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4-7.10 The Fire Officer III shall demonstrate knowledge of how to objectively evaluate and counsel personnel to encourage their development to full capacity. 4-10.2 The Fire Officer III shall demonstrate the ability to prepare speeches on such subjects as the protection of life and property and home safety. 4-10.3 The Fire Officer III shall demonstrate the ability to deliver lectures on various fire service subjects to community organizations. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY COMMENT SHEET Fire Service Supervision; Increasing Team Effectiveness DATE NAME ADDRESS ORGANIZATION REPRESENTED Use this sheet to make any suggestions, recommendations, or comments. Your help is appreciated. Use additional pages, if necessary. RETURN TO: Training Materials Development National Fire Academy National Emergency Training Center Federal Emergency Management Agency 16825 S. Seton Avenue Emmitsburg, MD 21727 Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER vii NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY THE INTEGRATED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The Integrated Emergency Management System (IE MS) is a long-term, all-hazard concept for improving the program implementation and development of emergency management capabilities at the state and local levels. It is a process for applying comprehensive emergency management concepts to "real world" emergency plans and capabilities. It formally recognizes the roles of the fire service in responding to the full range of emergencies at the local level. Its specific objectives are to: 1. Save lives and protect property threatened by hazards. 2. Reduce duplication of efforts and resources. 3. Increase jurisdictional flexibility in upgrading the capacity to handle potential hazards. 4. Integrate FEMA support and objectives with those state and local operational requirements. Viewed in this manner, it becomes clear that existing fire service programs such as the Incident Command System (ICS) are part of the broader concept of IE MS. ICS-IEMS identifies the need for "baseline" fireground command systems to provide for a predictable, coordinated, effective, and acceptable response to emergencies of all types by the fire services of this country. The IE MS approach recognizes that there are certain characteristics and requirements which are common across the full spectrum of emergencies—evacuation, sheltering, provision of food and medical supplies, etc. Each of the aforementioned functions requires an operational procedure. ICS is such a procedure to ensure all areas of concern are addressed. FEMA's programs are using the IE MS approach to assist state and local officials building capability in these areas as a basic foundation for planning, response, recovery, and mitigation of hazards— whether they are related to natural or technological disasters, resource shortages, or war-related national security situations. IE MS is being introduced to a nationwide network of emergency management organizations representing thousands of jurisdictions, not all confronted by the same hazards, and not all having or requiring the same capabilities. Going through the IE MS process, therefore, will require different levels of effort by each jurisdiction and will result in the identification of different functional areas requiring attention. The process, however, is logical and applicable to all jurisdictions regardless of their size, level of sophistication, potential hazards, or current capabilities. The goal of the system is to develop and maintain a credible emergency management capability nationwide by integrating activities along functional lines at all levels of government, and, to the fullest extent possible, across all hazards. It should be kept in mind that the IE MS process is a means of improving capability and is not an end in itself. The various steps in the IE MS process are intended to serve management at each level of government by providing basic information upon which reasonable and justifiable plans can be made and effective action taken to increase emergency management capability nationwide. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER Vlll NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE GROUP DYNAMICS Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 1 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE: GROUP DYNAMICS Overview Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes I. Types, Principles, and Stages of Group Development (1 hour, 25 minutes) Introduction to Small Groups 10 min. (Lecture) A. Three Types of Small Groups 10 min. (Lecture) B. Principles and Stages of Group Development 40 min. (Lecture, Discussion) Activity: Task Group Development 25 min. II. Building Effective Teams (1 hour, 15 minutes) A. Harmful Group Behaviors 10 min. (Lecture, Discussion) B. Positive Counterparts of Harmful Behaviors 10 min. (Lecture) C. Maintenance and Task Functions 10 min. (Lecture) Activity: Practicing Effective Teamwork 40 min. Unit Summary 5 min. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 2 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE: GROUP DYNAMICS Objectives Objective 1 The participant will recognize the types, stages, and principles of group development as they occur in the fire service. Objective 2 The participant will identify beneficial and harmful group behaviors. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 3 Notes: NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY COURSE INTRODUCTION Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 4 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE Objective 1 The participant will recognize the types, stages, and princi- ples of group development as they occur in the fire service. Types, Principles, and Stages of Group Development 1. Importance of small groups in the fire service. 2. Research on fire service groups. 3. Small group: A small group is a few people (generally three to nine) engaged in communication interaction over time who have common goals and norms and have developed a pattern or procedure for meeting these goals in an interdependent fashion. 4. Nine elements needed to constitute work group: Easily observable group characteristics: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 5 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Indirectly observable group characteristics: A. Three Types of Small Groups 1. Consciousness-raising groups. a. Purpose. b. Outputs. 2. Encounter group , a. Purpose. b. Outputs. 3. Task groups , a. Purpose. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 6 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY b. Outputs. B. Principles and Stages of Group Development 1. Importance of recognizing development stage. 2. Consciousness-raising group; Development stages. a. Stage 1; Realization of a common group identity ("credentialling stage"). b. Stage 2; Group identity through polarization ("we" vs. "they" stage). c. Stage 3; Establishment of values for group ("what makes us special" stage). Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 7 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY d. Stage 4: Acting out of new identity (action stage). 3. Contributing to an effective consciousness-raising group, a. Increase pride, not conflict. b. Know when to stop. c. Emphasize job-related positive attributes. 4. Encounter group behavior. Three communication behaviors identify this group type: • Personal self-disclosure. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Group trust. • Empathy. 5. Contributing to an effective encounter group. a. Fire groups can over-disclose. b. Protect new members from over-disclosure. c. Watch personal self-disclosure . Task group development— two dimensions. a. Social. b. Work. c. Each dimension has separate stages. - Develop parallel to each other. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 7. Social dimension of task group; stages. a. Stage 1; Primary tension ("we all feel tense"). b. Stage 2: Secondary tension ("who will be leader?"). c. Stage 3; Role definition . 8. Role definition in task groups (see p. 12). a. Task leader. b. Social-emotional leader. c. Central negative. d. Tension-releaser. e. Information provider. f. Questioner. g. Active listener, h. Recorder. i. Self-centered follower. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 10 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 9. Task dimension of task group stages (see p. 13). a. Orientation. b. Conflict. c. Emergence. d. Reinforcement. e. Action. ;0. Contributing to an effective task group, a. Reduce intergroup conflict . b. Don't expect to always be emergent leader . c. Strive for productivity . Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 11 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY THE FIVE MAJOR ROLES IN A TASK GROUP 1. The task leader . The leader is the person who has emerged as the best person to lead the group in this situation. The emergent leader is not necessarily the fire officer in charge of the group, although it often is. 2. The social emotional leader, or "lieutenant." The person who plays the social emotional leader handles the interpersonal problems of the group. This person is not the task leader, but supports the task leader in a complementary lieutenant role. 3. The central negative . This person plays the "devil's advocate." Usually, this is the person who lost out in the leadership struggle. The central negative challenges the task leader and criticizes ideas— he makes the fire group rethink the leader's way of doing things. This can be a useful function. 4. The tension-releaser . This person plays a very important role in fire work groups. He can make the group laugh at just the right time. The person or persons playing the role get the group "loose" so it is emotionally able to do good work. (Of course, this can be overdone and begin to block the team's efforts.) 5. The information provider . This role is probably the most shared role in a work group. Members of the group who provide concise and accurate data to help the group solve problems are playing this role. FIVE MINOR ROLES 6. The questioner . This one asks important questions that help develop an idea and its implications. 7. The silent observer . This person offers nothing verbally for long periods. During that period, important ideas may be forming— or he or she may be withdrawing for various reasons. Perhaps the direction the group is taking is not to their liking and they feel helpless; perhaps they feel angry or rejected. 8. The active listener . A person who shows by additions, questions, and body language that they follow the train of thought. 9. The recorder . This role may be needed to keep track of key discussion points and decisions. 10. The self-centered follower. The only counter-productive role, this one is played by an individual whose top priority is personal gain, not group progress. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 12 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY STAGES IN TASK GROUP DEVELOPMENT (TASK DIMENSION) 1. Orientation Stage . Here, group members seek to arrive at common goals, through a series of questions. Unfortunately, this stage takes place, in part, while the group is in primary tension. Thus, members are tentative about asking questions and seeing if everyone agrees on the goals of the group. As a result, a group can often go through "pseudo-orientation" because many members hold back their thoughts since they will have to return to the orientation stage after they get through primary tension. 2. Conflict Stage . The conflict stage occurs when the group is trying to decide how they should do a given job. However, the "who should lead" problem (secondary tension) is going on so it's often not just an issue of what idea do we accept, but who suggested it. Sometimes group members are so afraid of interpersonal or ideational conflict, either for fear of losing their job or because they can't stand to see people argue, that they will agree to almost any suggestion. Such groups are generally low in productivity and membership satisfaction. To pass this stage successfully, the group must learn to challenge ideas but separate criticism of an idea from criticism of the person who suggested it. 3. Emergence Stage . After a group has been working on a problem for a while, a few ideas survive the conflict stage. These ideas are tried out or evaluated and a way of accomplishing goals emerges and is developed. To pass this stage successfully, the group must carefully evaluate and, if necessary, modify the idea. If the idea is a plan for procedures the group will use on an ongoing basis (i.e., way of handling certain fire group problems, procedures for inspection, or procedures for writing "specs" for new equipment, etc.) it is necessary that the plan gets "written in concrete" once it is tested so that when new members join the group, they can easily learn the process. If the new members insist on changing the process (which they are less likely to do if it's "written in concrete,") the group returns to stage 2. 4. Reinforcement. Once a group has worked their way to consensus; i.e., all members of the group (even the central negative) agree, the group will begin to celebrate its success. Lest the celebration be premature, it is wise to check and be sure everyone can live with the group's conclusion. If a group has solved several problems together, then this stage will start to look like a consciousness-raising session. 5. Action. The group begins to carry out its task according to its plan. At this stage, it is possible that some "hitch" will develop and the group will be kicked back to stage 2. Formal objectives, control tools, communication/coordination procedures, and evaluation mechanisms should be part of the task plan developed in stage three. (See Supplementary Reading, Increasing Personal Effectiveness, Unit 1.) Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 13 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY TRAINING TOWER EXERCISE Directions : The main purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how a task group functions by giving you a chance to become a task group while roles are observed. If you are an observer, follow directions on the form on the next page. If you are a participant, simply concentrate on getting your task done. You will have an opportunity to get feedback later from the observers and add your own observations. Your task is to build a training tower, using whatever materials you find in your sector of the room. When finished, it must meet these requirements: 1. At least 36" taU 2. At least 20" at the base 3. Use at least 5 different materials 4. Must be able to stand unassisted for at least 30 seconds at judging time. The instructor (or other judges) will evaluate each structure on the basis of: 1. Strength (10 points maximum) 2. Creativity (20 points maximum) 3. Whether it meets the above criteria (10 points maximum). Note that half the points are given for creativity. Don't rush through the assignment— aim to wirt Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 14 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY OBSERVER EVALUATION SHEET Observe the discussion and put a mark under the name of a group member each time you think they are playing a certain role. At the end of the discussion, be prepared to say who played what roles, remembering that roles may be shared. Lead your group in a discussion of the task group roles as they experienced them. Cover the following questions: 1. Do you agree with the observer's assessment of role distribution? 2. Were roles clearly defined or shared? Did this help or hurt task achievement? 3. Were any roles missing, or not performed very often? What was the effect of their absence? 4. Overall, what helped and hurt quality of task achievement? 5. What are the implications of the above for fire service task group supervisors? NAME: Task Leader Tends to goal set, make agenda, summarizes, seeks consensus, regu- lates participation (gate-keeping). Member 1 Member 2 Member 3 Member 4 Member 5 Social-Emotional Encourages the group, peacemaker, supportive of members, supports the leader, compromises. Tension Releaser Tells jokes, helps make group friendly, provides humor when group has conflict. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 15 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY NAME: Member 1 Central Negative Criticizes ideas, challenges leader, plays devil's advo- cate, hardest to convince to test ideas. Member 2 Member 3 Member 4 Member 5 Information Provider Gives information, opinions about the problem. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 16 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE Objective 2 The participant will identify beneficial and harmful group behaviors. II. Building Effective Teams A. Harmful Group Behaviors Five behaviors that can decrease task group effectiveness are: a. Too much advice-giving. b. Putting down group members. c. Taking over. d. Censoring. e. Persuasion without listening. Others added by class: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 17 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Positive Counterparts of Harmful Behaviors. Cures for negative positions. a. Instead of too much advice-giving ; b. Instead of putting down other members : c. Instead of taking over; d. Instead of censoring : e. Instead of persuasion without listening ; Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 18 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY TASK FUNCTIONS 1. Initiating— involves getting things going, defining group objectives, procedures, problems, etc. 2. Information-seeking— involves soliciting ideas, facts, or opinions from other group members on the task at hand. 3. Information-giving— involves offering one's own opinions, feelings, ideas, or knowledge of the facts, to help the group attack the particular problem at hand. 4. Clarifying/coordinating— involves interpreting or restating problems or issues before the group. Members will frequently find themselves talking around each other about a particular issue without a good understanding of what the other is trying to say. The clarifier/coordinator attempts to allay any misunderstandings by synthesizing and restating what is being said. 5. Sum m arizing/orienting— involves summarizing or wrapping up what has been said to help the group reach some kind of conclusion; or it can also involve orienting the group to the conclusion that is coming from their discussion. 6. Consensus-testing/evaluation— involves group members trying to see if they have reached a mutually agreeable solution. Frequently, it will seem like everyone is in agreement regarding a certain issue, but that is not always the case. It is important to check to make sure that everyone does agree on the conclusions and suggestions being offered. MAINTENANCE FUNCTIONS 1. Harmonizing— involves refereeing disagreements, helping to reduce anxieties, and helping members bring their differences out in the open and reconcile them. 2. Gate-keeping— involves keeping things going, keeping communication channels open. 3. Encouraging— involves encouraging or making sure that less aggressive members participate and their feelings or opinions heard. 4. Supporting— involves being receptive, warm, and friendly to other members and accepting their opinions and contributions. 5. Collaborating/compromising— involves attempts to negotiate agreements between group members with differences of opinion. The collaborator/compromiser will offer solutions or comprises that don't make any particular member look bad. This person, without hurting individuals, will put teambuilding and group functioning above the feelings of any individual on the team. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 19 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 6. Standard-setting/testing— involves making sure the group is satisfied with its procedures, whether or not those procedures contribute to group sharing or mutuality. OTHER NOTES ON BUILDING EFFECTIVE TEAMS Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 20 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY HOME FIRE ESCAPE PLAN Directions: Again, you are a work team. This time, however, instead of focusing on roles, our focus is teambuilding. Use this opportunity to practice behaviors that build team unity and get results. Try to avoid the negative behaviors mentioned earlier. You have been assigned to a work team to draw up a "typical" Home Fire Escape Plan that the local newspaper has agreed to print and a TV station has promised to cover. As a start, your group has been asked to prioritize the ten most important parts of the plan. Your list will determine program emphasis. Instructions 1. For the next 5 minutes, silently make a list of the ten most important parts of a good Home Fire Escape Plan. 2. You are to reach group consensus with the other students in your group about the ten ideas to be included and their rank order of importance. (1 is the most important, ten is the least important.) 3. You have 15 minutes to solve this problem. 4. Observers will comment on how the team functioned, and point out some examples of behavior that contributed to teamwork. As team members, you will share how you felt as a participant in this team. 5. Consider your own performance in the group as objectively as you can. Refer back to IIA, Harmful Group Behaviors. Were you tempted to take any of the negative positions listed? If so, were you able to catch yourself in time to adopt a more positive approach? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 21 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY £J o CD x: cj CD £ x: CD o o .¥ 0) ej as r F cd Bl x> 01 0) Y 03 b «M „ O n -i 0) o 3 bJD a> c CO c CO (1) oi s o w O cy m c 'Id O w CO CO e H a. h o D, a; a> ^j JS CQ c * j a «fH . F o r « c o .SP55 " r 0) a» w 2 x: co o >> C 'O CD o E CO CO ej F « CO CO w W S.2 *£ c H -c o o « +-> W X> a; RS .= o £ H S Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 22 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE: GROUP DYNAMICS Suggestions for Further Activities 1. Notice and classify the groups that exist in your fire department according to type and stage. Consciously work on increasing the effectiveness of each group in accomplishing its goals. 2. In several groups you belong to, notice what group members do specifically that builds effective teamwork or works against it. 3. Identify roles played in a task group in which you participate, including your own. If possible, ask at least one other person to keep track as well and compare notes. Use the data to improve group performance. One way to do this is to help individuals become conscious of the roles they play and of their value. Another is to note specific gaps— needed roles not being played— and find ways to encourage individuals to take them on (or add members who play them well). 4. Discuss task and maintenance functions at the outset of a group for which you are nominal leader and explain that individuals can increase group effectiveness by carrying out these roles. Refer to them occasionally as group development progresses, relating them to group achievement. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 23 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE: GROUP DYNAMICS References Ernest G. Bormann, Discussion and Group Methods (New York: Harper and Row, 1975). Ernest G. and Nancy C. Bormann, Effective Small Group Communication (Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1976). John K. Brilhart, Effective Group Discussion (Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown Co., 1974). Darwin Cartwright and Alvin Zander, Group Dynamics: Research and Theory (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1968). John F. Cragan, "Small Group Interaction and the Fire Service," Fire Command, 38 (July 1975). John F. Cragan and David W. Wright, Communiation in Small Group Discussions (St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1980). B. Aubrey Fisher, Small Group Decision Making, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980). Thomas M. Scheidel and Laura Crowell, Discussing and Deciding (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1979). Marvin E. Shaw, Group Dynamics: The Psychology of Small Group Behavior (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976). Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 24 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT ONE: GROUP DYNAMICS Recommended Reading Bormann, Ernest G. and Nancy C, Effective Small Group Communication (Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1976). Explains the development of the social dimensions of a task group. Brilhart, John K. Effective Group Discussion (Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown Co., 1974). This book has many practical suggestions on how to run group meetings. Cragan, John F. "Small Group Interaction and the Fire Service," Fire Command, 38 (July 1975). Describes the three generic types of groups as they occur in fire department settings. Cragan, John F. and Wright, David W. Communication in Small Group Discussions (St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1980^ Chapters 4, 5, 8, and 9 offer useful advice on leading work groups in organizational settings. Fiedler, Fred E. A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967). A "contingency model" that shows how to adapt leadership strategy to situations is explained in detail in this book. Fisher, B. Aubrey. Small Group Decision Making, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980). The four stages of task group development are discussed in detail. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 25 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT TWO COMMUNICATION Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 26 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT TWO: COMMUNICATION Overview Total Time: 2 hours, 20 min. I. Communication Media (1 hour) A. Overview of Communication Process 10 min. (Lecture) B. Principles of Oral vs. Written Communication 10 min. (Lecture, Discussion) C. One-Way and Two-Way Communication 10 min. D. The Three "Rs" of Effective Written Reports 10 min. (Lecture) E. Nonverbal and Paraverbal Commitnication 20 min. (Lecture, Discussion, Activity) II. Adapting Communication Strategy to an Audience (50 min.) A. Primary Adaptation Skills 15 min. (Lecture) B. Adapting a Speech to an Audience 35 min. (Activity) in. Sender and Receiver Obstacles (30 min.) A. Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles 10 min. (Lecture) B. Sender and Receiver Obstacles 15 min. (Activity) Unit Summary 5 min. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 27 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT TWO: COMMUNICATION Objectives Objective 1 The participant will cite key characteristics of oral, written, paraverbal, and nonverbal communication that affect their selection and use. Objective 2 The participant will be able to adjust a given communication in order to achieve greater impact on the intended audience. Objective 3 The participant will list several obstacles that may impede effective communication for sender or receiver and cite techniques that may overcome these obstacles. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 28 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT TWO Objective 1 The participant will cite key characteristics of oral, written, paraverbal, and nonverbal communications that affect their selection and use. Introduction A. Overview of Communication Process 1. All communication is a coded message. a. Sender encodes message. Receiver decodes message. b. Encoding process determined by: c. Medium. • Verbal. - Written. - Oral. • Nonverbal. d. Decoding process determined by: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 29 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 2. Frame of reference. a. Cultural factors. b. Personal factors. c. Situational factors. d. "Noise" or static, interference. • Result of failure to adjust for frame of reference . 3. An effective sender or receiver understands: a. The medium used. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 30 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY b. The frame of reference. B. Basic Principles of Oral Vs. Written Communication 1. Key characteristics of oral communication. 2. Speech is interactive. 3. Speech is adaptive. 4. Speech has a content and a relational dimension. 5. We cannot not communicate. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 31 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Discussion Notes When is speech preferable as communication medium for the supervisor? When is written communication preferable for the supervisor? What are some criteria for effective written or oral communication? Written Oral Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 32 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY C. One-Way and Two-Way Communication 1. One-Way. 2. Two-Way. 3. Basic Principles of Two-Way Communication. (For two-person dialogue between supervisor and supervisee.) a. Exploration period. b. Business is conducted. c. Tips on dialogue. d. Terminating the meeting. D. The Three "Rs" of Effective Written Reports 1. The Three "Rs." a. Reason. b. Resources. c. Results. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 33 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 2. Definition of the three "Rs." a. Reason; Major or overall purpose of the report. b. Resources; The data base of the report. c. Results; What the reader will know after report. 3. Presentation Order, a. Introduction. b. Body. c. Conclusion. d. Bibliography or appendix. 4. Example: Status Report of Votuntfr Smoke Detector Usage by Citizens in Randolph County. a. Reason: The purpose of this report is to inform the chief about the extent to which citizens in our county have voluntarily placed smoke detectors in their dwellings. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 34 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Resources. Mail survey to single dwellings using the Water Dept. monthly billing list. On-site inspection of all units that have six or more apartments. On-site inspection of a 10% random sample of private houses in county by firefighters. Survey of ten major stores to determine types of detectors sold in area and their average price. Fire inspector's report for the last three years in the county. Discussion with a group of apartment owners by Captain Jones. Federal report on national trends in smoke detector adoption. Newsweek article on smoke detectors. Results. Percentage of private homes in the county that have detectors. Percentage of apartments in county that have detectors. Percentage of each type and average cost. Comparison of Randolph County to national trends. Apartment owners' attitudes toward mandatory laws. Author's recommendations to chief for future action. E. Nonverbal and Paraverbal Communication 1. Introductory points. a. Definitions. • Nonv erbal: Not using words. • Parav erbal: Associated with use of words (example: tone of voice). b. Difference from verbal. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 35 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY c. Importance. • Monitor your own messages. Use to see how someone is interpreting you, your message. d. Cautions. 2. Four areas of nonverbal communication: a. Eye contact. b. Movements. c. Proxemics. • Relative position of bodies in space. d. Body position. • The way various parts of body are held by individual. 3. Eye contact . a. Ordinary level; 3096-60% of time in dialogue, one person looks at the other. b. Increases with: • Confidence. • Interest. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 36 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY c. Decreases with: Uneasiness. • Disinterest. • Cultural training or habit, d. Indicates dominance. 4. Movements . a. Underline verbal expressions . b. Regulate verbal interaction . c. Show shift in feeling . d. Impatience, readiness to leave . Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 37 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 5. Proxemics. a. Closeness of relationship. b. Dominance. 6. Body position. Visual 2.15, "Who Is the Boss?" Clues Interpretation Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 38 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Visual 2.16, "Council Members' Reaction to Fire Department Presentation." Clues Interpretation Person One: Person Two: Person Three: Person Four: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 39 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Visual 2.17, "Firefighters Reacting to New Policy" Clues Interpretation Person One: Person Two: Person Three: Person Four: Visual 2.18, "A Negotiator at Four Points" Clues Interpretation 2. 3. 4. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 40 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 7. Paraverbal communication. Paraverbal; The way a verbal communication is delivered, including speed, pitch, volume, and stress. Class Activity Try delivering the following line in a variety of ways, varying speed, pitch, volume, and stress to suggest several different situations and emotions: "I'd like to see that fire report now." Other class members will offer their interpretation of the siutation based on your paraverbal cues. 8. Channel inconsistency. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 41 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT TWO Objective 2 The participant will be able to adjust a given communica- tion in order to achieve greater impact on the intended audience. II. Adapting Communication Strategy to an Audience A. Primary Adaptation Skills 1. Successful adaptation requires four abilities. 2. Use an appropriate preparation system . 3. Anticipate audience reaction. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 42 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4. Appeal to your audience's heroic self-image. 5. Use appropriate rational arguments , a. Authority assertion. • Citing authority in your support. b. Sign argument. • Showing symptoms (signs) that suggest a given problem. c. Example argument. • Illustrating your points with case studies, personal experience, etc. d. Causal argument. • Show cause-effect relationships. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 43 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Adapting a Speech to an Audience Directions : Prepare a four-minute speech for the audience and situations assigned by the instructor to your group. The primary criterion for evaluation will be the appropriateness of the strategy you have selected for your particular audience. A representative of your group should be prepared to explain the rationale behind the strategy selected. Notes for the speech should be in draft outline form— no complete sentences. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE ONE THE SMOKE DETECTOR AND THE CIVIC GROUP Quickly select a civic group with which every one in your work group is familiar— Masons, Kiwanis, Jaycees, Lions, etc. Your goal is to convince this organization to help fund the purchasing of smoke detectors to be given to needy families in the county. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE TWO THE SMOKE DETECTOR AND THE ASSOCIATION OF APARTMENT OWNERS The goal of your group is to persuade the apartment owners of the need for a smoke detector ordinance requiring them to buy and maintain a detector for each rented apartment. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE THREE THE NEW RESCUE SQUAD VEHICLE AT THE CITY COUNCIL The goal of your group is to persuade the City Council of the need for a new rescue squad vehicle. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 44 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE FOUR THE NEW RESCUE SQUAD VEHICLE AND THE SUPPRESSION FIREFIGHTERS The goal of your group is to persuade suppression firefighters in your department of the need for a new rescue squad vehicle. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION, EXAMPLE FIVE MANDATORY SPRINKLER SYSTEMS AND THE COUNTY BOARD The goal of your group is to persuade the County Board of the need to pass an ordinance requiring all buildings over three floors to be sprinklered. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE SIX SPRINKLER SYSTEM AND THE ASSOCIATION OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERS The goal of your group is to get the support of the Association of Architectural Engineers for an ordinance requiring all buildings over three floors to be sprinklered. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE SEVEN THE FIREFIGHTERS AND THE NEW POLICY Quickly agree on a new policy that would require skill to present effectively and the characteristics of the group to whom it is to be presented. Prepare a four-minute speech that a member of your group will present to the class. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 45 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE EIGHT THE NEW BREATHING APPARATUS AND THE STATION The goal of your group is to present a new Breathing Apparatus to all the personnel at your station. You need 100% cooperation during the six-month evaluation process for which you are responsible. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE NINE THE ENGINE COMPANY AND THE UNPLEASANT ASSIGNMENT The goal of your group is to persuade an engine company that they are not being punished or treated unfairly just because they are being assigned the task of cleaning the winter's accumulation of pigeon droppings from the training tower. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE TEN THE NEIGHBORING DEPARTMENT AND THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM The goal of your group is to convince a neighboring volunteer department, which has recently signed a mutual aid pact with your department, that adopting and becoming proficient in the Incident Command System you use will be to their benefit. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE ELEVEN THE FIREFIGHTERS AND THE NEW CHIEF The goal of your group is to convince a group of combat firefighters that the new fire chief, who was formerly the fire marshal (with 15 years in fire prevention) will be able to understand their needs. AUDIENCE ADAPTATION EXERCISE, EXAMPLE TWELVE THE OLDER FIREFIGHTERS AND CERTIFICATION The goal of your group is to persuade a large number of older, experienced volunteers in your department that the training needed to be state-certified as a first-class firefighter will be to their benefit. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 46 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT TWO Objective 3 The participant will list several obstacles that may im- pede effective communication for sender or receiver and cite techniques that may overcome these obstacles. III. Sender and Receiver Obstacles A. Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles 1. Communication obstacles. 2. Active listening. a. Listener has key role in communication process. b. Ask questions. c. Give feedback. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 47 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY d. Characteristics of good feedback. B. Sender and Receiver Obstacles Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 48 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SENDER AND RECEIVER OBSTACLES Directions; Check the box that most applies to you as sender or receiver in a fire service work context. When all are marked, place an asterisk by the two sender and two receiver obstacles that are most significant for you. Finally, discuss with participants near you the sources of the obstacles to communication you consider most serious (that is, what causes them to be set up) and how they might be removed. Sender Obstacles 1. Giving a hard sell. Source: Techniques for change: 2. Killing enthusiasm by being indifferent or over-critical. Source: Techniques for change: Not being attentive to listener reactions to ensure clarity, feedback. Source: Techniques for change: Q) c 1 fil CD IS I? |f O a) E v CO .O h is c • £; « > at c > — efl u If 11 tn 2 C8 s o « s « be es 1 « I 5 P ° |i = £ g § 5 .3 ej as 1 t- 3 CO eg >> a> CO CO JO 1 .2 I 6 E 3 o eg E oj •££ H « S JS o 5 0) * 5^ ■= 2 3 S EA c 5 S CO c > — O CO 11 3 -C O.2. Si .2 * CO CO £ 3. Which of the following motivators that may apply to people who join the fire service are important to you right now? (Check as many a. a CO CO 1! .2 0> S£ j>E$ 3 3 2 OJ •- o jj C " c o o ill < eo ho CO 2 •8 1 o * o < c. Like to be a "macho" man or "superwoman," constantly testing their own strength, agility, etc. 1 3 C > •D OJ < •6 >> 13 CO c CO 6 0) 11 *3 >> >> i/T sE ffl of " 1- O'- er .w u CO *- C « £ *o J So 01 i c c c o ■5 a = oJ 1.2 <- > as fc bo s 1 .... Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 66 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 8 & a JC c- «•- SE > 3 O 83 E tu 0) £ 2€ li 5 § E 0) Q. ■= $ u > 3 5 in c es C > — ?S = -e °-2. *■> jC SB ~ is V] U in £ n •c c CO >) a "8 o bo c es i. Seek opportunities to advance without "formal" education in a setting that provides a large amount of "free" in-service training. s O t.1 « Jc « *££ C JS *" ■s = a> Hi c o> « M g , = 5 if es «~ o 5 « 5 to . J§ > '£ 0)0)-- £ °« *• C CJ s |* ■8 ■ e Z, o> o> £ jj ° .O "Z 4) ,oojj IT w cj •£ £ S3 * ™ x 5t) m i •u 0) s 2 E g £> _o >> s . «2 e 8 «■§ S 03 C o (0 OJ 2 a a) O i ! s & -1 <.E E j*'»«2 IS J Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 67 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY c o 0) 5. CO .C 4) o || CO v n X) -^ si * 5 £ o | 1 * 5^ ■= 5 £ •- Ifl c £ g CO C O £ CO = — = 'p a> o f a) *> x >> bo 4) O c c o CO V 3 •c 4) « 3 . = W c .2 •c « «c 4) ej Is < CO a q. Like opportunites for specializa- tion in "new" fire service functions such as hazmat, code development and enforcement, geriatric EMS, etc. r. Want to make sure fire protection, prevention, suppression gets done! (Especially in volunteer situation: "If I don't do it, who will?"). s. Want to participate in the unique opportunities for social relation- ship opportunities offered in the fire service. £ I Ps Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 68 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY c o 1 t) ;-. « J .i a o as a; Js •o w 2"§ 3 — ' O tt) is c o « Q, « .5: 3 .5 in c 5 8 to c > — o "3 c o 0) Q. > £ o — *•' 3 *< « C C ec «- 3 c o < > i £ I gS a> ■= ? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Activity discussion notes: Motivators on first joining the fire service compared to now: Examples and discussion of individual motivation problems: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 70 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION ROLE PLAY Directions ; The purpose of this activity is to practice "turning keys" to motivate an individual. As Captain Smith, you want to try to find an approach that works for this specific individual. As Driver Jones, you should give Captain Smith practice in problem solving— you should not make it too easy, but make your reactions believable in context. At the end of this exercise, answer the questions on the next page and discuss your reaction with the other person. Role of Captain Smith: Firefighter Jones has made an appointment to see you about his recent assignment to the ambulance. Assignment to the ambulance has been seen as a "second-class" job in the fire department. In short, the average firefighter hates the job. Usually, everyone takes his or her turn, but due to summer vacations and a recent loss in personnel, you need him to stay on the ambulance for another six months. Your goal is to keep him on the ambulance with the best possible attitude. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 71 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Directions ; The purpose of this activity is to practice "turning keys" to motivate an individual. As Captain Smith, you want to try to find an approach that works for this specific individual. As Driver Jones, you should give Captain Smith practice in problem solving— you should not make it too easy, but make your reactions believable in context. At the end of this exercise, answer the questions on the next page and discuss your reaction with the other person. Role of Ambulance Driver Jones ; You are a firefighter who prefers to fight fires not provide "free taxi service" to the hospital. You already did six months on ambulance but Captain Smith reassigned you to six more months! You don't think it's fair. Besides, you are studying for upcoming exams for paramedic and the extra runs the ambulance makes take away from your study time. Your goal is to get off the ambulance and on the truck. You are third-generation fire service, and very oriented to moving up the career ladder. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 72 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Activity discussion Individual motivators summary C. Motivation and Management Culture 1. Several key factors affect team motivation: a. Combination of individual motivators. b. Leadership style. c. Power. d. Stress. e. "Management culture." [Note: b - d above are covered by the companion course to this one, "Supervision in the Fire Service— Increasing Personal Effectiveness." Supplementary Reading from that course is also included in your Student ManualJ 2. Effect of management culture on motivation. a. Management culture : The characteristics and internal climate that make each organization (or fire department) a distinct community. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 73 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY b. Examples of cultural characteristics. 3. Fire department mission and motivation. Fire department mission ; The major agenda for the department; how it chooses to interpret and carry out its mandate to "protect and save life and property from fire and other hazards." 4. Organizational structure and motivation anizational sti Jecide and act. Organizational structure: The amount of centralization of power and authority to deck Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 74 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY f . Department type and motivation. Department type ; All paid, all volunteer, or combination. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 75 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY TEAM MOTIVATION IN A MANAGEMENT CULTURE Directions : What could a supervisor do to motivate a team in the following situations? 1. A company in a highly structured, primarily suppression-oriented paid department complains to you that directives, orders, and policies are not consistently or fairly enforced. They feel as if other companies are "getting away with murder." They start to slack off and slide on following verbal orders and daily procedures. They resist doing company inspections even though they are required. Suggestions: Volunteers in an all volunteer, quite participatory department want to go to emergency incidents, but resist "book learning" and required training. They resent what they consider unfair requirements (four hours training per month) but grudgingly admit they are a long way from a smoothly functioning skilled team. Suggestions: A paid captain assigned to train volunteers sees the assignment as a punishment. The captain has been in an all paid company of this paid/volunteer combination department, and has had little experience with volunteers. The volunteers resent the paid captain "ordering them around" and have decided to boycott training. Suggestions: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 76 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT THREE Objective 2 The participant will be able to use performance standards as motivators. Enabling Objective 1 : The participant will cite criteria for appropriate performance standards. Enabling Objective 2: The participant will be able to demonstrate how a performance appraisal interview may be used to motivate a subordinate. n. Performance Measurement and Motivation A. Effective Performance Standards 1. Important in effective motivation, a. Possible effects of poor standards. b. Effects of appropriate standards. 2. Performance standard ; A statement of the result an individual employee will achieve when he/she is doing a job satisfactorily. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 77 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 3. Purposes of performance standards. a. Provide objective basis for assessing performance and development needs . b. State criteria for individual success. c. Relate individual performance to organizational objectives . 4. Criteria for performance standards. a. Apply to only one critical job element . • Appropriate standard: Will master the skills required to perform CPR by July 1, 1985. • Inappropriate standard: Will master skills necessary to perform CPR and defensive driving by July 1, 1985. b. Specific . • Appropriate standard: Will conduct an average of three fire prevention courses per month during the period January 1, 1984 and June 30, 1984. • Inappropriate standard: Will conduct an adequate number of fire prevention courses during the next six months. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 78 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY c. Attainable . • Appropriate standard: Will submit injury reports within three work days following the occurrence of the injury. • Inappropriate standard: Will ensure that no civilians are injured in fires serviced by this fire department. d. Legally defensible . • Valid (clearly job-related). - Example: If no firefighter would ever run 100 yards with a charged line, should it be a standard? • Free of bias . - Does not favor or penalize personalities, ethnic groups, or any subgroup on the basis of non job-related characteristics. • In compliance with laws. - Be aware of department, city/district, county, state, and federal requirements. 5. Standard development. a. Employee involvement essential. b. Product of negotiation. • Open. • Honest. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 79 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 6. Performance observation. a. Be clear on how performance is to be observed. b. Reliable evidence essential. 7. Management uses of performance standards. a. Identify employee strengths and weaknesses. b. Assist in formulating relevant employee development plans. c. Promote long-term changes in employee job performance. d. Help achieve organizational goals. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 80 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Directions for Activity 1. With your table group, consider which, if any, of the following performance standards do not meet the four criteria for acceptability. 2. Circle each standard that does not and note what criterion it does not meet. 3. Discuss appropriate information sources and means of measuring quality for each job function, discussing as many individual standards as time allows. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 81 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Performance Standard Worksheet Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 82 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY CITY OF Employee EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROGRAM PERFORMANCE PLAN FIRE HGHTER Classification FUNCTION: Provides first aid to ill or injured persons. /■¥ STANDARDS Maintains a thorough and up-to-date knowledqe of the principles of first aid. Possesses an up-to-date C.P.R. Card. Examines victims at accidents to determine the extent of injuries, and applies appropriate first aid techniques based upon evaluation of condition. Cooperates with and effectively assists paramedic units (first responder). Remains calm and under control during emergency situations. Shows professionalism as a fire fighter at first aid emergencies. Learns and maintains a thorough knowledge of routes of response to hospitals in the district. Maintains a basic working knowledge of the location of all first aid equipment on both fire apparatus and Medevac units. OVERALL PERFORMANCE I I 1 feELOW I I I hBOVE I I OF FUNCTION: ]_ (UNSATISFACTORY^ (STANDARDS^ (SATISFACTORY^ (STANDARD) (OUTSTANDING COMMENTS: This function and these standards have been discussed with me. My performance of this function has been discussed with me. Employee's Signature Employee's Signature Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 83 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY CITY OF Employee EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROGRAM PERFORMANCE PLAN FIRE FIGHTER Classif icat- FUNCTION: Conducts inspections of structures for conformance with fire and life safety laws and regulations. -•■ STANDARDS Maintains a basic knowledqe of applicable fire prevention and life safety statutues, codes, and other regulations and provisions as per Fire Company Inspection Program. Explains and interprets applicable regulations to building owners, managers, and/or occupants in a courteous and tactful manner. Correctly identifies violations and completes basic forms. Produces work that is accurate, thorough and neat. Maintains a thorough knowledge of San Diego Fire Department Fire Company Inspection Manual and applies it correctly. Performs assigned projects in a manner consistent with currently accepted techniques, standards and procedures. OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTION :D NSATISFACTOR O l0! ! ' TANDARDSj JSATISFACTORY] {STANDARD) (OUTSTANDING COMMENTS: This function and these standards have been discussed with me. My performance of this function has been discussed with me. Employee's Signature Employee's Signature Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 84 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Performance Appraisal Sessions as Positive Motivators 1. Purpose of performance appraisal. 2. Pre-performance appraisal. 3. During the interview. 4. The followup session . Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 85 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY RATER BIASES 1. Halo effect : The halo effect occurs when the rater's personal opinion of one subordinate's characteristics influences his/her evaluation of the total performance being evaluated. For example, a company officer may have established a close personal relationship with a firefighter prior to promotion to captain. As a result, the captain's perception may focus awareness on the firefighter as a person and distort the officer's estimate of job performance. 2. Error of central tendency : This error refers to the overuse of ratings at or near the center or midpoint of an evaluation form. Such a rating would reflect an "average" or "meets standards" assessment. Areas such as "outstanding" or "does not meet standards" are avoided. When a company officer rates all subordinate fire personnel as "average" without taking into consideration the individual differences in meeting job standards, this error occurs. Specific strengths and areas of improvement are not recognized. 3. Leniency bias : This error occurs when a rater evaluates performance higher than actually performed by the subordinate. This occurs when specific job standards are not established or understood by the supervisor. Typically the overall performance and performance within specific categories are evaluated higher than specific job standards. This results in a firefighter being evaluated as "meeting standards" when in fact specific improvement is needed. 4. Strictness bias: This error occurs when a rater evaluates overall performance lower than actually performed. This bias may apply to overall evaluation or apply to specific categories of performance being rated. For example, a captain may rate a firefighter as "standard" when actual performance exceeded specific job standards. Many times specific job standards are either not specifically established or the supervisor may be unclear as to the differences between rating categories. Knowledge of specific job standards is crucial to ensure effective evaluation. Also bear in mind that consistency among raters is important to ensure fairness and impartiality. 5. Personal bias : A supervisor may have a personal bias which interferes with the objectivity of evaluating a subordinate's performance. Biases may include specific job-related attitudes, age, religion, race, sex, educational level, or other personal dislikes. Discrimination against a subordinate prevents effective evaluations and violates antidiscrimination laws. For example, when a company officer gives undeserved low ratings to minorities or females without specific references to job standards and requires less of other personnel, such actions will probably be found to be discriminatory. 6. Recent-performance bias : Frequently persons are evaluated on their most recent performance rather than overall performance during the established rating period. Critical performance behavior, either positive or negative, shortly before an evaluation may have a large influence on a subordinate's evaluation for an entire rating period. The positive or negative behavior may overshadow the subordinate's overall performance and not accurately reflect meeting or not meeting specific job standards. For example, knowing that an evaluation rating is due in a couple of Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY weeks, a firefighter may tend to be unusually visible and please the captain by suddenly doing drills differently or practicing firefighting techniques as instructed rather than taking exception to the captain's instructions. Or, because routine monitoring records have not been kept over the whole period being evaluated, the rater may "forget" positive or negative behavior which is important. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 87 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITY ROLE-FIRE CAPTAIN You have been a captain for the past two years. A firefighter under your supervision has recently been assigned to your shift (approximately two months ago). You have called the firefighter in for a semi-annual performance evaluation. The captain who supervised the firefighter previously has retired. However, upon reviewing the firefighter's previous evaluations, all were marked "satisfactory" or higher. There were no comments regarding specific areas that needed improvement. During the past two months, however, you have noticed several problems and brought them to the firefighter's attention without noticeable improvement. Specific areas include tardiness, challenging of departmental rules and regulations relating to switching of shifts, and an increased use of sick leave (one shift was missed each of the past two months). The firefighter's work performance has dropped off and other company members' attitudes toward the firefighter have been somewhat negative. Your objective during the interview is to assist the firefighter to develop into a more effective company member by improving the areas of deficiency noted above. Addition- ally, you want the firefighter to examine specific behavior and determine specific steps within a specified period to correct problem areas. A plan of action is to be developed. You see that your role in the interview is to stimulate thinking and responsibility rather than to just supply necessary solutions. You realize that when a person is placed in a position of having his or her performance evaluated, especially where the performance and ultimately the job is concerned, an employee may try to hide defects and deny acceptance of responsibility. It's also possible that he or she may have misconceptions about the job. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITY ROLE-FIREFIGHTER You have been a firefighter for the last 18 months. You completed your 12-month probationary period and received a "standard" performance evaluation at the conclusion of your probationary period. The captain who evaluated your performance during the first twelve months of employment has retired from the department. The captain under whom you work now has called you in for a semi-annual performance report review. During the past two months, you have missed two shifts per month and have been late to work on several occasions. Also, you have requested to switch shifts with other firefighters without the approval of your captain. (The switching of shifts is acceptable within the department upon the approval of the company officers.) You are aware that periodically the captain has discussed your performance. Your tardiness and absences from your assigned shift were verbally reviewed with you. Your reason for missing two shifts was illness; however, it's known among coworkers that you have been spending a lot of hours "moonlighting." Additionally, you have experienced some personal problems— your 11-year-old son has run away from home on two different occasions within the past month and recently your in-laws have moved into your home for an undetermined period of time. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITY ROLE— OBSERVER Directions : At the conclusion of the performance appraisal you are to review with the firefighter and captain their respective roles and act as a discussion leader to reflect your observations regarding specific behaviors of each person. It is also suggested that you ask both role players how they felt during the exercise and what they observed about their own behavior. When you read the role description, you will see that the problem is essentially that the firefighter is aware of his tardiness, absenteeism, and constant challenging of departmental procedures regarding the switching of shifts. The firefighter may not see how off-the-job problems affect his/her motivation and work performance. The captain has a responsibility to assist the firefighter in changing behavior to comply with departmental requirements. To the extent possible, the captain wants to stimulate and guide the firefighter's thinking rather than merely provide solutions to which the firefighter will not be really committed. 1. Did the captain start the interview on a positive note, so that the firefighter felt at ease and the groundwork was laid for effective problem solving? ( ) Yes ( ) No 2. Did the captain seek to stimulate thinking instead of supply solutions? ( ) Yes ( ) No 3. Was the captain willing to consider all ideas on job performance the firefighter brought up? ( ) Yes ( ) No 4. Did the captain draw the firefighter out with exploratory questions? ( ) Yes ( ) No 5. Was a workable plan of action developed? ( ) Yes ( ) No Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 90 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 6. Given the firefighter's attitude and ability, was the captain's approach appropriate? ( ) Yes ( ) No 7. Did the captain effectively use the appraisal interview to motivate the employee to improve performance? ( ) Yes ( ) No 8. Were appropriate criteria used and discussed with the firefighter? ( ) Yes ( ) No Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 91 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Notes on activity discussion: Unit summary: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 92 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT THREE: MOTIVATION Suggested Further Activities Review the performance standards used in your own department. Determine which do and do not meet the criteria specified for excellent performance standards. If they do not, how could they be strengthened? Initiate the process, using the approach most likely to be effective in your management culture. Take the motivation assessment forms found in this unit back to your department. Try to figure out how each person you supervise would complete them, then have them actually do so. Use the forms as a teambuilding or problem-solving tool, as a method to discover important facts about your management culture or as a way to sharpen your motivation skills to influence specific individuals. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 93 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT THREE: MOTIVATION References Terence Deal and Allan A. Kennedy, Corporate Cultures (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1982). Edward B. Dirkin, "Establishing Minimum Performance Standards," Fire Chief Magazine (August 1983), pp. 76-78. Julia R. Galosy, "Teaching Managers to Motivate— When Theory Isn't Enough," Training (November 1983). Martin G. Groder, "Motivating Workers," Boardroom Reports (July 1, 1983), pp. 5-6. International Fire Service Training Association, Fire Department Company Officer , (Stillwater, Oklahoma: IFSTA, 1981). Laurie Itow, "How Muclr Values and Lifestyles Program Costs Its Users," San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle (June 27, 1982). Robert F. Mager and Peter Pipe, Analyzing Performance Problems, Or, You Really Gotta Wanna (Belmont, California: Lear Siegler, Inc., 1970). Thomas L. Quick, Quick Motivation Method (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980). Ann Murphy Springer and David Springer, Fire Management I (Pacific Grove, California: California Fire Academy, 1981). Ann Murphy Springer, "Putting Service into Fire Service," American Fire Journal (January 1984). Robert S. Timmins, "Keeping Employees Healthy, Happy, and Motivated," Inc. (March 1980). Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 94 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT THREE: MOTIVATION Recommended Reading Terence Deal and Allan A. Kennedy, Corporate Cultures (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1982). The corporate "culture" defines desirable and undesirable behavior. Culture must be considered when planning organizational change. Values, rituals, and symbols are explained. Edward B. Dirkin, "Establishing Minimum Performance Standards," Fire Chief Magazine (August 1983), pp. 76-78. Presents one department's attempt to motivate continuous ability to meet and maintain performance levels on nine critical job skills by passing rigorous tests annually. Robert F. Mager and Peter Pipe, Analyzing Performance Problems, Or, You Really Gotta Wanna (Belmont, California: Lear Siegler, Inc., 1970). A "classic" reference which remains extremely useful for the supervisor. Traces common problems through the use of simple flow charts to solve the problem and motivate for better performance. Thomas L. Quick, Quick Motivation Method (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980). Conditions can discourage people. Managers should try to optimize conditions. The success of a manager depends on the success of subordinates. Ann Murphy Springer and David Springer, Fire Management I (Pacific Grove, California: California Fire Academy, 1981). See especially the motivation inventory. Job assignments carry differing motivational "payoffs." Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 95 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR COUNSELING Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 96 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR: COUNSELING Overview Total Time: 1 hour, 40 min. With optional section: 2 hours, 5 minutes I. When Do You Counsel? (45 min.) A. What Is Counseling? 10 min. (Lecture) B. Beginning the Counseling Process 15 min. (Lecture) C. Activity: Knowing When to Counsel 20 min. (Class, Group, or Individual Activity) II. Effective Counseling Techniques (55 min.) A. Four Approaches to Counseling 15 min. (Lecture, Discussion) B. Tips on Effective Counseling 15 min. (Lecture) C. Activity: Applying Counseling Techniques 25 min. (Table Group or Class Activity, Discussion) D. Ethical and Legal Aspects of the Counseling Relationship 15 min. (Optional Section) (Lecture) Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 97 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR: COUNSELING Objectives Objective 1 Given a situation in which counseling might be advisable, the participant will cite reasons that counseling should or should not be attempted by the counselor. Objective 2 The participant will be able to explain techniques used in establishing and maintaining effective counseling relationships. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 98 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR Objective 1 Given a situation in which counseling might be advisable, the participant will cite reasons that counseling should or should not be attempted by the counselor. I. When Do You Counsel? A. What Is Counseling? 1. Counseling : A two-way communication process through which a supervisor assists an employee to act in a more rewarding manner. a. Two-way communication. b. Focus on change in behavior , actions— not employee as person. 2. Counseling may be needed when there is a difference between actual and expected worker performance. a. Possible areas of difference: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 99 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY b. Objective of counseling: c. Reasons for counseling: 3. Examples of situations that may lead to counseling. 4. Who counsels? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 100 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Beginning the Counseling Process 1. Set climate. 2. Agree on the problem . 3. Determine your role . Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 101 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4. If unable to handle problem, supervisor's role involves: 5. Referral options. 6. Activity discussion: When should you refer an employee to a professional counselor? When should you refer an employee to a higher ranked supervisor or manager? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 102 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: KNOWING WHEN TO COUNSEL Directions ; For the situation assigned to your group, determine on the basis of known facts whether you feel the person described needs counseling. If so, should you refer it to a professional or handle it yourself? A representative of your group should be prepared to summarize your decision and explain why you made it. Situation One You are the captain in a relatively small suburban fire department. You have two firefighters who bicker all the time when they are in the station house. Harry is never happy with the way Christine cleans the equipment, and Christine is constantly on Harry for talking too much and not working enough. Other things that each one does are a constant source of irritation to the other. If Harry says something is green, Christine will swear it is pink, and vice versa. Their bickering does not seem to have affected the way they work together when fighting fires, but you are afraid it might eventually interfere there, too. They are a problem for your other personnel. Everyone seems to like both Harry and Christine individually, but when you put them together, they get on everybody's nerves. You like both of them and feel they are more than competent in their jobs. Because of the size of your department and the heavy demands on your personnel, there is no way to avoid Harry and Christine's working together. In other words, the problem must be solved. Would you tackle this problem yourself? If yes, how? If no, why not, and what would you do to resolve it? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 103 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: KNOWING WHEN TO COUNSEL Situation Two You are the company commander in a large rural department. You have noticed your deputy commander, Larry, has been slow to get things done lately. Previously, he frequently had things done for you even before you realized they needed to be done. He hasn't been as talkative with the others lately, and he seems to have been late or absent much more than usual. You have no idea what is the matter, but have been concerned for several weeks. One Monday morning Larry comes into your office and says he needs to talk to you. Before you can say anything, he tells you his wife has left him and taken the kids halfway across the country. He can't afford to go see his children or have them come to see him, and until all the legal proceedings surrounding the divorce have been completed, he just doesn't know if hell ever see them again. At this point, Larry breaks down and starts to cry. This surprises you; you had no idea that Larry was such an emotional person. He always seemed to be the kind who held things inside or didn't let them bother him at all. Larry then says, in a muffled tone, "Commander, I need help. I've even thought of just ending it all." Would you tackle this problem yourself? If yes, how? If no, why not and what would you do to resolve it? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 104 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: KNOWING WHEN TO COUNSEL Situation Three You are the first-line supervisor (lieutenant) in a rural all volunteer fire department. The second Thursday of every month, the entire department has a meeting for training and information at the station house. You are straightening up some loose ends after one Thursday night meeting and Jeffrey McDougall comes into your office. You and Jeffrey went to high school together, you still go to football and basketball games together, and you consider him to be a close friend. Jeffrey sits down and says, "I'm mad as hell, and I just need to blow off some steam." Jeffrey manages a successful fast food restaurant in town. There are several of these restaurants in town that belong to the same national chain. Jeffrey's is by far the most successful. The chain's division manager just appointed one of the other restaurant managers in town as the supervisor over all the town restaurants. As Jeffrey is relating this story to you, you can tell he's not clinically depressed over the situation, he just needs a sounding board to explain what happened and try out his ideas for rectifying the situation. Would you tackle this problem yourself? If yes, how? If no, why not and what would you do to resolve it? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 105 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR Objective 2 The participant will be able to explain techniques used in establishing and maintaining effective counseling rela- tionships. II. Effective Counseling Techniques A. Four Approaches to Counseling 1. Behavioral approach (reinforcing). 2. Nondirective approach (discovering). 3. Directive approach (controlling). Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 106 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4. Eclectic approach. B. Tips on Effective Counseling 1. Project appropriate image with voice, body language. 2. Identify pushing and restraining forces. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 107 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 3. Information needs in facilitating change, a. What is the change? b. Internal and external resources. c. Internal and external barriers. d. How to use resources, remove barriers. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 108 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4. Vary types of inquiry, a. Discovery question . b. Controlling question. c. Discovery statement . d. Controlling statement. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 109 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: APPLYING COUNSELING TECHNIQUES EXAMPLE ONE Counselor Role Directions: Attempt to gather as much relevant information about the situation as you can, using the counseling approach and inquiry types you believe will be most productive. You are the company officer in small, rural department. There are a small number of paid staff which are supplemented with volunteers. There is one particular employee on the payroll with whom you have been having problems lately. He is an excellent firefighter, but he does not get along with the rest of the staff. He is constantly picking on the others when you are all sitting around the station. He seems to try to start fights for no reason at all. He has to disagree with somebody during a seemingly innocuous conversation, and really gets people upset. Several of your firefighters have come to you and said that something has to be done about this man. You have decided to have an informal meeting and try counseling him. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 110 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: APPLYING COUNSELING TECHNIQUES EXAMPLE ONE Counselee Role You are a firefighter in a small, rural department. You joined the department about six months ago when you and your family had just moved to the town. You made the move from a large urban area with your family because your wife's mother, who lives in the area, was ill and your wife wanted to be near her. You had never lived outside a big city before and you resent having to move to this small town. You had been on the fire department in your home town and enjoyed it, so you decided to stay a firefighter after you moved. Since you have moved, you have not felt like you were able to fit into this small town. You have felt uncomfortable and out of place, and have even felt snubbed by the townspeople. Additionally, you have felt as if the other firefighters were lazy and incompetent. You get bored very quickly with the way they carry on in the station. The company officer mentioned he would like to talk with you. You aren't sure why he wants to see you. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 111 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: APPLYING COUNSELING TECHNIQUES EXAMPLE TWO Counselor Role Directions : Attempting to gather as much information about the situation as you can, using the counseling approach and inquiry types you believe will be most productive. You are a company officer with 20 years experience in a middle-sized all-career fire department. One of the firefighters, who has served well with you for five years, has suddenly started having both performance and interpersonal problems in the station. He has not been doing his station duties well and has attempted to start two fights with fellow employees. His fireground actions in a recent fire almost lead to the injury of others. Several firefighters have come to you with complaints. You have decided that an informal private meeting may help to clear the air and give you some insight. You arrange to have coffee at the local restaurant right after your shift is relieved. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 112 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY ACTIVITY: APPLYING COUNSELING TECHNIQUES EXAMPLE TWO Counselee Role You are a firefighter with five years experience in a middle-sized all-career fire department that works 24-hour shifts. You realize that the best thing that ever happened to you was your appointment as a firefighter. However, you recently found out that your father, who is still living on the farm in a neighboring state, is dying of terminal cancer. You and your father are very close and you are hardly able to contain your grief. Since your recent separation from your wife, there is no support at home. You realize you are not up to par on the job and this increases your anxiety. Every time one of your friends asks what is wrong, you freeze up or even become angry, afraid of "caving in" in front of your fellow firefighters. You are becoming ashamed of yourself. The captain has invited you to have a cup of coffee privately at the end of the shift. You are not sure just what, if anything, he wants, but you feel a little nervous and defensive. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 113 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY COUNSELING TECHNIQUE ACTIVITY: Observer's Worksheet 1. What might be the consequences, in your opinion, if the officer had decided to "let it ride" instead of counseling? 2. How did the officer "set the climate"? 3. Were the two able to agree on the problem? Did the officer practice active listening at this stage? 4. What approach or approaches to the problem did the officer use? Did you feel the approach was appropriate? 5. What image did the officer project? Was it appropriate? 6. What internal or external resources were identified? What internal or external barriers were identified? Were the two able to find a strategy to reinforce resources and/or remove barriers? 7. Was the officer's inquiry primarily discovering or controlling ? Do you feel the choice was appropriate? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 114 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Optional Section D. Ethical and Legal Aspects of the Counseling Relationship 1. The nature of the counseling relationship. 2. Competence. 3. Confidentiality. Written records. 5. Employee access to records. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 115 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Other issues. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 116 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR: COUNSELING Suggested Further Activities 1. Next time you find yourself in a counseling situation— whether at work, home, or among friends— take a few moments after the conversation to write down examples of inquiries you used exactly as you worded them: Were you controlling too much? Or did you leave the "gate" open for self-discovery? You may also wish to formalize this by videotaping a role-play situation and documenting the number and type of each form of inquiry used. Then discuss the results with your "counselee." 2. Begin asking questions about mental health practitioners and facilities in your area. Compile a list of addresses, telephone numbers, and descriptions so it is ready if needed. 3. Research department, local area, and state regulations and laws that have impact on employee counseling or in any way affect how performance problems that reflect personal issues should be handled. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 117 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR: COUNSELING References Lewis R. Benton, Supervision and Management (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972). Elwood N. Chapman, Your Attitude Is Showing (Chicago: Science Research Associates, Inc., 1972). D. J. Delaney and S. Sisenberg, The Counseling Process (Chicago: Rand McNally and Co., 1972). William F. Downing and Leonard R. Sayles, How Managers Motivate (New York: McGraw- Hill, 1978). David M. Fabish, "Becoming a Master of Public Administration," Western Fire Journal (July 1983). Patrick T. Maher, "Don't Get Stuck in the Muck of Discrimination Suits," Western Fire Journal (June 1983). Patrick T. Maher, "Fairly Evaluating Job Performance," American Fire Journal (November 1983). Patrick T. Maher, "The Road to Court Is Paved with Good Intentions," Western Fire Journal (July 1983). Patrick T. Maher, "Statutes Guard Against Sex and Age Discrimination," American Fire Journal (October 1983). Aaron Q. Sartain and Alton W. Baker, The Supervisor and the Job (New York: McGraw- Hill, 1978). Leonard R. Sayles and George Strauss. Managing Human Resources (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1981). Lester M. Snyder and William A. Cabianca, An Experiential Approach to Interview Training (Tempe, Arizona: Heuristic Systems, Inc., 1972). Ann Murphy Springer and David Springer, Fire Management I (Pacific Grove, California: California Fire Academy, 1981). Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 118 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FOUR: COUNSELING Recommended Reading Elwood N. Chapman, Your Attitude is Showing (Chicago: Science Research Associates, Inc., 1972). Human relationships on the job. Tips for workers on how to get along with peers, superiors. Aaron Q. Sartain and Alton W. Baker, The Supervisor and the Job (New York: McGraw- Hill, 1978). Covers supervision in great depth. A useful reference book. Leonard R. Sayles and George Strauss, Managing Human Resources (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1981). Chapter six covers the interview communications process in detail. Ann Murphy Springer and David Springer, Fire Management I (Pacific Grove, California: California Fire Academy, 1981). See sections on Discipline, Counseling, and handling disputes and grievances. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 119 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 120 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION Overview Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes Understanding Conflict (15 min.) A. Introduction to Conflict 5 min. (Lecture) B. Diagnosing Conflict 10 min. (Lecture, Discussion) II. Managing Conflict (1 hour, 25 min.) A. Five Styles in Conflict Resolution 15 min. (Lecture, Discussion) B. Four Principles of Conflict Resolution 10 min. (Lecture) C. Steps in Conflict Resolution 25 min. (Lecture, Example) Conflict Management Activity 30 min. (Large Group Activity) Unit Summary 5 min. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 121 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION Objective Objective Given a sample conflict situation, participants will be able to apply steps most likely to lead to a satisfactory solution. Enabling Objective 1; The participant will describe the five basic styles of conflict resolution. Enabling Objective 2 ; The participant will cite four guiding principles in effective conflict resolution. Enabling Objective 3 ; The participant will explain suggested steps in conflict resolution. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 122 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE Objective 1 Given a sample conflict situation, participants will be able to apply steps most likely to lead to a satisfactory solution. Enabling Objective It The participant will describe the five basic styles of conflict resolution. Enabling Objective 2 t The participant will cite four guiding principles in effective conflict resolution. Enabling Objective 3 ; The participant will explain suggested steps in conflict resolution. I. The Nature of Conflict A. Introduction to Conflict 1. Unproductive attitudes to conflict are: Productive attitudes to conflict are: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 123 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY d. Actually, two things matter in a conflict: 3. Why meet the needs of the other party? 4. An effective conflict resolution should: B. Diagnosing Conflict 1. Conflict sources: 2. Types of conflict. a. Conflict over facts or data. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 124 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY b. Conflict over methods or policies . c. Conflict over goals or purposes . d. Conflict over values and philosophies . 3. Two aspects of any conflict: a. Substance or issues. b. Feelings. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 125 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY II. Managing Conflict A. Five Styles of Conflict Resolution 1. Conflict resolution styles, a. Avoiding. • Uses. • Drawbacks. b. Accommodating. • Uses. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 126 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY • Drawbacks. c. Compromising. • Uses. • Drawbacks. d. Competing. • Uses. • Drawbacks. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 127 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY e. Collaborating. • Uses. • Drawbacks. Four Principles of Conflict Resolution. 1. Separate the people from the problem . 2. Focus on interests, not positions. 3. Generate a variety of options before deciding . Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 128 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4. Seek objective standards . C. Steps in Conflict Resolution 1. Assert common interests. 2. Express each side's concerns and interests . 3. Develop criteria for good solution. 4. Generate action ideas , a. Define the problem. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 129 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY b. Analyze the problem. c. Generate broad approaches. d. Suggest specific action ideas. 5. Develop action ideas . 6. Implement best suggestions . Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 130 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SAMPLE CONFLICT FOR CLASS DISCUSSION Conflict discussed was: 1. Common interests for both groups: 2. Concerns/interests, side Concerns/interests, side 2: 3. Criteria for good solution (one that satisfies legitimate concerns/interests of each side): 4. Generate action ideas. a. What exactly is the problem? b. Analyze the problem. What contributes to it? c. What are some possible broad approaches? d. Examples of specific action ideas? Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 131 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY: GREEN VALLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT AND SWANSTOWN FIRE AND RESCUE Directions : The purpose of this exercise is to give you an opportunity to apply the conflict man- agement principles just discussed. Time will allow you to go through only the first four of the six steps in conflict resolution, but these are the hardest. You will be assigned to Green Valley op Swanstown. The departments will meet separately, then together. As a separate group, your top priorities are to decide what your common interests are with the other departments so you can state them at the beginning of the joint meeting (step one) and to be prepared to express your side's interests and concerns (step two). If time allows, develop criteria for a good solution from the standpoint of your side, but be prepared to revise these to include the interests of the other group (step 3). Each side will select three negotiators to represent the views of the group. You may go ahead and generate some action ideas, but do NOT let them harden into positions. Both groups then meet. Your success will be measured by: 1. The quality of the relationship you have with the other side when the exercise is stopped 2. Whether steps 1, 2, and 3 are completed to the satisfaction of both groups 3. The number of action ideas you have generated using the process described in Visual 5.6. Success is not determined by speed ! Background: The relationship between Green Valley and Swanstown has been stormy at best for some time, but recently conflicts have escalated, with a torrent of poor publicity that has been a public relations disaster for both. Conflicts have centered on Swan Acres, a wealthy subdivision in Green Valley's jurisdiction. Swanstown Fire and rescue has been responding to calls in this area. It possesses a variety of modern equipment (telemetry units, defibrillation packs, and mast trousers, for example) and has an excellent staff of emergency medical personnel. Swan Acres has expressed its appreciation to the unit with substantial financial support. Green Valley, which critically needs financial backing to buy some much-needed new equipment, has insisted that Swanstown not respond to rescue calls at all. Green Valley personnel dismiss Swanstown's responders as soon as they (Green Valley) are able to arrive, often angrily. In a recent case, there is some question as to whether a patient's life was Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 132 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY endangered by the on-scene argument and temporary cessation of medical efforts. A local paper reached a Swanstown EMT immediately after the incident, who said, "Green Valley is so incompetent, its units shouldn't be allowed to operate at all." A Green Valley firefighter said in response that Swanstown was "horning in on Green Valley's legal territory to soak its residents for money, which is all they care about." Arguing that "turnabout is fair play," Green Valley has been showing up regularly at fires in Swanstown's New Street area. It has somewhat better high-rise equipment than Swanstown and its officers have had more experience in fighting high-rise fires. It insists that its personnel should be in charge of fires in which their equipment is used. It is running into opposition from the town board, however, which feels its tax dollars should not be spent on "other people's problems." Swanstown Fire and Rescue Department is highly trained, with a large cadre of young, progressive pesonnel. Most of its leaders came from politically liberal Swan Acres and have close ties in the community. They feel Swan Acres "deserves the best"— which is them. Green Valley's older, conservative, more experienced leadership feels experience, not "fancy equipment and book learning," spells success. They are keenly conscious of economic factors and do not wish to give up the financial support they feel they could get from Swan Acres if Swanstown would stop "competing" with them and "trying to make them look bad" in front of key citizens in their district. Political factors at town and department levels militate against a smooth working relationship, since both towns and departments see themselves as different (in culture and interests), and tend to believe independence is the best way to see their needs are met. The town boards of both areas have been embarrassed by the situation, and ordered the two departments to "get their act together" and "come up with some feasible sugges- tions double-quick." They say they are willing to consider any suggestions both sides agree to as long as they don't cost too much. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 133 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Sn&I£ ftrtili fonts I *~*fe-*ir£ &>r*P££T£ WiTHlN 'torn v*&r*v»'--^^ ^ BmS , 'mR?' " Apfi*mtM5 , ConPoMiNiurfiS 5mrI~1- ^C t- - — — ■ "" — — — .-^ - ■<** " \ ^*A 5/nQ£ Family i T°J"2t J Jnme.fi&vemm^*^ am***/ ^?^^6 1 5 ^ 6 ^ : Hl&H PoPofmiDfi/ I 5%PP?r>Q OfrfT&Z. f ^MfXJ- NEW AND OLD TOWN LINES Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 134 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION Suggested Further Activities 1. Practice classifying conflicts according to type, and notice how they are resolved. Work on learning from previous conflicts what works best for each type. 2. Make a list of 10 conflicts you have been involved in over the last year, quickly and without thinking. Consider what style(s) you are using most often. How satisfied are you with the result? What style(s) do you use least? What does this information tell you about yourself in conflict situations and how can you use it to improve results? 3. Use the conflict resolution steps and principles! Use the "Sample Conflict for Class Discussion" to think through your side of an appropriate conflict, and have the other party fill it out as well. Then get together and use the completed forms to structure your discussion. Alternatively, you may wish to distribute it blank and use it as a discussion guide. This may remove some of the sense of threat from the dialogue. 4. Order the "Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument" (see References) and take the "test" with others you work with. Compare the results so you are aware of others' typical approach to conflict and discuss the implications for your group as a team. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 135 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION References Robert Blake, Herbert Shephard, and Jane Mouton, Managing Intergroup Conflict in Industry (New York: Gulf, 1964). Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, "The Fifth Achievement," Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (Vol. 6, No. 4, 1970). Alan C. Filley, Interpersonal Conflict Resolution (Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1975). Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (New York: Penguin, 1983^ Joyce Hocker Frost and William W. Wilmot, Interpersonal Conflict (Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown Company, 1978). Rensis Likert and Jane Gibson Likert, New Ways of Managing Conflict (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976). Gerard I. Nierenberg, The Art of Negotiating (New York: Hawthorne, 1968). Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann, "Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument," 1974. Available from XICON, Inc., Sterling Forest, Tuxedo, New York 10987. Marlene Wilson, Survival Skills for Managers (Boulder, Colorado: Volunteer Management Associates, 1981). Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 136 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY UNIT FIVE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION Recommended Reading Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, "The Fifth Achievement," Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (Vol. 6, No. 4, 1970). This brief article makes a basic, helpful link between management styles and approaches to conflict resolution that should be illuminating to fire department managers who want to assess the effectiveness of the style they currently use. Alan C. Filley, Interpersonal Conflict Resolution (Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1975). Contrasts to Fisher and Ury (see below) in that it references a wide range of relevant information and research. Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (New York: Penguin, 1983.) Probably the single best, most concise, and most readable reference on conflict resolution, including not only an expanded discussion of the four basic steps in conflict resolution presented in this course, but answers to the most common "What Ifs": What if they are more powerful, what if they won't play, and what if they use dirty tricks. Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann, "Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument," 1974. Available from XICON, Inc., Sterling Forest, Tuxedo, New York 10987. This widely used questionnaire helps individuals determine what conflict style they generally use. It comes with sufficient information to analyze and use test results constructively. Marlene Wilson, Survival Skills for Managers (Boulder, Colorado: Volunteer Management Associates, 1981). A helpful, practical chapter on conflict resolution gives a variety of useful tips. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 137 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS UNIT ONE: GROUP DYNAMICS SECTION I. TYPES, PRINCIPLES, AND STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT A. Types of Small Groups A great deal of change has occurred in the fire service in the last 20 years with respect to small group behavior. The long-standing engine and truck companies in large paid departments now experience a great deal of transferring. In volunteer departments, there is a much greater turnover with people moving in and out of town. Many counties are going to countywide fire departments and merging several volunteer departments and a few paid departments into one large department. These kinds of changes have major effects on the membership satisfaction of group members, the group's ability to reach con- sensus, and the group's level of productivity. So it's important to look carefully at what it takes for a collection of people to become a "real" group. When we speak of a small group, we do not mean any gathering of people sharing a space by accident. We are referring to a few people (generally three to nine) engaged in communication interaction over time, who have common goals and norms, and who have developed a pattern or procedure for meeting these goals in an interdependent fashion. If that sounds like a lot of requirements, it is. Let's look at each of the nine characteristics of a group a little more closely. Communication that occurs in a group is not random but is very predictable. Later in this unit we describe the specific patterns of communication that go into defining a group; but as a general rule, if the group has an open, free-flowing conversation (i.e., it's a "noisy" group) chances are it's a good group. If the group experiences long periods of tense silence, or if one person, particularly the officer in command, dominates the group, chances are the group has a lot of problems and it may not even be what we would call a work group. The protectiveness of space is a key sign to better detect the presence of a strong group. The more the group has a distinct identity, the more space they will claim. This is such a common problem in many private organizations that, as a result, the organization has to allot each group the "same" amount of space to reduce conflict. This happens all the time in the fire service. In an upper New York town there is a fire house that, for lack of money, houses two separate volunteer fire organizations. Both have existed for 150 years. One is the engine company and one is the truck company. Each department has its own recreation room that is kept locked, and everyone knows where the house is divided. How much time it takes for a group to become a group is very difficult question to answer. It varies from group to group. Sometimes an emergency problem (i.e., a fire) will force the group together. Sometimes weeks can go by and the people are still not a group. Technically speaking, a group is a group when it is through "secondary tension" (we explain this a little later) and all five major group roles are formed. Also, some collections of people never become a group; but in the fire service, we still expect them to get the job done. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 138 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Another characteristic of a small work group is size . But what is too small or too big, and what is just right? Well, as you might have suspected, small group scholars have not been able to agree on the exact parameters. However, for the fire service let's say that three is the smallest, nine is the largest, and that five to seven people is ideal. Dyads (two people) interact differently than triads (three people). By the time there are ten or twelve people in a work group, it will cell-divide and form subgroups. We all know about the "cliques" that form in a fire house. Sometimes they form around a piece of apparatus (i.e., pumper, ladder), sometimes they form in terms of whether they agree or disagree with the department's philosophy, and sometimes they form around a common social activity. So, it is important for the fire officer who is supervising more than nine fire fighters to realize there is more than one group to manage. Interdependency is almost always present with fire teams. The nature of the work requires that the team members coordinate their activities if lives and property are to be saved. The strong norming behavior of fire groups is one of the first things you see when you study fire groups. The American fire service is steeped in over two hundred years of tradition that determines many group norms. However, each small group will have its own "personality." In addition, the increased responsibility of fire groups and the changing of organizational structure has altered many of the traditional norms. Every group has some structural patterns that characterize the group and the way its members interact. However, almost all small group theorists maintain that as a collection of people becomes a group it does so in stages. In the work group, the stages tend to involve a division of labor process through which members take on their various roles. Once the group is formed, however, members tend to remain in those same roles. In encounter groups the structure may not be roles, but a recurring pattern of behavior that is peculiar to it. Most small group theorists contend that groups go through predictable patterns of communication as they seek to achieve their goals. A similarity between interdependency and goals exists but the concepts are not isomorphic. For example, five men could have the goal of fathering a child but not be interdependent. Yet the same five men could have the common goal of a five dollar raise and, if they were the members of a bargaining team for their union, would have interdependency. Small groups are held together by their need to cooperate in the achievement of a group goal. If the goal can be achieved independently of group action, or only through competition among the group members, then the small group "glue" called cohesion may lose its adhesive power. Perception . The last way to tell a small group from a collection of people is to see if there is a perceived boundary line that separates the "insiders" from the "outsiders." In short, do the people think of themselves as members of the group and do they perceive other people as not being members of that group? If people perceive themselves as members of a group, then they probably are. Generally speaking, there are three types of groups that occur naturally in the fire service. There are "consciousness-raising groups" that exist to heighten professional identity. There are often "encounter groups" in which participants "open up" in order to achieve self-development and promote empathy and trust. And most importantly, there are task groups, which exist for the purpose of getting work done. It is important for a Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 139 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY supervisor to understand each group type so that it can be identified and used constructively. B. Principles and Stages of Group Development As supervisor or manager, you deal with a number of different types of groups. Under certain circumstances, each type of group can go awry and cause harm to the entire work group; yet, each can also be beneficial and assist in reaching organizational goals. Therefore, it is important that the supervisor recognize the different group types and monitor their development to ensure their impact is positive. The effect of a consciousness-raising (CR) session on a fire work group is probably the least understood aspect of group behavior in the fire service. Social science research has only recently "discovered" this type of group. Yet, consciousness-raising groups have probably been in existence since humans first formed tribes. In the early 1960's, radical political groups "discovered" the power of CR sessions and trained their leaders to run them to bring "converts" to the cause. Organizers like National Organization of Women (N.O.W.), the Black Panthers, and the Symbonese Liberation Army (SLA) were using CR. In the late 1960's, a President's Commission on Student Unrest was formed to study the problem. In their report to the President, the commission members expressed their concern about the processes that had produced the fanatical commitment to causes, sometimes demonstrated by revolutionary acts committed against the government (Report of the President's Council on Student Unrest). In the 1970's, our country was again shocked by the fanatical commitment of people to a cause. This time the organizations or groups were religious cults, such as the "Moonies" and the Hare Krishnas. The world was shocked in 1978 when over nine hundred members of Reverend Jimmy Jones' People's Temple committed mass suicide. Reverend Jones had made extensive use of CR sessions in the running of his People's Temple, and once again there was a public cry to understand this process. In the 1980's, private business organizations are using this same small group process to heighten the commitment of the people who sell their products. The Amway Company, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and the Williams Insurance Company are good examples of how people are motivated through the use of this small group process. However, just because CR has been misused does not mean it should be avoided. First of all, CR will occur "naturally" all by itself, so a fire officer must watch for it. Second, CR is the main way a group builds its pride, so the fire officer needs to control it. A consciousness-raising group tends to go through four stages. In the first stage, or "credentialing" stage, the group recognizes that members are all "cut from the same cloth" and begins sharing tales of a common "villain" or problem. In the second stage, banter is replaced by a more intense discussion of the "they" against which "we" are being defined. This may involve officers versus blue shirts, volunteers versus paid, one shift versus another, or any number of other possible oppositions. Third, participants begin to establish values for the group, and explain to each other "what makes us special." This may be followed by a fourth stage in which some action is taken that is a logical way to assert this strong sense of identity— perhaps by making demands on "them." Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 140 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Obviously, if such a group begins to form, its progress must be monitored. They can be a powerful way of raising group pride— but they may also increase intergroup rivalry to the detriment of the whole department. You may need to tell some positive stories about "them" to keep things in perspective, or emphasize job-related positive qualities in the group that will enhance performance. In 1946, Kurt Lewin and his associates discovered the basis of what Lewin now calls T-groups or sensitivity training groups. They are also called encounter groups. In training a group of leaders in Connecticut on how to deal with a community's interracial problems, Lewin and his colleagues discovered that their informal evening sessions that dealt with their own behavior during the previous day's training sessions were powerful discussions that were somehow different from normal work groups. Lewin and his colleagues formed the National Training Laboratory (NTL) as a result of this discovery and soon began studying the interpersonal and leadership skills that people use in groups. By the 1960's, the focus of encounter groups had shifted from learning about people in groups to learning about oneself, with the group as the basic means of self-discovery. Carl Rogers and other clinical psychologists began holding group therapy sessions for "normals." In the 1960's, college students were deeply interested in self-growth, and encounter groups were one of the chief means by which they accomplished their personal goals. By the 1970's, it had also been discovered that encounter groups had the potential to produce not only self-growth, but also self-destruction. Yalom, Lieberman, and Miles in Encounter Groups First Facts (1973), document some of the psychic damage that can occur as the result of encounter group sessions. They point out that several different leadership styles in encounter groups lead to substantial harm to group members. The leadership of encounter groups is best left to trained clinical psychologists: The use of this group process as a parlor game can definitely be harmful to some participants. In the fire service, "mini" encounter groups often occur naturally in the course of a fire work group's life. They may be identified by a high degree of personal self-disclosure, deep group trust, and empathy among group members. Fire officers need to watch them very closely. A firefighter can over-disclose or under-disclose. An officer needs to work hard to set norms for self-disclosure that are safe. This group process cannot be ignored because it can lead to severe emotional stress of the work team members. The work group is the most researched of the three group types and it is the centerpiece of this training unit. We know that there are usually four ways a group can develop. Usually, a "natural" leader emerges after a brief struggle. The loser is the central negative. However, other results may occur. A second way is when one member takes immediate control of the group, usually based on his or her expert knowledge. This often happens in a spontaneous emergency situation. For example, you may have to organize a group of civilians to help save someone's life. You probably would not allow any challenge to your leadership. A third way a group can evolve is for the leadership competition to remain unresolved with two people fighting it out to the bitter end. The fourth possible outcome is for no one to assert themselves into the role of leader. If you have ever been to a PTA meeting, you'll notice that sometimes everyone "ducks" to avoid responsibility. But usually a leader will emerge; often, it will be the best person to lead that particular group of people to solve a given problem. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 141 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Five major roles are considered necessary in any true group. It should be noted that regardless of what role you played in the past, or your personal experience and maturity, the role you play in each new group is always open for negotiation. Usually this negotiation is unconscious— yet it always occurs. The task leader may be either the appointed leader, or the one who emerges as best qualified to lead that particular group— usually because of special expertise, experience, or leadership ability. The social-emotional leader plays a complementary role to the task leader. While the task leader focuses on the task, the social-emotional leader concentrates on the human needs of participants; Are they too tired and in need of a break? Is someone's ego on the line? Does someone need encouragement? The information provider is usually a shared role, since members usually have different types of information each is qualified to contribute. A negative variation that sometimes develops in groups is the rumor spreader. Supervisors should be prepared to counter rumors with the facts as quickly as possible, often by a phone call to a knowledgeable source. Information that advances the task is valuable, but rumors can kill the spirit of a group. The central negative is often the person who lost the leadership struggle, and criticizes or questions positions suggested by the leader or others. This can be a valuable, constructive role if well played and well handled, and can assist the group in reaching the best possible decision. It can, however, be uselessly divisive if it becomes personal or irrational. The tension releaser exists to take the edge off moments of conflict, or to free the minds of participants through laughter. A negative form of tension release is "playing the clown" to excess or at inappropriate times. Tension release should advance, not retard, team spirit and progress. Many television and movie scripts owe their impact to the realistic portrayal of group roles. The film, The Poseidon Adventure is a good case in point. In that movie, Gene Hackman (the preacher) emerges as task leader , Ernest Borgnine (the cop) becomes the central negative , the little boy is the information provider , Red Buttons is the social- emotional leader , and Shelly Winters is the tension releaser . Our point is that all good work groups have these five roles played. It's important for a fire officer to recognize who is playing what role in his group. In addition to the five major roles played in a task group, there are potentially five minor roles that can be played. They are: 1) the questioner, a person who may specialize in asking all the important questions to probe an idea incisively; 2) the silent observer , who will for sit hours and quietly observe and evaluate the idea. At a verbal level, the people playing the major roles sometimes "play" for the silent observers' approval. This behavior occurs most frequently in juries. 3) the active listener , a role that all members of a group need to play during the course of a discussion; 4) the recorder , a role that is usually rotated because it has a subservient connotation to it; and 5) the self-centered follower , the only counter-productive role in a group. The person playing this role may work against the best interest of the group, because his or her own gain is top priority. A task group commonly goes through five stages. During orientation , it defines its goal. A conflict stage is then entered over the best way to achieve the goal. Gradually, Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 142 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY an idea begins to gain acceptance , until it is reinforced by group members and consensus is achieved. Now the group is ready to try out its idea. In contributing to an effective task group, it is important to reduce intergroup conflict that is not productive and emphasize the common goals. Differences of opinion should be welcomed as a productive exchange that will ensure that the goal can be met in the best possible way. Keep productivity in mind, and focus on the task at hand. Finally, do not be disappointed when you are not always the emergent leader, even when you are the formal, appointed one. It is not possible to fulfill this function adequately in a number of groups at once. By working with the group effectively as it is constructed, you will enhance your reputation and leadership much more than if you turned the group into a forum for a power struggle. C. Building Effective Teams Five negative behaviors are warning signs of a group that is heading for trouble. These are too much advice-giving, putting down other members, taking over, censoring, and the hard sell. To be effective, a group member needs to work toward shared problem- solving rather than seeking to continually demonstrate his or her expertise; to show acceptance of other members; to be willing to let go and trust the group; to hear others out; and to empathize with others, respecting their values and priorities. Often, we assume positions are incompatible when in fact, with a little sensitivity, both values can be successfully addressed. An effective task group participant can help the group make progress by performing either "task functions" or "maintenance functions." Task functions are directly related to making progress on the task itself, and would have to be performed even if the task were assigned to robots. But maintenance functions are necessary for the human aspect of the group, and help human beings fulfill their potential as group members. Task functions include initiating (helping "get the show on the road" or introducing new directions); information-seeking (getting ideas or facts from others); information- giving (sharing what you know or think); clarifying/coordinating (helping the group reach a clear understanding of where they are and who is saying what); summarizing/orienting (offering conclusions that follow from what has been said) and finally, consensus-testing/ evaluation (asking members to offer their assessment of a key statement to see whether everyone is in agreement). When these functions are omitted, the group may become "off track" and lose its sense of direction. Communication problems may also occur. Maintenance functions include harmonizing (helping smooth ruffled feathers, recon- ciling members whose personal feelings are hindering progress, and similar functions); gate-keeping (seeing that all members have a chance to contribute, and the "gates" are open for new input); encouraging (explicitly reaching out to less aggressive members or others who need a friendly push to enter the open gate); supporting (making it clear that you are receptive to someone's ideas, whether you are sure you agree or not) and finally, collaborating/compromising (serving as a negotiator when differences of opinion emerge, and seeing that neither side feels angry or bitter. It is important to realize that mainte- nance functions may be just as important to task achievement as the task functions: the quality of work will surely suffer if no one pays attention to the human aspects of group membership. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 143 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY A team player is one who meets five basic ethical standards. These may be described as follows: 1. Commitment to do his or her best . Each group member brings a unique personality, set of social experiences, and knowledge of the job and/or discussion topic to the group. Implicitly, the group expects each member to make available his or her special talents for the group's benefit. When it appears that a member is holding back some talent or knowledge, conflict generally ensues. The individual who is "sand-bagging" usually feels he or she has the right not to contribute. But the group will feel that an ethic has been violated. Sometimes these conflicts develop over role selection. An individual may possess vast experience in handling interpersonal conflict, but refuses to play the role of the social-emotional leader. 2. Commitment to the group good . Of the ten roles in a group, the one negative role is the self-centered follower. The communication behavior that is frequently exhibited by this role is special-interest pleading. When people work in groups, there is an assumption that they are working for a common good. When a group member appears to be using the group for his or her individual ends, conflict ensues in which the self-centered follower is accused of unethical behavior. A violation of this ethic in team sports is easy to spot. The self- centered follower is the player who sacrifices team victory in order to achieve individual honors. 3. Commitment to rationality . Group decisions pose threats to individual convictions. The process of reasoning out a conclusion that several people can accept requires a commitment to rational thinking. It means that each member must be willing to abandon his or her previous beliefs on an issue if sufficient arguments are marshalled in the discussion to justify a change in opinion. 4. Commitment to fair play . Good group members should not attempt to manipulate or entrap each other in their common search for truth. In a court of law, lawyers may use clever strategies that unnerve witnesses or infuriate their opposition. But in a discussion, there is no opponent; everyone should be working cooperatively for the common good. Therefore, a good discussant does not compete against the other group members. 5. Commitment to good listening . An ethical standard that all group members should endorse is a commitment to good listening. Listening goes beyond just hearing fellow group members talk. In order for us to be able to play the role of an active listener in a discusssion, we must listen attentively to what fellow group members are saying. If you would like to give some effort to improving your leadership, here are some suggestions for areas in which you might want to analyze your performance and "stretch" a little with each opportunity. 1. Put group goals ahead of your own . Strangely enough, this is often one of the best ways of meeting your goals! Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 144 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 2. Have a genuine concern for group members . Don't be so focused on the task that you forget to notice the people who must accomplish it. This can only be self-defeating. 3. Set a good work pattern . Observe the well-known principle that "actions speak louder than words." 4. Communicate well and often . Through solid communication links, understanding is assured and efficiency improved. 5. Know when to be the leader— and when to back off and play a different constructive role. That, too, is a form of leadership and a mark of character! 6. Recognize individual differences . As Carl Rogers has indicated in his well- known book, Carl Rogers on Encounter Groups , one of the objectives that the National Training Laboratory has suggested as being important to organizations is to build trust among individuals and groups, for the health of the organization as well as the welfare and development of the individual. The encounter moments in the life of a work group allow the group to better understand the unique qualities of each member. Some of these individual differences everybody will like and celebrate; however, every member will have some personality traits and behaviors that are irritating to other group members. Learning to tolerate and accommodate some of the more unpleasant aspects of a group member is one of the surest ways to help a group develop and mature. 7. Manage interpersonal conflict . Conflict is an important ingredient in the development of a group. It is healthy and necessary for some conflict to occur at the ideational level of a task group, during role formation, and between individual members. However, it is important to keep these conflicts within manageable boundaries. The more culturally and occupational^ diverse your work group is the more difficult it will be to set these boundaries. 8. Keep self-disclosure within limits . Every group needs a level of self-dislosure such that members know on whom they can depend. Some work groups require more self-disclosure than others. A team of firefighters working cooperatively within a burning building will require a great deal of disclosure from one another so that they will know they can trust the other members to save their lives if need be, but keep it within limits. 9. Build group pride . Consciousness-raising sessions have the effect of highlighting the positive characteristics of the group that can be the source of a group's pride. Unfortunately, this process is a comparative one and the group runs the risk of exaggerating its superiority over other groups. Therefore, it is important that the group build its pride upon a solid foundation of measurable productivity. 10. Create symbols and slogans . Bormann and Bormann observed: "Highly cohesive groups also always work out ways to identify their group; sometimes these are as obvious as insignia, or mascots, or the use of nicknames." After a group has established some ability to do the work, the naming of the group can be formally discussed as an agenda item with very beneficial results. Thinking of a name or a logo for a group helps the group discover what all the members take pride in. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 145 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 11. Establish group traditions . Bormann and Bormann have also found that tradition plays an important role in the group (1976, p. 70). All work groups should spend some time dwelling on their past accomplishments and retelling old stories as a means of both maintaining the group's maturity and assimilating new members into the group. 12. Work to clarify role differentiation . Shepherd stated: "A successful group is one in which each member's role is clear and known to himself and to others in the group" (1964, pp. 122-23). It is also important to recognize that role formation is a dynamic, not a static, phenomenon in group development. Even established groups manifest some changes in role playing. So it is important to continually clarify in your mind what roles are being played by what members for the benefit of the group. 13. Stress group productivity . We have all been members of work groups that were made up of people we enjoyed being with one another and know that it makes the work go smoother if everyone likes each other. Yet we've also participated in group work with people we have not been particularly fond of, but have sometimes found these unpleasant groups to be more productive than the happy ones. One sign of a firefighter's professional maturity is that person's ability to work efficiently and effectively with coworkers to whom he or she is not attracted. We can rarely choose who will be on our work teams, and members are never rewarded for how they get along with each other. On the contrary, they are sometimes reprimanded if interpersonal conflicts get in the way of their work. When all is said and done, the most important output is the group's productivity. Member satisfaction and consensus are two group outcomes that tend to enhance productivity, but even if there is little member satisfaction and even if the group rarely reaches consensus, it can still meet its most basic objective— productivity. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 146 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS UNIT TWO: COMMUNICATION SECTION I. COMMUNICATION MEDIA A. Overview of the Communication Process National surveys indicate that we spend about 70 percent of our waking hours involved in some form of communication. These same surveys continue to report that our number one fear is not sharks or fire but the fear of giving a public speech. Communication is so pervasive and such an important part of a fire officer's profes- sional life that it must be considered a key skill. Becoming a confident, efficient, effective communicator means overcoming any fears you have of being "on the spot" as communicator or receiver, so that you are as much in your element writing a memo or addressing an audience as you are in doing any other task you do well and often. This means, first, that you need a thorough understanding of the basic principles behind the communication process. Any communication is in "code." Think about it. To read a language, you must know the language— not only the literal meaning of the words, but the special nuances that give words that are similar in meaning (like "plump" vs. "obese") their special color. Our body language "vocabulary" — our gestures, for example — is culturally conditioned, like our word vocabulary. But we each belong to different subcultures, such as ethnic and religious groups, that further condition the meaning we attach to words and gestures. As indivi- duals, we have all had different experiences that may affect our understanding. What does this mean for us as communicators? First, that we need to thoroughly and consciously understand as much as we can about how our culture "encodes" and "decodes" messages in each type of medium (that is, each form of communication, such as a memo, report, or speech). But secondly, it means that we must be wary of assuming that people hear a message exactly as we mean them to, knowing that their "frame of reference" will always differ to some degree from our own. If we are aware of the frame of reference of people with whom we work, we can adjust our communication to achieve maximum efficiency. The frame of reference for a sender and receiver is a little like a pane of glass that is never perfectly clear; we always see some color or mark that is on that pane that appears to us to be part of the communication. Our frame of reference includes cultural factors— ethnic, religious, regional, and organizational affiliations that color the way we express ourselves and hear others. Then there are personal factors— our goals, assump- tions, experience, and characteristics. Finally, there are situational factors that have to do with the specific moment in which communication is sent or received: The sender- receiver relationship, the context, and the environment. For example, if you believe you're finally being called in to discuss a major issue you've been trying to discuss with your superior for weeks, but instead only relatively trivial matters are discussed, you will have some "static" on the line. If you are trying to tell someone something critical about Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 147 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY a new task you are assigning while they are giving half their attention to apparatus maintenance, or while excess noise intrudes in the background, do not expect them to remember well what you chose to tell them in such a distracting context. Finally, con- sider your relationship with the other party and determine what that person knows and expects of you. We do not readily drop and reconstruct our perceptions. How you are per- ceived will affect what the listener hears you saying. B. Principles of Oral vs. Written Communication Researchers have sorted out five characteristics that tend to be unique to oral , as opposed to written, human communication. The first is that speech is transactional . By that we mean that it is an "action across" a distance—as the components of the word suggest. Communication is sent and received, as is a letter. Even though the sender and receiver are in the same space, the message must cross the distance between two different minds— which may be a wide gap ! Unlike a letter or a report, oral communi- cation is not static, so it is difficult to plan. Indeed, it may be harmful if too much of the conversation is "planned out." Thus, a fire officer must engage in many spontaneous, yet important, conversations with firefighters. Unlike a written memo, a spoken communication is always dynamic and shaped by both speaker and receiver at once. In fact, that is the second characteristic of human conversation. It is a continuous , interactive , and adaptive process. It is arbitrary to say when communication begins and ends. In a formal speech there is an opportunity to plan on how your message can be adapted to a specific audience. But still, once you are giving the speech, you'll make some instantaneous adaptations based upon nonverbal and some- times verbal reactions of the audience. Later in this unit, we will talk about how you can plan for those adaptations. However, in a two-person, face-to-face conversation, action and reaction are so fast that we can only provide you general guidelines for planning your conversation. All verbal communication (spoken and written) can be classified according to how much interaction occurs between sender and receiver. At one end of the continuum is spontaneous, two-person, face-to-face communication in which it is difficult to say who is the sender and who is the receiver. Further along is a slightly more formal, structured communication in which two people address the same topic; then there is the formal meeting, in which exchange occurs among members relating to a shared purpose. There may be a nominal leader, but the spotlight will pass from one sender to another, and the most effective senders will be the best listeners. In a formal speech setting, it is clear who the speaker is and who the audience is, but even so, the interaction between the speaker and the audience will produce some instan- taneous changes in communication. The tendency in modern communication is to become more interactive, so that efficiency is increased. Computer technology is now allowing mass communication sys- tems to be developed that are more interactive. With two-way cable systems, people are literally now able to talk back to their TVs. This interaction between man and machine is also producing breakthroughs in home smoke detectors which can interact directly with the fire department. A book is probably the least interactive piece of communication in that reader reaction to the book can only produce change in the content of the book when Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 148 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY the next edition comes out, which may be several years. It says the same thing to each reader, no matter what the reader needs from it. Thus, the degree of interaction affects the adaptiveness of communication. The more interactive a communication is, the more difficult it is to plan for, but on the other hand, the easier it is to correct or adjust misinformation or intent or feelings. The third characteristic of oral communication is that it has two dimensions , a content and a relational dimension. Most of our content is carried verbally, while more oT the emotional communication is carried on the nonverbal code. Written communication attempts to approximate some of this feeling with symbols like "!!" or by increasing the size of certain words like "NOW," but they are mere words on a page compared to the ability of our face to convey feelings and our ability to punctuate intensity with tone of voice and other "paraverbal cues." Sometimes people's feelings thunder so loud you can't hear what they're saying. As a firefighter, you've certainly had to "ventilate" a hysterical person's emotion in order to get from them needed information such as the location of a child's bedroom or a gas cutoff. But even in nonemergency face-to-face communication, we convey how we feel about a subject, which leads to the fourth characteristic about face-to-face oral communication: we cannot NOT communicate . This is true because all human behavior is communication. All behavior has message value; even our silence communicates. If a student in the class is staring out the window and indicating by nonverbal gestures that he or she is not involved with what is going on, this person is, in fact, communicating meaning to other people. The student does not want to communicate, but is, by the very act of trying NOT to communicate. Thus, silence and stoic mannerisms still communicate meaning to other people. So in a two-person conversation, it is impossible that any part of that conversation be called a period in which nothing was broadcast. Finally, all communication is either symmetrical or complementary . Our communication is symmetrical when we mirror each other's behavior. If two people are sitting face-to-face talking, notice how many times their nonverbal behavior mirrors the other person's— one crosses her legs, and the other does the same, etc. We almost seem impelled to respond physically and psychologically as others do. When you stare, they stare. If you will, it is what we call "the principle of empathy," leading one compassionate man to say: "Never suck a lemon in front of a french horn player." About 50 years ago, anthropologists formulated the concepts of symmetrical and complementary behavior while studying primitive tribes. While reciprocal behavior that is labelled "symmetrical" is easy to see, "complementary" relational behavior is not as easily observed. If symmetrical behavior minimizes the differences between people, complementary behavior maximizes the differences. It involves representing a contrasting viewpoint from the other person. We may speak from a different role, as in teacher- student, parent-child, or officer-blue shirt relationships. The problem with complementary communication is that roles sometimes become rigid and predictable; there is no "give" to them. (Of course, this is also an extreme in symmetrical behavior.) That is, while it is good for a child to be dependent upon the mother, at some point that complementary relationship must change. As you develop conversations with firefighters, you do not want them to become completely predictable and rigid— even in fireground settings. However, there must be some relationship between Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 149 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY the stimulus of your command and the response of their firefighting behavior. A direct order is the extreme example of complementary communication. Principles of Two-Person Oral Communication Much of your communication as a supervisor probably occurs at the two-person level. Certain stages and principles apply to most two-person communications in a work context and can help you be more effective. The first stage in a two-person transaction is exploratory in that both people are trying to determine what kind of "mood" the other person is in: Is it the right time to bring up their subject? How is it likely to be received? Sometimes they are trying to create the correct mood that would enhance the acceptance of their idea. When a firefighter comes to see you, it is important that you set the correct environment. This is generally done by nonverbal cues. If you remain by your desk, appear aloof, or continue to do written reports, you certainly aren't conveying much interest in the firefighter's conversation. Make sure that you do not offend the firefighter by violating any known conventions that exist in your fire department. You can probably quickly think of what this "etiquette" is. It generally relates to standing, sitting, smoking, not smoking, language choice, usual length of conversation, or privateness of the conversation. Also, try your best not to pre- judge or stereotype. If this firefighter coming to see you normally brings trivial issues to deal with, start with an assumption that maybe it is an important one this time. If it is an old problem that you have formed an opinion on many times, still try to listen anew. This situation may be different, and you may hear new insights. In a superior-subordinate relationship, the subordinate will usually let the superior ramble on to trivial topics for fear of offending the officer. So it should be your job to be subject-oriented. Once you are on the subject, you are in Stage Two of the conversation. Once the firefighter has stated the topic, try to engage in symmetrical communication— that is, empathize with him or her. Give the speaker your total attention. If you cannot do so, reschedule the meeting. Your ability as an active listener is critical, since you are generally going to have to ask questions of the firefighter in order to get a complete picture. Twenty-five years ago, this advice was offered: Probe, do not cross-examine; inquire, do not challenge; suggest, do not demand; uncover, do not trap; draw out, do not pump; guide, do not dominate. Formally, one can say there are basically five types of questions. The first is the open question, like "Tell me more about this problem," "How do you feel about the problem?" "What do you think can be done?" The second type of question is the closed question which requires a "yes" or "no" or specific data, like "Do you have a degree in Fire Science?" or "How old is that piece of equipment?" The third is the mirror question, which means you merely rephrase the firefighter's answer to a previous question: "So you think this would improve the fire department?" "So you have some experience in this area?" The fourth is a probing question; like the mirror question, it is another way to elicit more information. Probes are usually short, like "Why?" or "How come?" Often the most effective probe is silence followed by "Tell me more." Finally, there is the leading question in which you are trying to direct the firefighter to your conclusion. These are generally dysfunctional and shouldn't be used. An example would be, "What do you think of this stupid policy?" or "Don't you think it's time to stop screwing around? or "Isn't this really a trivial issue?" Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 150 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY The fire officer must resist the temptation to feel defensive. You will naturally feel that a firefighter is trying to get something from you and we can all point to times in which we got burned by trusting a subordinate, but you have to start from the assumption that the firefighter is well-intended and not throw up your guard the minute he or she starts talking. Your goal is to minimize the differences between you and find a win-win solution. The issue is not "who wins this round," but how you can best maximize mutual gains . When you think you're there, it's time to terminate the meeting. The best way to terminate a meeting is by a concise summary of what has taken place and a statement of what you think you've agreed to. If there is not complete agreement at that point, then you simply schedule another time or you can continue the discussion. To push beyond a brief amiable conversation often results in feelings surfacing that may reduce your ability to solve the problem. So don't be afraid to stop a conversation and schedule another time to meet. However, if it appears that you are procrastinating by simply postponing decisions, you may want to reconsider this behavior in your case. C. The Three "Rs" of Effective Written Reports The major advantage of written reports is your ability to plan them carefully. However, the disadvantage is that without constant feedback from your readership, you have to be extra careful to be clear in the first place. Also, since most of us are experiencing information overload, it is imperative that you be concise. If you'll use the three "Rs" as a guideline in preparing your reports, you'll discover that you can write brief, but effective, reports. The first "R" is reason . Try to write the purpose of your report in one clear sentence. Until you can state in one sentence what the purpose of the report is, you're probably not sure of it yourself. Secondly, it has become more and more important for the reader to know up front the resource base of a report. If it is original research, this would constitute a statement of design in which you describe the number of subjects surveyed and how the data were gathered. However, most reports are summaries of several other studies or sources of information. It is usually possible to state them very concisely. A bibliography is one way to express the data base of the report. The third "R" is results . This refers both to the findings or conclusions of your report, and to the knowledge you wish to leave with the reader— the "result" of reading your study. To achieve the result you want, you need to plan for it. For many writers, it is often easier to assess the specific objectives or sub-parts of a report by asking the question, "What will the reader know after reading this report?" Based on your answer, write your report subheadings. They will keep the reader's attention focused on the topic at hand. Next, ask the question, "Do they need to know all of that in order to meet the major objective of the study?" This analysis will often lead to two reports: the short version and the long version. The short version has become commonly known as an "Executive Summary." This report is generally under six pages. Some corporations demand that it be less than three pages. The short version will state the purpose, data base, and a very brief statement of findings. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 151 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY D. Nonverbal and Paraverbal Communication While we consciously plan or form the verbal components of communication— unless they are accompanied by a high degree of emotion— we often leave nonverbal and paraverbal cues to the dictates of our unconscious mind. By nonv erbal, we mean those cues that don't use words at all— a snap of the fingers, a nose in the air, a hand on the shoulder. By para verbal, we mean signals that accompany words, such as loudness- softness, swiftness-slowness, or emphasis on certain words. Sometimes, these cues reflect the speaker's attitude more accurately than the words themselves! It is therefore extremely important that, as a communicator, you monitor your own nonverbal and paraverbal signals as well as those of the people with whom you speak. This will enable you to avoid sending contradictory messages, or reveal attitudes better concealed. Sometimes you will discover feelings you wish to conceal even from yourself. It will also help you to see how someone is responding to you and your message, so that you can modify your presentation to increase effectiveness. Sometimes important signals- such as "back off" or "I'm uncomfortable"— are delivered nonverbally. You should be prepared to catch them. A caution must be introduced, however. These signals differ from culture to culture and person to person. You need to look for confirmation in other signals, or directly ask the person if what you are seeing is correct. For individuals you work with, it is possible to notice their personal signals for boredom, "time to go," "I disagree," or other important messages over a period of time. They are generally quite consistent for the same individual. There are four main areas of nonverbal communication: Eye contact, movements, proxemics, and body position. Eye contact tends to increase with confidence and interest (it is greatest in lovers or antagonists). It decreases with uneasiness or disinterest, the dominant communicator has been observed to break eye contact more frequently. Movements tend to underline verbal expressions, often adding emphasis; to regulate verbal interactions, by signaling "your turn to talk" or "I'm done"; to show a shift in feeling , generally through a shift in body position; and to show impatience or readiness to leave, mostly by the amount or constancy of movement (the swinging foot or tapping finger are common examples). Proxemics— the relative position of bodies in space— often reveals the closeness of relationship (the more intimate the connection, the closer the speakers) and dominance. The dominant person may invade the other's territory or personal space, or place himself or herself physically higher than the other. Paraverbal communication includes the way a verbal communication is delivered— the speed, pitch, volume, and stress (emphasis). By combining paraverbal and nonverbal cues, one often finds an excellent indication of feelings. When both signals seem to be going in a direction different from words actually spoken, you have "channel inconsis- tency"— something different is being broadcast on each frequency. It is now up to you to find the most tactful and helpful way of enabling the other person to offer a fuller expression of feelings: "Is there still something troubling you about this assignment?" "Is this a bad time to take this up with you?" Often, a good catch of nonverbal or paraverbal signals can save the whole ballgame for a project or relationship. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 152 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION II. ADAPTING COMMUNICATION STRATEGY TO AN AUDIENCE A. Primary Adaptation Skills The first thing a fire officer must have in order to give a successful speech is a preparation system. Almost all of our experience and training in communication through high school and college tends to deal with written communication. We learned how to write and rewrite until it is done correctly. It is quite natural, then, that when many people have to do a formal speech they revert to their written training and prepare an oral speech by writing an essay. This, however, is an ineffective approach that is likely to kill audience enthusiasm. It is difficult to write effective oral language. We don't talk the way we write. Playwrights are good at writing oral language but it takes a good deal of practice. Also, it is difficult to read a manuscript effectively while standing in front of a large group of people. It tends to make you nervous and ill-at-ease. But you also don't sound like yourself and you don't have the opportunity to take advantage of the most positive elements of the speaker's situation, which is that you can adapt your language and arguments based on audience feedback. You can't do that if you've already written it down in advance. Another reason why people write out speeches is that they're afraid that they will forget what they came to say. We've all felt the fear of standing up and looking at a group of people who are all looking at us waiting for our next utterance and we won't know what it is going to be. The answer to this problem is the first rule of an extemporaneous speech preparation system which is: Prepare oral rough drafts , with topic headings and "reminder" notes only. You need to construct your speech in the medium in which it is going to be given, which is face-to-face. You can do this by finding a room where you will not be disturbed and start going through the ideas you plan to talk on orally. Do not sit at your desk and imagine what the speech will be. Stand up and speak out loud . Winston Churchill used to use this technique with a slight flair. He would stand up naked before a floor-length mirror with a cigar in one hand and a martini in the other. We are not endorsing this particular approach, but it jjs important that we hear ourselves speak. If you jot down on a piece of paper the four or five ideas or arguments you want to make, you can use that as a basis for beginning your oral drafts. Remember, never have more than five points and use only a phrase or a word to stand for each point in your outline. An audience cannot retain in their minds 17 ideas, but if you ask them to remember one thing, or even up to five things, they can do that. This rule of no more than five points applies not only to a four-minute speech but to a whole hour presentation. Go through your speech orally on your feet about three times . You'll notice that each time the speech is slightly different. You'll use different expressions, sometimes different examples; your conclusion could be slightly different. But the speech is essentially the same. What has happened is you have developed three or four different ways of expressing the same idea and with this ability have eliminated a major fear— that of forgetting what you're going to say. There is no way you're going to forget the three or five major ideas you came to tell that audience. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 153 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY You will also have some other advantages. You are now prepared to speak in your own oral vocabulary— it sounds like you. You have accomplished what a lot of people have a hard time doing, which is sounding the same way on your feet as you do talking. Even people that have never met you will know that that is your natural vocabulary and this will increase your effectiveness. The next advantage is that you can speak directly to your audience and adapt to their feedback. If somebody stops you with a question, you can answer and pick up where you left off. This becomes very awkward when you are trying to read from a manuscript. Finally, remember that an audience will forgive anything but insincerity . You need to demonstrate your sincerity by being yourself. But you also need to demonstrate that you know what is on the minds of this specific audience because you have taken the time to find out who they are. B. Adapting a Speech to an Audience In building your speech, you want to adapt it to the unique audience that you are speaking to. To do this, you will want to examine three things: Your burden of proof before this audience, which types of rational arguments would be best, and adjusting your appeal to the heroic self-image of your audience. You start by asking yourself the question, "What does the audience already know about my subject? "If you're talking about smoke detectors, what arguments do you think they already believe? Are you going to have to give examples of the different types of smoke detectors? If so, how much detail do they need? The next thing you ask yourself is, "What are the major reasons this audience is not doing what I want them to do?" If it is the County Board and you want them to adopt a mandatory smoke detector ordinance, what are the reasons you think they might have for not adopting it? You want to make sure you build your speech around answering those objections. It is also important to determine whether this is a hostile or friendly audience. Do you have a long-standing reputation of being fair and direct? If so, you want to draw upon that credibility early in your presentation. You also want to locate the common ground between you and your audience. Are we all parents who have a concern for our children? Are we all taxpayers concerned that our money is well-spent? Are we all citizens who have a concern that our community is safe? Are we all professional firefighters who wish to do a competent job? The more specific this common ground can be, the better off you are. So, if you're speaking before the Lion's Club, you have the privilege of saying that you, too, are a Lion or a veteran, etc. Nobody consciously holds conclusions for illogical reasons. We all expect to justify our behavior by rational arguments. So even though one may use emotional appeals, an audience will still expect you to make a case, a logical explanation of why your conclusion is correct. The building blocks for this case are the four types of rational arguments. The first is authority assertion . "The NFPA believes that this law is needed." If they are unfamiliar with the authority you refer to, you may need to "credential" these experts and prove they know what they're talking about. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 154 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY The second type of argument is sign argument . All of diagnostic medicine is signal argument. We look for symptoms that point to a disease. If you were giving a talk on reducing arson fires, you might be listing a number of signs that the audience can look for that would indicate a certain community or building may become, or is becoming, a target for arson. The third form is argument from example . The most common form is a case study. If you're arguing for mandatory smoke detector laws, you might look for similar counties who have adopted the law and have been successful. This would be an argument from example. Often, the least debatable type of argument is causal argument . For example, when an arson investigator, through photographs, can trace the fire back to its origin and then through chemical analysis can determine what form of accelerant was used, he has made a cause and effect argument. You need to be conscious, then, in selecting your rational forms of argument of which ones will be most persuasive for your specific audience. The final consideration you need to make is how to adapt your argument to the heroic self-image of your audience. The first question you ask is, "What is the unique identity of this audience?" Are they elected officials? Public servants? Senior citizens? Knights of Columbus? Moose? Elk? Optimists? Masons? Teachers? You'll discover that in most of your public speaking situations, the people you are speaking before have an identity which is more than just their name. They have a heroic self-image in which they see themselves doing some positive good in society. This is what you want to appeal to. Consider firefighting as an example. What is its heroic self-image? The answer is saving lives and property. But if you know more about the fire service and its identity, you can be more specific. For example, think for a moment— what do you see when you think of saving lives and property? From a suppression point of view, you may see yourself making a forced entry into a burning building. As a paramedic, you may see yourself performing CPR. As a public fire education officer, you may see yourself giving a lecture before school children on the techniques of "drop and roll." As an inspector, you may see the need for stronger fire codes. When you can talk this specifically about the heroic self- image of your audience, you are now in a position to identify their image and praise it and show them how adoption of your ideas is consistent with their heroic image. Another example is the Masons. If your image of the Shriners is the view of a bunch of guys in funny hats riding around in silly vehicles in parades, then you probably won't be very successul when you talk to the Shriners about supporting your fire prevention program. However, if you've taken the time to know how much local money has been raised in the last few years for children's burn centers, if you know what regional burn center that Shrine organization supports, and if you knew of a couple of local cases of badly burned and injured children that they had helped, then you might be in a position, after explaining your awareness of this in your speech, to argue that active support of your fire prevention program would reduce the incidents of burned children and thus be consistent with the heroic image of the Shriner. Thus, knowing what you have to prove, making the right argument, and adapting it to the heroic self-image of your audience, are the three keys to a successful speech. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 155 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION III. SENDER AND RECEIVER OBSTACLES A. Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles We have all had the experience of ending a meeting satisfied that we understand the other person's view, only to find weeks later that we were completely off track. This is often because of sender or receiver obstacles that have acted like static on a telephone, obscuring what was heard. By active listening, we can reduce communication barriers. The listener has a key role in the communication process. He or she must feel free to ask questions— and the speaker should recognize that this questioning is an important part of their exchange. The listener may ensure clarity by repeating key parts of the message in his or her own words, and by summarizing what has been said to doublecheck. A good listener also offers constructive feedback when appropriate. The feedback given may relate to the message, the speaker, or both. Good feedback is usually descriptive rather than evaluative (Not "that's a crummy idea" but "I have some reservations about the timelines"). It is specific, not general; it considers the needs of both sender and receiver; is well-timed (not too late to have impact) and it is critical (it is directed toward behavior the other party can change). B. Sender and Receiver Obstacles Below are some common barriers for sender and receiver that can seriously impede communication. Which apply to you? Are there others that are common blocks? What can you do to remove these barriers and improve your overall communication efficiency? SENDER Giving a hard sell. Killing enthusiasm by being indifferent or over-critical. Not being attentive to listener reac- tions. Choosing the wrong communication medium. Inefficient or incorrect use of the medium. Communicating too much or too little. Not organizing the message for maxi- mum clarity. Not adapting the message to the re- ceiver's frame of reference. Being too vague. Cutting off questions or feedback. Killing enthusiasm by being indifferent or over-critical. Cutting in to anticipate what the sender will say. Not giving the message your full atten- tion. Not asking questions when something is unclear. Giving feedback on areas not in sender's control. Being too vague. Turning off message because of poor attitude to sender. Blowing your cool. Not expressing helpful feedback. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 156 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS UNIT THREE: MOTIVATION SECTION I. PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE MOTIVATION A. Creating a Motivating Environment Too often we fail to take the key issue of motivation into account when we give new assignments, ask for a special effort, or evaluate procedures. Sometimes we also make the mistake of assuming that what motivates us, motivates others. In either case, the result of our failure to motivate is often lower quality performance, discord, poor self- esteem, or poor team spirit. Preparing a motivation strategy should be as much taken for granted as a management concern as the preparation of the task plan itself. Our behavior is motivated by need. However, seeking to motivate by appealing to human need is a little like aiming at a moving target, since the dominant needs of an individual do not remain constant. Yet, we do share common needs, and should be able to empathize with other human beings, though our emphasis on certain needs will differ. Maslow's hierarchy of needs, long a well-known reference in the area of motivation, distinguishes five levels of human need. Physiological needs are the basics needed to sustain life, including food, clothing, and shelter. Safety needs relate to security and self- preservation, and our ability to satisfy physiological needs beyond the present moment. Social needs include our wish to be accepted by others and belong to a larger group. The need for esteem is the wish to win recognition and respect from fellow group members. Finally, fulfillment or self-actualization is the need to fulfill what we believe is our fullest potential as individuals. Maslow believed that until our lowest level needs are satisfied, we are not able to address the next-highest level. It is pointless to talk to someone about personal fulfillment if their major concern is putting supper on the table tonight. Herzberg was a researcher who carried Maslow's work one step further by investi- gating the effect of need fulfillment at the workplace at each Maslow level. He found that when the three lower levels were fulfilled— physiological, safety, and social needs— the effect was to maintain a steady, average performance and prevent a drop in quality. Only "esteem" and "fulfillment" needs qualified as true motivators, for which need satis- faction actually increases efficiency. What does this say to you as supervisor? First, that you need to see that "hygienic" factors— the lowest level of motivator— are addressed as well as possible, because until they are you are always performing beneath capacity. Secondly, you need to get to know your fellow workers as individuals so that you can learn their personal concepts of esteem and fulfillment. Then, you will be able to match individual and organizational goals and rewards, creating a motivating environment that will greatly increase your overall efficiency and work satisfaction. Sometimes, supervisors try to use human needs in a negative way. They seek to use the fear that a critical need will go unmet to "motivate" workers. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 157 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Sometimes referred to as coercive or negative motivation, fear motivation refers to the external application of a physical or psychological threat to bring about activity. And, that is exactly what it does: it may cause movement— neither commitment nor true motivation. It becomes an "incentive" only when one's usual relationships with the environment, and/or hygienic needs, are threatened. In reality, coercive motivation or negative incentives are usually counterproductive to the attainment of organizational objectives—if not directly, indirectly. The coerced person will generally provide a minimum level of effort, and often means to "get back" at the person who used intimidation. Consequently, it is generally undesirable and should be used sparingly and in appropriate circumstances only. Rather than resorting to intimidation or threat, the progressive manager should attempt to deal with the situation by seeking sound solutions to the real problems and providing more opportunities for positive motivation. The manager and his agency must continually work to satisfy, not frustrate, the lower and higher levels of needs within the department. Different organization types tend to emphasize different motivational approaches. "Coercive" organizations such as the military rely heavily on negative motivation: "do as I say and you won't get hurt." The organizational member is not expected to do the work for love, and a certain amount of hostility resulting from order-giving is considered normal. "Normative" organizations such as churches, schools, and hospitals tend to motivate members through social approval, belonging, and esteem earned by obeying group "norms." Sometimes they reward with symbols such as badges and uniforms. Members are generally expected to have a moral commitment to their work and— in contrast to "coercive" organization members— to love it. "Utilitarian" organizations are economically oriented businesses that reward with material incentives. Members are not generally expected to have emotional ties to their work, but are assumed to be motivated largely by personal benefits. If you consider the fire department as an organization type, you will notice that it is both "coercive" and "normative" in some respects. Some management experts believe this confuses the "psychological contract" an individual has with an organization. You are asking them to take orders and love it— which is not humanly possible ! Some experts feel this conflict can be handled only by confronting it directly, and telling your people "up front" that when they take orders, they are not expected to love them, though it is an unavoidable part of the job. At the same time, you need to be able to modulate from fireground to nonfireground situations and make good use of the normative aspect of the organization, using appropriate rewards that reinforce the need for esteem and belonging. B. Motivating Personalities in a Fire Service Context One broad division in motivation is between the "inner-directed" and "outer- directed" personality. Outer-directed people are motivated by the expectations of others, and needs signals of approval from others to reassure them that they are on the right track. The inner-directed person has an internal sense of what the right track is and seeks satisfaction by fulfilling personal goals. You motivate the first type by reassurance and praise; you motivate the second type primarily by appropriate opportunities for development. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 158 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY A good supervisor recognizes both universal motivators and personal motivators in subordinates, knowing that even universal concerns are expressed different ways for indi- viduals. Within a given fire department, there may be a surprising diversity of personalities, and people may have joined for very different reasons. Some seek an opportunity for leadership, some comradeship, some a chance for community service, some seek other things entirely. For each individual, there are different "keys" that fit their unique combination of needs and unlock their potential. Just as you match a task to a subordinate's skills, you must plan a motivation strategy to match their needs. Occasionally, however, you are bound to meet individuals for whom none of the keys fit. It is rare, but it does happen. At such times, you need to remember that, as supervisor, you can only create the climate for achievement by matching apparent needs and incentives. The individuals in a sense must always motivate himself or herself— that is, it is up to the individual to accept or ignore the incentives for achievement. C. Motivation and Management Culture As we have seen from the last activity, individuals are motivated in a variety of ways. Groups in the fire service also have motivations. The excellent supervisor recog- nizes that what motivates a fire service organizational group is based upon several factors. These include the particular combination of individual motivators that the group has, the leadership style that the supervisor/manager uses, the way power is used in the team relationship, the way the team handles stress, and, finally, the special "management culture" of the fire department. By "management culture" we mean the characteristics and internal climate that make each organization (or fire department) a distinct community. Culture includes values, traditions, and other characteristics. Many cultural elements have a direct effect on motivation. Three of the major elements in this regard are the fire department mission, the organizational structure, and the type of department. By fire department mission, we mean how it chooses to interpret and carry out its mandate to "protect and save life and property from fire and other hazards." For example, a department that emphasizes suppression is most likely to motivate a team that values competently demonstrating their skills by "knocking down" a tough fire, investing the majority of its resources in updating and maintaining equipment, fire or emergency incident simulations and training in new suppression of emergency techniques, public heroism (sometimes accompanied by private humility), or quick, obvious results for their efforts. A supervisor can successfully motivate such a team by such tactics as heavily scheduling actual simulations and "skull sessions" to keep skills sharp, encouraging team members to research how other departments handle the "big ones," or providing opportu- nities for personal physical fitness improvement. In contrast, an emphasis on fire prevention, inspections, code enforcement, and pub- lic education is most likely to work in a management culture that values making the public responsible for its own safety, and providing the tools to do so; planning its work ahead on a long-range basis, and being willing to wait for "payoff or results to become obvious; decreasing personal risk of danger to themselves (perhaps because of age or physical Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 159 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY condition); or decreasing numbers of fires or emergency incidents based on records and statistics. A supervisor can motivate such a team by rewarding the decrease of fires and emergency incidents, providing resources and organizational support for innovative pro- grams, or developing (or encouraging the team to develop) strong coordinative linkages with many community organizations. By organizational structure, we mean the amount of centralization of power and authority to decide and act. In a highly participatory structure in which power is distrib- uted, key values include opportunities for personal growth through decisionmaking, self- direction and accountability, and shared responsibility. A supervisor in such a culture can motivate by delegating out and down as much as possible to those who have the skill , experience , and information to handle the work; training team members to carry their supervisory functions on an "acting" basis occasionally; and encouraging the team to plan, carry out, evaluate, and give feedback to the supervisor on the results of special projects. A highly centralized or authoritarian structure, on the other hand, will motivate a culture in which a strict chain of command, formal structures, set routines, and a quasi- military image and lifestyle are governing values. In this type of setting, the effective supervisor will motivate best by honoring and using the chain of command when possible, clarifying job descriptions and "who does what when" for everyone, giving praise and rewards for honoring procedures and policies, and structuring the "nonemergency" life of the team to the degree that is comfortable. Finally, the type of department— all paid, all volunteer, or combination— may dramatically affect team motivators. For example, an all-paid professional department may be motivated by such considerations as salary and benefits, job security, retirement options, or not having to take "orders" from "1000+ bosses" in the community. An all unpaid professional (volunteer) department team, in contrast, might be moti- vated by opportunities for community service in a much needed area, recognition from the public, pride in the department's history, and the relative "freedom" from governmental bureaucracy. For a combination department (paid and unpaid professionals), motivators include having a number of other people "share the load" and the responsibility; having paid per- sonnel available 24 hours per day; or at least during regular "8 to 5" workdays; the cost effectiveness of the combination system; and having volunteers with special skills and experience contribute. The skilled supervisor will motivate the team by emphasizing all the benefits of their department's particular style. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 160 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION II. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND MOTIVATION A. Effective Performance Standards We often do not consider performance standards in relation to motivation, but in fact they may have a powerful effect— for good or ill. Where poor standards are in place, personnel are robbed of the drive to achieve and a sense of direction. Sometimes they are demoralized by a sense of unfairness or confusion. Appropriate standards tell the employee exactly what is expected, decreasing stress and increasing performance. In a sense, standards form the framework for success in a given organization. Performance standards serve three basic purposes. First, they provide an objective basis for assessing performance and development needs. Second, they state criteria for individual success. Third, they relate individual performance to organizational objectives. In order to fulfill these purposes, performance standards must meet certain cri- teria. They should apply to only one job element — otherwise, how do you properly note performance that is solid in one area, but weak in the other area listed with it? They should be specific as to the level of achievement required and any time lines; anything you assume but do not state is something the subordinate cannot be accountable for. They should be attainable, or they will only cause frustration. And they must be legally defensible according to all laws applicable to your department, which means free of bias (not penalizing any groups on the basis of non-job related characteristics) and valid (really necessary to on-the-job achievement). In order to maximize acceptance and prevent a number of needless problems, it is highly advisable to involve employees in standard development. Standards should be the product of honest, open negotiation. It should also be clear to the employee how per- formance will be monitored. If you find it hard to point to specific evidence that could be used to show what level of standard achievement has been attained, it is a sign your standard was too vague. Through constructive use of performance standards, you can identify employee strengths and weaknesses, formulate relevant employee development plans that will up- grade job performance, and help achieve organizational goals. B. Performance Appraisal Sessions as Positive Motivators Supervisors tend to look at the use of performance appraisals as a black and white or win-lose situation. White (or win) because they are able to identify employee strengths and recognize the employee formally for good work. Black (or lose) because they now have to formally confront the employee with substandard performance. Often in appraisal sessions we focus on unsatisfactory performance areas, taking competence for granted wherever we do not say otherwise. To do this is not only to miss an excellent opportunity to motivate the employee, but also to risk discouraging and embittering an employee who worked hard in areas you did not mention at all. In order for appraisal to work, we need to use it to improve performance by motivation. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 161 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Performance appraisal sessions are an opportunity to discuss and measure the indi- vidual's progress toward goals and objectives, and meeting performance standards; to discover discrepancies between expectation and achievement; and to find ways of bringing performance up to standard (which involves understanding exactly what interfered with achievement). Part of a successful session is what happens before it: seeing that the employee thoroughly understands the criteria to be applied. To ensure this, the following must exist and be available to the subordinate: Clear goals for the position, Clear action objectives for the position, Achievable standards of performance, Written criteria by which the performance will be judged, A workable plan for the evaluation, and An accurate, current job description. It is also crucial to understand the purposes of performance appraisal, both from the perspective of the organization and that of the subordinate being appraised. From the organization's point of view, performance appraisal is needed to: Ensure that goals and objectives are being met, Make decisions on placement, promotions, and terminations, Help direct activities, such as training, which will improve performance, Encourage supervisors to monitor continuously, Motivate staff to higher achievement, Improve manager-subordinate relationships, and Discover organizational or individual problems which might have far-reaching impact. The individual also has an "agenda" for performance appraisal: • To get credit for work performed, • To get needed coaching and training, • To get encouragement for progress made (through routine feedback), • To re-affirm their personal and professional competence, and • To receive rewards (promotions, raises, privileges). These two sets of goals are sometimes conflicting. The firefighter may want only positive feedback and be unwilling to accept negative feedback. The organization may want the captain to emphasize the negatives, so that performance will be improved. This creates stress and conflict, and requires objectivity, skillful communication, and maturity to overcome. The session itself should be planned to ensure clarity and motivation. You can do this by starting and ending on a positive note, and giving the employee plenty of opportunities to explain his or her perception of any problems. You wish to work with the employee to find a constructive direction, not impose a solution that does not address the problem he or she sees. To ensure that you understood each other, prepare a session summary together and plan a brief followup meeting within two weeks to formalize Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 162 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY performance standards for the next year. Remaining details on a successful strategy for improvement may be worked out at this time. An additional tool available to the supervisor is the personal growth agreement. It is generally recognized that retention is enhanced through the process of writing down key thoughts. In a situation in which you might ordinarily give a strong oral warning, consider supplementing your effort by sitting down with the person to write a mutually drafted agreement describing the intended change. This should have a positive emphasis and occur with some immediacy to the problem, not be held until appraisal time. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 163 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING TEAM EFFECTIVENES UNIT FOUR: COUNSELING SECTION I. WHEN DO YOU COUNSEL? A. What Is Counseling? Counseling, as we speak of it here, may be defined as a two-way communication in which the supervisor assists an employee to behave in a more rewarding manner. You are counseling when you advise employees of behavior that should be changed, assist them in adjusting to a new position or location, recommend courses of action, or try to get at the root of a persistent "attitude problem," to name only a few situations. Counseling may be needed any time there is a difference between what is planned and expected, and what is actually happening, caused by the behavior of one or more individuals. This difference can be in results, quantity, quality, or the schedule (time frame) of work. Workers are quick to notice when someone is "getting away with something," or in some way is not being as effective as expected. If a person or fire department unit is allowed to establish a lower standard, it will be resented by coworkers, and most likely the performance of the entire unit will drop. The supervisor must enter the picture and counsel the individual or group which is not meeting standards. This ensures both counselees and coworkers that treatment will be fair and equal, and that no one gets special privileges to "break the rules." It is crucial that the immediate supervisor be alert to changes in individual performance so that unsatisfactory behavior can be corrected, and high standards for the unit maintained. "Counseling" is often a euphemism for a "chewing out" or delivering an ultimatum to behave correctly. In other words, a one-way communication. Counselees will resent not being able to "save face" or not having any control over their destinies. An ultimatum may be taken as a challenge (an excuse for conflict escalation) or may cause long-term resentment. In contrast, the skilled supervisor makes the counseling a two-way discussion, focused on discovering why the difference exists between planned and actual results. The counselor should convey an attitude of wanting to assist the counselee in achieving acceptable behavior. There should be an attitude of dignity, respect for the individual, and optimism that the necessary changes will be effected. The session should take place in private, in a setting where interruptions such as phone calls are unlikely. (An exception to this is when you are counseling an entire group.) Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 164 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY The first point to make is that it is going to be a time of reasonable, serious, two- way conversation, and not a "showdown" shouting match. Be relaxed, unhurried, and assured confidentiality if you are counseling an individual. This is critical. State the goals and objectives of the session: the results you expect to achieve in the session. The second objective is to reach agreement on the changes needed, or the facts of the offense(s). Unless the counselee can agree with you on the nature or seriousness of the poor performance or the misbehavior, he or she is not likely to be very cooperative in changing behavior. It is natural to be defensive when one is being criticized! Overcoming resistance will take a certain amount of time, but it is very important that people take responsibility for their own behavior. Otherwise, it's 'The only reason I come to work stone cold sober is because the captain makes me do it ." If this is the reasoning, the employee will quickly take advantage of an opportunity to backslide. Counseling is not necessarily limited to one session. It's not unusual for four or five sessions of discussion, praise, and support to occur before repairs and "healing" are completed. The third and final objective is complete resolution of the performance problem or complaint, and re-establishment of normal personal relationships. The counseling may have been stressful to both the counselee and counselor. Throughout counseling, the attitude should be maintained that the criticism is not of the person, but of certain problems or specific behavior . Once behavior becomes acceptable, no grudges will be held against the person. Improvement deserves notice and praise, and final resolution is a situation where both counselor and counselee have won . Remember, to counsel in private and praise in public , when possible! If you as supervisor are unhappy with a subordinate's behavior, you can assume that they also might be unhappy with their own behavior. Often, misbehavior is a subconscious method of announcing that a person is unhappy with a situation or has a problem she/he does not know how to cope with. The poor behavior can be an attention-getting device— a cry for help. The person may feel that "something is wrong" but not know exactly what it is. Counseling can be seen as a reply to the hidden message they are giving out that "something is wrong." If the counselor is able to help identify and maybe even resolve a superficial problem—such as poor time management or poor money management, etc., the counselee will have been rewarded by surmounting a nagging problem. If counseling forces a person to admit to an emotional or other serious problem, and seek professional help, that should also be seen as their reward from the counseling. Through "misbehavior," they were probably asking for someone to "force the issue" for them. The counselor should keep informal, private notes of the progress of a counseling "project," in case a problem should escalate, and formal discipline be required. Workers have various legal safeguards against unfair or improper discipline, so it is important that the evolution and history of the problem be documented. For the same reason, it is doubly important that counseling be done in a professional, "civilized," and dignified manner. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 165 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Usually and preferably, counseling is done by the immediate supervisor. This enhances the power image of the supervisor as the one who is able to keep the unit running smoothly, is able to assist subordinates, and is the provider of fair rewards and "punishment." Besides, the immediate supervisor is most familiar with individual personalities and the details of the working/living setting. The immediate supervisor is the one best qualified to explain, interpret, and enforce department policies, rules, and regulations, and to see that work and rewards are fairly distributed. Early on in the counseling sessions, it may become apparent that a subordinate's poor behavior stems from serious emotional problems, family problems, or alcohol or drug abuse. In such cases, the superior should not attempt either a diagnosis or a "cure," but should try to steer the person to appropriate professionals for help. The supervisor will have done enough if he or she can get the person to admit that they have a "problem" or need that they must address, and show them the options that they have for getting professional help. At any rate, the issue is that their performance is unacceptable . Whether their poor behavior is caused by "a problem" or simple contrariness is a moot point. As their supervisor, you are ready to help them. You will help them find a professional counselor— or you will help them out. By referring the employee to a local mental health center, hospital psychiatric department (for very serious cases), a local psychologist with a good reputation, you are building a bridge that makes it much more likely the employee will seek help. While we ordinarily think of counseling as a one-on-one situation, this is not always the case. There is no rule that says counseling must be one-to-one. For instance, in the case of horseplay, group harrassment of women or minorities, etc., it might be appropriate to have your superior officer present to reinforce your concern with the seriousness of an offense. In the latter case, you should maintain control of the process so that it doesn't appear that you were "afraid" or unable to handle it by yourself. Sometimes "the shoe is on the other foot." A subordinate will complain or gripe to their superior in much the same way that a superior will complain to a subordinate in a counseling situation. Griping is defined as "letting off steam" about something that is not job-related. Of course, the superior is not expected to be able to do anything about the weather, traffic, or the high cost of orthodontia, but it is a helpful stress reducer to be able to talk to someone about such things. The listener can only acknowledge the message and commisserate. Complaints are defined as messages relating to the job or the work place. They should be taken as seriously as the superior's complaints about the subordinate's behavior in a counseling session. Many good ideas come lodged in complaints. Take as much responsibility as you think is appropriate and seek a quick, fair resolution. If it's beyond the scope of your responsibility and authority, pass it along the chain of command, and keep the complainer informed of your involvement and progress. A complaint that is ignored can become a formal grievance . If you merely shrug off a complaint, you are announcing your ineffectiveness! Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 166 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY In summary, the following points should be stressed: 1. Counseling is not strictly a "negative" action, done only when there is a problem. It is also positive in that it prevents future problems and develops people to their highest potential. 2. Counseling is always a two-way communication. 3. Counseling allows the supervisor to share whatever wisdom he or she has to assist both the individual and the fire department. B. Overview of the Counseling Process Initial counseling sessions are always difficult. Probably the toughest aspect of counseling is trying to listen to the counselee's perceptions of the problem, and help the counselee work through a solution. The counselor will frequently draw his/her own conclusions about what the problem is and what the solution should be without hearing out the counselee's side of the story. That is a natural reaction on the part of the counselor. Human nature and most social settings involve giving advice. In a counseling situation, this can often be counter-productive for several reasons. First, the counselor's perception of the problem may not be accurate; the counselee should be able to fully define the problem for himself /herself so that he/she feels comfortable with the situation. Second, and more importantly, if the counselee does not define the solution to his/her problem correctly, the solution may be difficult to live with, and he or she may not really "put his/her heart into" solving the problem. It is critical that you bite your tongue at times so that you can hear the counselee without imposing your own will. In beginning the counseling process, climate-setting; should not be dismissed. If a personal matter is being discussed, interruptions and noise may have a disruptive effect, or cause the counselee real embarrassment. It should be up to you to choose a private setting and ensure confidentiality, letting the employee know from the outset you have taken care of this. It is also critical that you convey a positive attitude to the process, so that the emphasis is on overcoming the problem rather than accusation. Once the climate has been prepared, the next step is to agree on the problem. To do this you need to encourage two-way conversation, practicing your active listening techniques— "so what you see happening is . . ."—so the counselee knows you are "with" him or her and there is no misunderstanding. Your immediate objective should be to gather enough information to decide your role before you are "over your head." If a discussion of an employee's unsatisfactory work behavior turns up the fact that drug or alcohol addiction is involved, you are probably in a referral situation in which your role will be very different from one involving hassling by other workers, or poor training preparation for an assignment. While you may have a role in remedying the cause of the poor behavior in the latter cases, in the former ones you will be recommending (or requiring) that the employee get help in this area from a different source. Knowing too many details of a subordinates personal life may cause discomfort for both of you; if special help is required, your best role is to reinforce the employee's search for professional assistance in facilitating the change you both want. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 167 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION II. EFFECTIVE COUNSELING TECHNIQUES A. Four Approaches to Counseling The intent of counseling is to achieve a change in behavior. The behavioral approach deals only in the symptoms and not in the underlying causes of poor behavior. The technique is basically to reward proper behavior and punish (or not reward) poor behavior. The theoretical basis is derived from experiments with pigeons pecking at the keys. When the proper key was pressed, the pigeon was rewarded with corn. Pecking at the wrong key provided no corn. Therefore, proper behavior was reinforced, and the pigeon didn't bother with the wrong key. People are more complex than pigeons. The behavioral approach may be appropriate for reinforcing behavior in simple problems such as tardiness or sloppy work habits. However, suppose that the symptoms that are causing a problem for the department are the result of serious personal problems of the counselee. What if the tardiness is a result of a serious illness of a family member? What if the sloppiness is the result of drug abuse or alcoholism? Then, treatment of symptoms will be ineffective, and "hounding" the offender will only add to his/her burden. The approach will work well, however, when the problem is strictly a behavior pattern without an apparent underlying problem. Carelessness in meeting deadlines, sloppiness in firehouse chores, or tardiness might all fall in this category; however, since they can be symptomatic of deeper problems, be prepared to use a different approach if the behavior change is sudden, if several aspects of the behavior change at once, or if there is no change using the behavioral method. The following two approaches seek to deal with the underlying reasons for the improper behavior, rather than the symptoms. A nondirective approach involves allowing the counselee a rather unrestricted path in order for him/her to be able to feel that they can explain bothersome problems and express feelings without interference. The counselor must be able to listen effectively, to encourage discussion, and to impart an understanding and helpful attitude. By doing so, the counselor hopefully will be able to obtain the help of the subordinate in determining appropriate solutions to the difficulties. If the counselor is able to ask "open-ended" questions which give the employee "room" to explain his/her feelings and behavior, the employee will probably experience more of a feeling of independence in the session. A type of emotional release can occur, and both the supervisor and the supervisee "discover" the roots of the problem. This approach is properly used when you suspect an underlying problem, when an issue appears complex, or when the employee indicates willingness to explore a problem with you. Be prepared to refer problems beyond your professional expertise, such as marital and drug abuse problems, to trained professionals. Listening to feelings, attitudes, and problems is a vital ingredient in the directive approach as well; however, there is more direction and control by the counselor. The employee can certainly contribute to the decisionmaking as far as appropriate solutions to the problem are concerned, but the counselor provides very specific advice on desired actions and directions. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 168 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY This approach is probably more suitable for situations in which an employee needs to ask for specific information or advice. It is also a more appropriate approach when a supervisor needs to hold a discussion about particular rules and procedures or when the necessity for discussion includes the violation of regulations. When solutions to difficulties have been decided using the "controlling" approach, the employee is more or less directed to follow through in specific ways. This is done with positive direction using tact, understanding, and motivation. This approach can help to reduce tensions and frustrations but may not be as effective as the nondirective approach. This approach may be used when the need is primarily informational, in critical or emergency situations (or others where time for nondirective exploration is impossible), or when it is impossible for the employee to talk about the problem. In either case, it is useful to be aware of the needs of the counselee. Review the material in the unit on Motivation with this in mind. An eclectic approach to counseling has come into greater favor in the profession in recent years. "Eclectic" means "drawing from many sources." Individuals who subscribe to this approach basically do not use any particular style all the time, but rather choose the style with which they feel most comfortable in a given situation. For example, some employees might respond best to a directive approach; still others might respond best to a combination depending on the particular circumstances. In some cases, a combination of approaches might be evident in a single counseling session. In selecting a style, you need to consider the following variables: the employee, the situation, your suspicions and/or knowledge of the problem, your skills, and finally, your comfort with the style. The danger in adopting an eclectic approach is that you may find yourself using styles with which you are not comfortable. Your feeling of discomfort will be transmitted to the employee and will endanger the counseling process. Therefore, it is important to choose not only a style that is appropriate for a given situation, but also a style with which you personally are comfortable. If you think the situation calls for a nondirective approach, you may find yourself switching gears halfway through and confusing the employee, and thereby thwarting the process. Consequently, you must be aware of your strengths and limitations before starting any counseling process and choosing any counseling style. B. Tips on Effective Counseling Basically, counseling involves giving and getting information, and motivating a person out of a problem. Astute listening is required (including listening with the "third ear," or "reading between the lines"}! The counselor should project an image with voice and body language: In control, unafraid Confident, optimistic Relaxed, unrushed Sincere, serious Attentive, focused Empathetic, understanding Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 169 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY That's an awful lot of self-control to expect in a stressful situation, but when you think about it, it's pretty much leadership and what you would expect from a fireground commander. Practice or role play counseling so that you can more or less automatically assume the "leadership" attitude. It would be unproductive to attempt counseling while stammering, avoiding eye contact, acting nervous or rushed, straying off the issue, or being argumentative ! If you ask questions that can be answered simply "yes" or "no," you will get "yes" or "no" answers. Usually the purpose of questions in counseling is to draw a person out, to make them think about implications, and to "discover" for themselves the answers to your questions. A question may be phrased to allow wide latitude in a response: • "Why is it that you are so often ten minutes late for work?" • "Do you have any ideas why station maintenance is so poor?" This is called a discovery question. Or, a question may be phrased in such a way that it controls or limits the possible responses: • "Is there some reason why you cannot leave for work ten minutes earlier?" • "Is your shift doing its fair share of station maintenance?" This is called a controlling question. So that the counselee won't feel like he or she is playing "Twenty Questions," the counselor can intersperse questions with statements that are designed to elicit a response: • "Many people see lateness as an expression of hostility." • "It appears that your shift is lax on station maintenance." (Response is limited or controlled.) These are called "controlling statements." There are also "discovery statements," such as the following: • "Tell me about this morning, and how it came about that you were late to work." • "I've heard some complaints about your shift and station maintenance— I'd like to hear your opinions." (Unlimited response.) It is important to recognize, however, that all questions are not pure types and therefore will not always fall neatly into one category or the other. Also, bear in mind that different types of questions have different effects on the persons being interviewed. The interviewer should consider these effects in terms of his/her purposes and the Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 170 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY information wanted. For example, when an interviewer asks too many controlling questions, the interviewee typically feels that he/she is on the spot and reacts defensively. Discovering questions are less threatening and tend to set the interviewee at ease. On the other hand, a counselee who is rambling on and avoiding the real issues may need to be directed by more controlling questions or statements. Questions, whether discovering or controlling, require the interviewee to produce information. As questions move toward inquiry statements, there is more opportunity for the interviewee to relate and reveal more of him/herself to the interviewer. To summarize, it should be clear that one type of questioning is no better than another type. Once the interviewer learns to use questions effectively, he or she can choose the type of question that is appropriate for a specific purpose. Each type is of value to the interviewer and the interviewee. Hopefully, the interviewer will be able to choose questions to suit the purposes of the interview and be aware of the effect of his questions on the interviewee. But how do you use all these types of queries? What is it you are really trying to find out? A helpful way to think of your aim uses the analogy of a "force field analysis." You assume there is a barrier to achievement, or the employee would be achieving what you want already. You may also assume that a force field exists in relation to the subject at hand: there are some positively charged elements that will assist in making the change, and there are some negatively charged elements that will work against the change. What you are trying to do is identify these elements so you can counter or use them. In other words, once you have agreed on the desired change, you need to notice what is already available to help the change (both in terms of internal and external resources) and what barriers are working against the change (again, both internally and externally). The counselee's will to change may be an internal resource, but lack of self-confidence an internal barrier; their access to relevant training may be an external resource, but their inability to afford it an external barrier. Once you have identified these "pushing" and "restraining" forces, you can examine what you can do to increase or bolster available resources and remove or reduce barriers. In the brief example sketched above, you may be dealing with a situation in which an employee's confidence and ability to perform may be enhanced by training, and the use of an internal scholarship fund may be warranted. When the session ends, your next move should be authoring a brief record of the meeting and the solutions discussed. Such records must be confidential; however, without them, you may lose track of what problems were identified and what remedies were agreed on, losing your ability to conduct effective followups. By accepting counseling as part of your job, you can enhance your ability as supervisor and increase the efficiency of your entire team. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 171 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY C. Ethical and Legal Aspects of the Counseling Relationship Counseling by definition is a helping relationship— and a relationship of trust and confidence requiring ethical conduct on the part of the supervisor. Three issues are of primary importance: competence, confidentiality, and written records. Competence : As a supervisor, you must always be aware of your limitations in counseling situations. You must not claim nor imply by words or actions professional qualifications not possessed. The supervisor must handle personally only those personnel matters he or she is professionally qualified to deal with. You have an ethical and legal responsibility to refer subordinates with problems outside the scope of your training, skills, and abilities to qualified professionals. Most fire service supervisors are not equipped to deal with others' problems of alcoholism, drug abuse, marital or divorce adjustment, parent-child conflict, and the array of other personal/family problems. Nor should they be. The supervisory role in these instances becomes that of helping the counselee to see the need for outside intervention, encouraging the person to seek this help, and helping them, if requested, to make this contact. Confidentiality . The supervisor's primary obligations are to respect the integrity of the employee and safeguard his or her rights of privacy and dignity. To these ends, the counseling relationship, and the information and records resulting therefrom, must be held in the strictest of confidence. There are three exceptions to confidentiality. Performance appraisal or evaluation documents and records of supervisor-subordinate conferences concerning the worker's performance will be entered into the subordinate's cumulative personnel record, as will records of conferences with subordinates when the problem may become or has become the subject of formal departmental disciplinary procedures. The third exception involves both an ethical and legal responsibility of the supervisor: when the counselee's condition suggests a clear and imminent danger to self, to others, and/or to organizational interests the supervisor must take reasonable action to prevent the possible consequences. He or she is obligated to actively intervene personally and/or to inform the officer's superior and/or other responsible authorities. An example of a situation that would require an immediate "breach" of confidentiality would be the potentially suicidal subordinate who, in the course of the relationship appears depressed, threatens to take his own life, cites the reasons for this action, and describes the method to be used. This is not only an example of a problem requiring referral, but also, action, now on the supervisor's part. Contrast that for a moment, to the revelation of a problem with an adolescent family member for which the counselee decides, with supervisory encouragement, to seek out a family therapist. The difference with reference to danger and consequence is rather apparent. Written Records . Akin to the issue of confidentiality is that of the maintenance and use of written records. As alluded to previously, any performance appraisals or evaluations and interviews or conferences concerning the same must be thoroughly and objectively documented. Similarly, any discussions of problem behavior that may result or have resulted in formal disciplinary measures must be judiciously documented. Both types of records may well become part of the cumulative personnel file— and the subject of internal appeals and/or legal action. Hence, the importance of accurate, complete, and objective records. The question arises as to the inclusion of "personal problems" (as admitted alcohol abuse, marital discord) in formal records. The supervisor must use his judgment. If the problem apparently is not interfering or has not interfered with the Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 172 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY worker's performance of his job, probably not. Once it affects, in any way, the employer- employee relationship and may become relevant to formal disciplinary action or reprimand in the present or future, the supervisor would be well-advised to maintain formal records of such problems. The supervisor must choose words carefully, avoiding any diagnostic, evaluative, and stereotypic labels. Rather describe, in value-free words, the actions, misdeeds, and/or statements of the subject. So far, the discussion has centered upon "formal records." What about the supervisor's personal notes, if any? The supervisor may well choose to keep personal notes of counseling interactions. If so, they must be kept strictly personal , not a matter of record, not public knowledge. Sharing such notes with even one superior may jeopardize their personal status legally. Although personal notes are "personal," and as such are probably not subject to revelation, the supervisor would be well advised to keep them objective, avoiding evaluative observations (ex.: He is sick !), negative stereotyping labeling (ex. He's plain lazy), and clinical or popular diagnostic labels (ex.: The man is insane, a raving maniac !). Instead, keep these notes descriptive by documenting specific actions and words. Although these guidelines represent common practice in matters of confidentiality and record-keeping, the supervisor would be well-advised to consult with superiors and/or the departmental or city attorney as to practices of the department and the state with reference to the counseling relationship. A final note with reference to confidentiality and record keeping. The counseling relationship is one of trust. The supervisor, as a professional, must clarify with the subordinate, if records of the sesion are to be kept and if so, with whom they will be shared or not shared, and how they may be used (personal vs. departmental records). In this discussion, several references to cumulative personnel records or files have been made. These files belong to the organization. Employees have no inherent right to determine what is entered into them. On the other hand, they are entitled to see their files on request. Remember also that these files are subject to legal inspection. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 173 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING TEAM EFFECTIVENESS UNIT FIVE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION SECTION I. UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT A. Introduction to Conflict According to a survey conducted by Schmidt and Thomas* for the American Management Association, managers spend approximately 20% of their time dealing with some form of organizational conflict. Traditionally, conflict has been viewed as a negative force within organizations, and accordingly, managers have taken steps to discourage or suppress conflict within their scope of control. Recently, however, there has been a growing recognition that conflict is an integral component of almost every dynamic, changing organization. The challenge to fire service managers thus becomes not how to suppress conflict, but rather how to deal with conflict in a manner that increases rather than diminishes agency vitality. Approached openly, candidly, and confidently, conflict may be productive. The presence of conflict suggests a need for change or adjustment, and resolution may lead to a valuable improvement. Too often we go into conflict with an attitude that works against this goal— one that is strictly focused on how to meet the needs of our side any way we can. But if we sacrifice a necessary working relationship to meet one need, what have we gained? What will we do when we need that party's cooperation? Actually, two things matter in a conflict. One is representing your own interests, and the second is improving— or at least not damaging— your relationship with the other party. If you demonstrate concern for their interests and attempt to find ways of meeting both sides needs, you may head off future conflicts, and avoid the possibility that your solution will be "sabotaged" by an unhappy loser. B. Diagnosing Conflict Potential sources of conflict can be identified in any fire service agency. A description of some of the major types of conflict that develop in organizational life are as follows: 1. Role conflict . Differences of opinion sometimes develop between superiors and subordinates about priorities, job behavior, how to respond to demands, etc. ♦Schmidt, W. H., "Conflict: A Powerful Process for Change," Management Review , 1974. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 174 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 2. Interpersonal conflict . This type is usually referred to as personality conflict. Such conflicts generally occur when individuals have different motives or are struggling for increased power. 3. Intragroup conflict . Within a large, functioning work group, subgroups will sometimes come into conflict with one another concerning operational issues or issues relating to which subgroup will wield greater organizational influence. 4. Inter-group conflict . Several forms of inter-group conflict are possible in fire service agencies: Central Office vs. the Field— Conflicts often erupt between staff personnel in the central office and field line managers concerning which group is going to actually control field operations. A variation of this type of conflict is the staff vs. line conflict, which usually occurs when staff personnel attempt to implement new methods or evaluative procedures that are not supported by the field office line managers with whom the implementation is supposed to occur. Old Guard vs. Young Turks— The classic confrontation between those who protect the "status quo" and those who attack it can be found from time to time in almost every fire service agency. Union vs. Management— Regrettably, the goals and objectives of these two groups are sometimes incompatible. This divergence can result in conflicts in which employees get caught in the middle. Given the range of potential conflicts possible in most fire service agencies, it is important for the fire service manager to be adept at understanding the dynamics of a particular conflict situation and what he or she can then do to minimize the negative impact the conflict might have on the agency and the personnel involved. In order to deal successfully with a conflict, you must accurately "diagnose" the conflict in question. This involves three major steps: 1. Determining the current stage of the conflict(s). 2. Discerning the nature of the conflict(s). 3. Identifying the factor(s) that underlie the conflict(s). Most conflicts go through four clearly identifiable stages from inception to resolution. These stages are as follows: Frustration— Frustration occurs when someone or something is blocking an individual or group from obtaining a desired goal or objective. The source and/or reason for the frustration may be well- or ill-defined at this stage. Nevertheless, an individual or group is feeling thwarted about not getting the result(s) that are desired. A fire service manager may be attempting to implement a change in agency policies and procedures that requires the support of subordinates. After a period of time elapses, the fire service manager might begin to feel frustrated if he or she feels that satisfactory progress is not being Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 175 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY made in adopting the new policies and procedures. This frustration may be compounded if that manager can't really pinpoint why the changes aren't being made. Conceptualization— At this stage in the conflict, the fire service manager is able to answer the question, "What's the real problem?" He or she can clarify the nature and scope of the problem that was causing the earlier frustration. Perhaps the new policies and procedures are being resisted because several key subordinates are miffed because they believe their input was not solicited before the changes were made. Behavior— This is the stage at which the fire service manager takes some action to deal with the conceptualized conflict. Several options for approaching the resolution to a conflict are generally available to a fire service manager. (These approaches will be discussed in detail later.) Outcome — Ultimately, most conflicts are resolved. The outcome occurs after the dust has settled. At this point in the conflict cycle, the fire service manager can assess the quality of the conflict resolution approach that has been tried. (Criteria for such an assessment will be examined following the discussion of approaches to conflicts.) Understanding the typical evolution of a conflict can enable the fire service manager to rationally approach such a situation. Realizing the need to cleraly conceptualize the nature and scope of the issue(s) involved in the conflict can help the manager avoid the greater conflicts that can arise if action is taken at the frustration stage before the problem is often clearly defined. The second step in your "diagnosis" is to determine the nature of the conflict. Usually, conflicts fall into one of four major categories. These are: Conflicts over FACTS— Individuals may disagree because they have different definitions of a problem, are cognizant of varying pieces of information concerning the problem, etc. Conflicts over METHODS— Disagreements can arise over which strategies or procedures are best for achieving a given goal or objective. Conflicts over GOALS— Disagreements can arise over what long-range results should be pursued by the agency or agency subdivision. Conflicts over VALUES— Finally, disagreements can arise over ethics, moral considerations, whether the end justifies the means, etc. Understanding the nature of a particular conflict is of vital importance to the fire service manager. Obviously, resolving a conflict over facts or methods is usually going to be considerably easier than resolving a conflict over goals or values. Therefore, this step prepares the fire service manager in an important way: he or she can approach potential resolution of the conflict in question with a clearer perspective of how rational or irrational that process is likely to be. The final stage in conflict diagnosis is isolating and identifying the underlying factors of the conflict. Generally, underlying factors come from one of three groups: Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 176 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Informational . Do the actors in the conflict have access to the same information, or have they drawn different conclusions based on varying information? The ancient fable of the six blind men feeling different parts of an elephant and each concluding that he was experiencing some object other than an elephant is reflective of this type of underlying factor. Perceptual . Do the actors in the conflict perceive the common information differently? Each person brings to any situation a unique set of past experiences that serve as "filters" through which new information must pass. These "filters" naturally affect and, at times, alter the way different people interpret the same pieces of information. Role . The influence of an actor's particular role in the organization on that actor's feelings regarding a conflict is often apparent. The old adage, "Where you stand depends on where you sit," reflects this type of role orientation. As fire service employees advance into management positions, their positions in conflicts may also change with their role change. Understanding probable underlying factors in a conflict can greatly improve the chances of the fire service manager selecting a workable resolution strategy. But it is also important to recognize that conflicts are not strictly logical— in fact, they almost invariably have two aspects: one related to substance or issues, and a second, equally important aspect related to feelings. The successful negotiator pays attention to both . Often, the first task in resolving a conflict is "defusing" the situation. Defusion refers to the reduction of the emotional tension and explosiveness potentially surrounding a conflict situation. Among commonly cited defusion techniques are the following: 1. Introduce oneself, if appropriate and/or offer to shake hands. It is difficult for anyone not to respond to this type of greeting. 2. Allow the venting of strong vocal emotion, if present, to continue a few moments. This often takes the edge off emotions and helps the intervenor to further dissipate the emotion more readily. Another purpose of allowing ventilation is to learn. By listening a few moments one can often detect not only the surface issues but underlying themes as well. It helps to determine if one's initial diagnosis (if made) is reasonably accurate. 3. Move disagreeing parties out of eye shot, and earshot, if feasible. High emotion builds tension and breeds upon itself. In breaking eye contact, if only momentarily, one is reducing the effectiveness of communication, and hence, the emotional turmoil. Out of earshot is even more effective. When emotions have been somewhat subdued, bring the parties back together for actual discussion and resolution of the problem. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 177 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 4. Undercutting— By lowering one's voice, instead of trying to match their vocal intensity (which can escalate the voices and emotion even more), they are likely to quiet down in order to hear what is being said. 5. Positioning for de-escalation— Get the disputing or hostile party or parties to sit down. Their vocal volume and emotional intensity will most often follow their bodies— downward. It is difficult to become or remain highly volatile in a seated position. How can this be accomplished? Ask them to be seated. If they choose not to, ask if they object to your sitting down. Then sit down. It will distract them, and begin the defusion process even if they refuse to sit down initally. They will find it difficult to continue the disagreement and to do so standing up— if the intervenor is seated and observing them. They will probably join you. If they sit down, emotional intensity will wane. 6. Take out a notebook or a pad as if notes are to be made. This normally arouses curiosity, as arguers will wonder what is to be written about them. The attention is now focused on the supervisor-intervenor, not on one another. If this does not work, ask one of them for a pen or pencil. This definitely will call attention to yourself and the notebook. 7. Ask simplistic questions and belabor them. An example: "You said her name is McLaughlin? (Yes !) How do you spell that? The purpose: It distracts the highly emotional person from the focus of his feelings. 8. Make a distracting observation or ask a distracting question. An example: "Did I hear the phone?" The results: they'll have to listen (quiet down) and are momentarily forgetting the issue. 9. Give a distracting compliment, but make certain it is a sincere and legitimate one. 10. Offer a sign of hospitality. Examples: Offer a cigarette, a cup of coffee, a glass of water. It is not unusual for people in highly stressful situations to accept coffee or cigarettes if they do not routinely use or want them. That is how distraught they are. Results: Once again, such a gesture diverts their attention from one another and/or from the issue. A second positive result is that it helps to establish rapport— essential in the resolution process. 11. Use active (reflective) listening, perhaps with a "door opener." An example of reflective listening used with a "door opener" would be the following: "John, I can tell that you are feeling very angry about the shift change, and that you feel it was done arbitrarily. Why don't we sit down and discuss how and why the decision was made?" Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 178 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY It is important that their feelings be acknowledged. Let the person know it is acceptable to have these feelings and that they are understood. 12. Use an "effective I statement" or a series of progressively stronger "I" statements. "I" statements are effective because the speaker shares in the responsibility for the situation. Adapted from T. Gordon, the "effective I statement" can readily be constructed in five steps: 1) Address the person—by first name or title—as appropriate. 2) Begin the body of the statement with the phrase, "When you." 3) Describe specifically the unacceptable behavior. 4) Describe specifically how that makes one (as the speaker) feel. 5) Identify the concrete , specific effect or consequence it has on one. An example of a basic "effective I statement" in which the components (as cited above) are noted would be: "(1) John, (2) when you (3) shout at me, (4) I get very upset (5) because I can't understand what you are saying or what point you are trying to make." The above techniques have been demonstrated to be effective in de-escalating intense emotion. They represent only a dozen of many. Keep in mind that each individual is unique and each situation is unique. Note, however, that not every one of these is appropriate to every situation. Neither will any one necessarily work in a given situation. Therefore, one must use an appropriate combination or series of such techniques, and if one fails, try another. Above all, in the defusion process, and throughout the resolution, the manager/super- visor must remain calm, confident, and patient. If you think back to conflicts in which you were involved, you will immediately recall a number of these "feeling" aspects, such as need for power or control, threatened self- esteem, defensiveness, and anger. By honestly recognizing and addressing these feeling issues, and often by bringing them into the open before they blow up, it is sometimes possible to defuse an otherwise damaging conflict. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 179 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION II. MANAGING CONFLICT A. Five Styles of Conflict Resolution Conflict resolution styles fall into five basic categories. Generally speaking, we tend to have a decided preference as individuals for one or two styles. In selecting a way to approach a given conflict and achieve maximum effectiveness, however, it is necessary to examine one's choice of style very closely and see if it is in fact appropriate. This means consciously knowing what style you are using at a given moment, and what the advantages and disadvantages of that would be. Avoiding is a style in which one simply refuses to address an issue, whether by sidesteeping, postponing, or withdrawing. It may appropriately be used when an issue is trivial, when you are without power, when the potential damage from confrontation may be greater than the benefits of resolving it, to back off and let parties cool off, to gather more information, when the issue is a symptom of other problems, or when others can resolve the conflict more effectively. Its drawbacks, however, are that it prevents creative problem solving, denies others your input, and may let important decisions be made by default. Often, people put energy into avoiding conflicts that could have gone far to lead to a permanent resolution. An accommodating approach is one in which your interests are sacrificed to meet someone else's. It may be the right approach when you're wrong, the issue matters more to the other party, to give subordinates a chance to learn from mistakes, when you are outmatched, or to build "credit" for more important issues later. But the obvious drawback is that your needs or opinions are not represented in the solution, and the result may be a foolish or ineffective course of action you could have prevented. A compromising approach involves a search for some middle ground that partially satisfies the needs of both parties. It may be used when opponents with equal power are immovably attached to mutually exclusive goals, or to gain a temporary settlement— especially under time pressure. However, it means that neither side has its need fully met . Too often we assume that such a solution is our only cooperative option, and forget to really apply our intelligence and creativity to find an option that works for both sides. A competing approach— too common— means pursuing your own interests at the expense of the other side. It is sometimes the only practical approach; for example, in emergencies, on issues where unpopular decisions must be enforced and there is no alternative (such as cost-cutting), to protect yourself against people who will take advantage of any other behavior, or, sometimes, on vital issues where you are sure you are right. The technique is generally overused and often self-destructive, for it leaves a legacy of bitterness, and may lead to a solution that will backfire because it omits key needs. Collaborating means attempting to devise a solution that fully addresses the primary needs of each side. It requires skill and practice, but the rewards may be great. It may be used to find a solution when concerns of each side are too important to compromise, to merge insights from people with different perspectives, and to increase the commitment of each side to the solution. The primary drawback is that it requires time and effort. You may risk being taken advantage of if your opponents misread your willingness to address their needs as an accommodating approach, but your steadfast insistence that they address your needs will usually set them straight. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 180 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Four Principles of Conflict Resolution In the book Getting to Yes , Fisher and Ury outline four key principles of conflict resolution based on years of successful experience as negotiators. First, separate the people from the problem. If you can treat the problem as a shared concern and the other individuals as allies in addressing it, you are well on the way to a workable solution. Second, focus on interests, not positions. A position is a specific solution to a problem, while an interest is a general concern for which a number of positions might be appropriate answers. Lack of representation for your subgroup in department affairs is an interest; a demand that your subgroup be represented on one particular committee is a position. If your position is rejected, your need is not addressed. If you present your interest, however, a solution appropriate to both sides may be found — perhaps one better than the particular position you might have become locked into. Third, generate a variety of options before deciding. Muzzle your critical instincts and brainstorm— maybe an otherwise crazy idea has a really valuable aspect to it, if you open your mind and listen. Ask yourself whether you're acting as a roadblock or gate. Sometimes, quantity breeds quality. Fourth, seek objective standards. Many differences of opinion may be referred to another standard that does not represent the interests of one side or the other. The use of a national code as a standard to resolve a local code issue would be an example. C. Steps in Conflict Resolution A number of steps may be identified in the process of conflict resolution: 1. Assert common interests. If you begin by stressing what both sides have to gain from the discussion at hand, motivation and cooperation may be increased. 2. Express each side's concerns and interests. Without blame or defensiveness, or locking into a position, explain your primary concern. Try to gain the empathy of the other side, and give them yours. 3. Develop criteria for a good solution. Express what you are trying to achieve, including both side's interests. (If this looks impossible, consider whether a position has been introduced as an interest.) 4. Generate action ideas. This involves defining the problem more closely: what is wrong? what are the facts and symptoms? Then you can analyze the problem, generate some broad Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 181 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY approaches to it and finally, suggest some concrete ideas for actions that might be taken to resolve the issue. 5. Develop action ideas. Now, you're ready to flesh out your ideas, delegate responsibility, and involve other concerned parties in approval and implementation. 6. Implementation. During implementation, remember to keep communication lines open and make needed adjustments. Effectively diagnosing and dealing with conflicts is one of the most difficult challenges confronting any fire service manager. In closing, one additional points needs to be made: One of the greatest aids to preventing and solving organizational conflicts is a planning process that produces a viable organizational plan. Such a plan can provide a basis upon which to assess facts and methods relating to the achievement of already agreed upon goals (which, hopefully, reflect some mutually agreed upon values). This planning process therefore contributes significantly to enhancing the likelihood that conflict resolution can yield positive results for the organization. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 182 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS UNIT ONE: MANAGING EFFECTIVELY IN THE FIRE SERVICE SECTION I. MANAGEMENT CULTURE IN THE FIRE SERVICE A. What Is Management Culture? The word culture may be used to describe the unique characteristics of a regional or national community or ethnic group. For centuries, anthropologists and other social scientists have studied the beliefs, behavior patterns, traditions, economics, music, art, language, stories and tales, agriculture, and tools of groups. Cultural differences are obvious when comparing America and Japan, for instance, but the differences are just as real, if not as noticeable, between a large urban area and a farming village and even between neighborhoods in the same city. Organizations have cultures, just as communities do. The culture of any organization is the unique internal environment, which reflects such things as: internal self-image, goals/ mission, relationships, lifestyle, priorities, what it's really like to work there, beliefs, and assumptions. The culture, the sum of these factors, affects both how the fire department is managed and how the manager reacts. The organizational culture is revealed in the way employees act and dress, its policies and procedures, and organizational structure. It is seen even more tellingly, however, in its "unwritten rules," and in the value system reflected in rewards or "put- downs" for employee behavior. When you visit another fire department, you may come away with a feeling about what it would be like to work there, whether the people are happy, if there is a team spirit, the amount of respect for leaders, and other factors. You may think of your impressions as intuitive feeling, but what you have really done is looked at the management culture. Figuring out your own management culture will be more difficult because you are so closely involved every day. But take some time to think about these factors. Awareness of them will help you increase your personal effectiveness and enable you to manage more effectively. Such small signs as whether the bulletin board at your fire station contains only official memorandums or includes casual notices and cartoons can give you clues to your culture. Newcomers to an organization often absorb the culture before they learn the formal rules and structure or job requirements and skills. Some people are absorbed easily into the existing culture and are comfortably a part of the organization in a short time. Others are at odds with the internal culture from the time they enter until they leave the organization. There are many factors or characteristics that represent the internal culture of a fire department and that reveal the culture to a newcomer. If a person has both rational and intuitive skills, it makes the job of integrating into a new culture easier. For you as manager, it is productive to try to analyze your culture as objectively as possbile. This Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 183 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY will enable you to plan strategies for motivation and implementation that will have the best possible chance of acceptance in your particular context. B. Elements of Management Culture 1. The overall management philosophy of the department is one of the key characteristics that a manager can use to identify the elements of management culture that most affect his or her ability to manage. Does the department use a Theory X approach? If so, leaders tend to be autocratic and authoritarian , allowing little or no participation in decisions by subordinates. The top leaders assume that people are lazy, dislike work, and prefer security to new opportunities. Theory X managers tend to be task- oriented, concerned primarily about getting the work done. Or does the department use a Theory Y approach? If so, there is a participatory style, and a belief that people can be self-directed , can handle increased responsibility and authority, get satisfaction from work, and have vital information to contribute to decisions. The last approach is Theory Z . The organization that uses this approach is highly participatory. The authority to decide and act is delegated out and down to the furthest and lowest level of people who have the skill, information, and experience to properly use the authority. 2. All organizations have a formal and an informal structure. The formal structure is that indicated by the published organizational chart. The chart itself tells many things— the chain of command, who communicates with whom, how many functions and job titles there are, and who supervises whom. The informal structure is more private and reflects how people really relate to one another and how the work gets done. Even highly centralized structures like military or quasi-military fire departments have an alternate, informal structure that people use when they can. 3. The mission of the fire department and how it is carried out is another element of the management culture. Some fire departments choose to emphasize suppression while others carry out a broad range of functions that include fire prevention, inspection and code enforcement, and public education. 4. The composition of the fire department— whether the members are all paid, all volunteer, a combination of paid and volunteer, or private— is another management culture element. 5. Managers in fire departments usually manage in at least three different settings. Emergency incident management , or management under stress, at risk to the team, and in the public eye would create a different management culture than managing at the station or managing primarily in the office . 6. Policies for dealing with external influences and conditions constitute another element in the management culture. Some departments engage fully in external rela- tionships to influence others, while other departments tend to react to what happens and avoid contact with outside influences and influencers. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 184 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY 7. Communication patterns must be understood by the manager. Some fire departments' pattern of communication is stylized, formal, and stiff. Others are open and informal with information. Communication styles and patterns are currently being greatly affected by the introduction and use of computers in the fire service. 8. There are many signals in an organization of the direction flow of communication . Do firefighters, EMTs, and engineers initiate communication upwards and laterally? Or does all communication tend to initiate at the top and flow down? Do mid-level managers initiate communication up and down? 9. The fire department's culture is affected greatly by recent changes , such as change in leadership, goals, policies or by changes imposed from the outside, such as funding, community growth, or public opinion. The internal culture can also be affected by anticipated changes . Are there new requirements or pressures for accreditation? Does the community want the fire department to change so that their insurance rates go down? Does the next recruit group contain women or other minorities? Such changes will affect the fire service organization and its management. 10. The culture of the department is highly influenced by the attitude and behavior about training . Some departments specialize highly; it is not unusual for a person to spend years carrying out one rather limited function in the department. Other departments attempt to make individuals and entire companies interchangeable, with everyone able to perform everyone else's tasks. Such differences in training lead to differences in perceptions by individuals of their personal relationship to the department, and can have considerable impact on the overall culture. 11. Cultural diversity reflects the breadth of differences in age, gender, race, ethnicity, physique, religion, life experience, and education represented by the people in the department. Some departments try for uniformity of people and resist entry of those who are different. Some volunteer departments' by-laws state that new member fire- fighters must be related to or recommended by charter members. Some departments conscientiously try to attract and recruit one type of population. Other fire service organizations seek the asset of diversity and try to attract different types of people. 12. How people manage time— their own and that of others— is another aspect of internal culture of interest to the manager. Is time respected? Do people try to be cost- effective with time or is time wasted, misused, abused? Do meetings start on time? Do people do their best work only in times of emergencies, or when doing routine work as well? 13. Each fire service organization possesses its own unique system of what is valued and rewarded . Conversely, some actions, attitudes, and behavior, are not valued and may even be punished. These biases and mores are seldom written down. Newcomers, especially new managers, are expected to know what is acceptable and right. Some of the common value system components, in addition to what's valued or not valued, follow. • Attitude about politics (internal and external). • View of what constitutes "good public relations." Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 185 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY • Warmth/support/closeness. How "close" do people get to one another personally as well as professionally? • Self disclosure; related to closeness. Do people in the organization talk freely about their goals and needs, and share confidences? • The amount of specialization for individuals or throughout the department. Is a "Jack or Jill of all trades" admired, or is "do one job and do it well" the philosophy? • Fireground tactics. Is "drown and surround" the predominant firefighting style? Or is "interior attack— fight it back— stop it in its tracks" the approach? What happens when mutual aid takes place with a department using different tactics? Is there adaptation to others or do "we always use our approach?" • Status in the department— how is it achieved? Is tailboard experience more valued then formal fire service training courses or college courses? Do the "leather lungs" and "smoke-eaters" get the compliments, or the SCBA wearers? Do rank and seniority earn higher status than mastery of certain skills? • Medical tactics. Are victims stabilized and treated in the field? Transported by the department? Minimally treated until an ambulance arrives? Is EMS seen as the priority service of the department? C. Fire Department Management Cultures The 13 elements of management culture discussed above are only some of the many issues that a manager must deal with daily. Analyze the elements described above and see how they fit into your specific management environment. Recognizing the importance and impact of culture on your management style and process will enable you to look at the broad picture and maximize your personal effectiveness. In addition to knowing your own culture, you must also know how to work with and respond to the cultures of other organizations with which you interact. Understanding how to use and manipulate management cultures in a positive way will enable you to increase your effectiveness. D. Perspectives on Management Culture Depending on their position or level in an organization, the time they have spent there, and the amount of influence or authority they have, individuals may have widely differing perspectives on the "same" management culture. Because our perceptions of culture and adjustments to it are seldom conscious, it is often difficult to understand why people react to the "same" circumstances so differently. It is because it is not the same for them. Their position is different, what they see is different, and so for them what is real is different. What does this mean for the fire service manager or supervisor? It means that as you communicate up, down, or across your organizational structure, you need to think Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 186 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY about how others' perspectives may be different and anticipate these differences. Try to empathize with others' positions, and increase their ability to empathize with yours. SECTION II. ELEMENTS OF THE MANAGEMENT PROCESS A. Introduction to the Management Process Management may be defined as the art of accomplishing organizational objectives through and with people. The successful manager addresses objectives through an organized process, orchestrating and controlling the elements of his or her context. The less successful manager is like a juggler who reacts to new elements and conditions as if they were balls thrown from the blue to disrupt the barely under-control juggling act. One is proactive, anticipating change and responding intelligently to it; the other "shoots from the hip" under pressure and often misses the target. A skillful manager is keenly aware of external influences, the internal workings of the management culture, and the skills and limitations of people within the organization. A less skillful one has fixed ideas about what problems exist, what should be done about them, and what people should be able to do, responding automatically rather than sensitively and analytically to a specific situation. Management requires technical, human, and conceptual skills. Technical skills relate to what is done, and generally involve working with things . Stretching a hoseline or driving an apparatus, for example, requires primarily technical skills. Human skills have to do with how something gets done, and require knowledge of people . These skills include motivation, counseling, communication, leadership, and others involving human interaction. Finally, there are conceptual skills that reflect concern with why something is done and demand ability to work with ideas and abstract thought. Strategic planning and creative problem solving are examples of conceptual activities. Notice, however, that the strategic planner who lacks knowledge of the technical requirements of what should be done, or of the attitudes and abilities of people in the organization who must do those tasks, will go far astray. The successful manager knows when each skill is most relevant. As individuals are promoted, the emphasis on skills most needed shifts. Firefighters need mostly technical skills, mid-level managers need human skills, and upper level managers need more conceptual skills. Often, managers fail to adjust to a new level of responsibility and continue using the skills they mastered in their last jobs. Mid-level managers continue to be so task-oriented that they forget the art of motivation; chiefs and assistant chiefs may fail to stress long-range and short-term planning, preferring to become occupied with personalities. How these skills are called forth and exercised is determined both by external influences and the organizational culture. External influences include such things as: • Emergency incidents; • Needs and demands of area residents; • Changing conditions, such as aging, declining, or growing population; Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 187 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY • The culture of the community; • Policy or advisory group guidelines or requests; • Legal requirements or mandates; • Local political realities; • Funding sources; • Physical plant and equipment; and • Relationships with other agencies (police, sheriff, ambulance companies, hospitals, media/press). The manager must recognize the importance of external influences because they are a critical element in the management process. They dictate the conditions the manager must deal with, and the environment in which he or she will work. They also help identify what the fire department must do. For example, what conditions, such as an increasing number of fires and accidents, must it try to change? What problems must it solve— such as the number of fire deaths due to smoking, the need for more sophisticated equipment, or communication problems with other agencies? What needs must be met, such as the need to change hose lays, the need for training in new procedures, or the need to tie into a computerized information system? Finally, the fire department must consider what resources must be developed, such as revenue, political support, or land for a new station. In addressing these needs, the manager must not forget the external influences that operate in his or her own life. These include: • Personal needs, goals; • Personal relationships (family, friends, coworkers); • Stress from overcommitments; and • Opportunities for professional or personal growth. It is important to be realistic about how personal influences may be affecting management choices. Take the same direct, proactive stance toward personal issues that may affect your work as you would toward more clearly work-related ones. Your communication with others will be enhanced if you also remember what external influences may be operating in their lives. What problems or issues are addressed through the management process in any organization is largely determined by the way it sees its mission. A fire department that does not offer emergency medical services will be less concerned about an increasing elderly population that demands quick response to heart attacks and similar emergencies. A department that emphasizes suppression over prevention is less likely to devote time and energy to correcting ambiguity in local codes. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 188 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Overview of Elements Five "action" elements are critical ingredients in the management process: • Define, • Analyze, • Plan for action, • Implement, and • Evaluate. In addition, there are other key elements that must be dealt with on an ongoing basis: • External influences, • Organizational culture, and • Communication/coordination. By using these elements in a manner appropriate to the situation at hand, the manager can reduce the likelihood of failure, or of creating more problems through a given solution than it cures. Each major element has substeps that are necessary for success. 1. Define. The first part of defining a problem is seeing it— an obvious statement, but one that tells us an important fact about the manager's role. Effectiveness requires willingness to perceive a need and begin to think about it constructively. The manager must be enough "in touch" with the community and the organization that needs and problems can be perceived— preferably at an early stage, before major problems have developed. But action elements of the management process are not solely concerned with problem solving. The proactive manager perceives ways to improve a system, to provide programs, to develop personnel, and to use a situation to advantage. For these and other situations where action is concerned, "definition" is the first step. Once an issue is clearly defined, you need to decide whether it should be addressed: does it fall within the mission of the fire department as the manager sees it, or is it an internal problem that could affect fulfillment of the mission? If the problem should be addressed, state a goal that will direct your next steps. What are the results you wish to achieve, stated in general terms? To reduce the conflict between certain department elements? To install more smoke detectors in residences? Or perhaps to increase the safety of multiple dwellings through required alarm systems? 2. Analyze. Once you have defined a problem or issue, stating the results you need to achieve, you need to know as much as possible about the circumstances you wish to change. For a problem, you need to know why it exists, so you know what barriers must be overcome to change it. Only then can you select an approach appropriate to the situation. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 189 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Your analysis begins with identification of contributing elements for the issue or roblem you are focusing on. This is a stage at which mediocre managers are likely to go wrong, by quickly making assumptions about the situation based on prior experience or prejudice. Slow down and get the facts . The more you are able to clear your head of assumptions, the more on-target your response will be. Once you know the factors that have created the problem, develop short-term and long-term alternatives that will change conditions in your favor. If the reason so few of the residents in your jurisdiction use smoke detectors is that they believe they are unreliable, what kinds of publicity can you use to get out a different message? If it is because only one store carries them and they are not well displayed, how can you get stores to publicize the smoke detector availability? In developing alternatives, you need to consider both internal and external resources that can address the problem. Identify both tangible and intangible assets you need to plan a strategy: Tangible assets such as equipment, and intangible assets such as expertise or influence with key individuals. 3. Plan for action. Now you are ready to complete a plan of action. Choose the alternative that best addresses the need using available resources. The alternative must then be executed in a way that makes appropriate use of the existing organizational structure . The structure may be visualized as the vehicle that carries people forward to do work, or as the framework or "skeleton" of the organization. The formal structure reveals the organization's assumptions about how people will relate to each other in teams or units, but is modified in reality by the informal structure. The formal structure reflects "public" organizational relationships. It is determined in part by the size and complexity of the department, and is revealed in formal communication patterns, ranks and titles, chain of command, supervision and delegation, how jobs and functions are distributed, and amount of centralization. The informal structure represents such "private" relationships as power and influence, status, group cultures, perceptions of roles, and informal lines of communication. How people feel about each other will inevitably modify the way things are "supposed" to happen— whether they like and respect or resent and distrust a team leader, it cannot be expected that feelings will be "put aside." A good manager will deal as effectively with feelings as with formal communications— listening to them carefully, modifying behavior to decrease frustration where appropriate, but never pretending a destructive attitude does not exist. The fire service manager must "be in tune" with both the formal and informal structures to manage effectively. With this framework in mind, you are ready to write specific objectives. Objectives differ from goals in their degree of specificity. Goals are general, and may be accomplished a number of different ways. Objectives spell out a particular means of reaching a goal. They specify the "ABCD's" of the path you select: the audience that will accomplish the task, the particular behavior expected, the conditions relevant to accomplishment (such as time) and degree, or means of measuring what is done (that is, what quality or quantity is expectedJT Good objectives are clear, observable, measurable, Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 190 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY and not open to interpretation. There should be no room for doubt as to whether an objective has or has not been achieved! Each objective may imply several tasks needed to achieve it. For example, if the objective requires the fire prevention division to prepare and broadcast at least ten 20- second public service announcements on smoke detectors, tasks will include writing a script and negotiating with radio stations for time, among others. Each task must be appropriately assigned if it is to be successfully accomplished. At the planning stage, you also need to make decisions about the evaluation procedures you intend to employ. Evaluation is the system used to judge progress toward goals by using pre- determined criteria or standards and deciding what adjustments are needed to stay on target. There are three basic levels of evaluation: • The simplest, done daily, weekly, or on each shift, is monitoring : Are the tasks getting done in the time frame, quantity, and quality expected? • The next most simple, done at least monthly, is assessment of objectives : Are the objectives being achieved in the time frame, quantity, and quality planned? • The most difficult, done at least quarterly, is impact : Are the goals being achieved? Have we changed the conditions? Solved the problems? Met the needs? Developed the resources? 4. Implement plan. As you implement your plan, be sure all persons involved are clear on their responsibilities and motivated to perform them. Individuals are seldom motivated unless they see how their work fits into the "big picture" and know that it will be appreciated. Don't forget to use the evaluation plan you have set up to observe progress. Having a plan and doing tasks is not enough; the manager must also be constantly "in tune" with what is occurring, and even more important, what is not occurring that ought to be! The feedback system you have set up should provide information to the planners , so that they can replan if necessary, and to the doers , so they can change the way they are working and what they are doing in order to achieve the goals and objectives. Feedback can be as routine, informal, and simple as asking, "How are we doing on the plan for the community chimney sweep projects? Are we on schedule? Any problems?" It can also be as formal and technical as a computer program tracking the increase or decline in fire incidents, such as chimney fires, and a formal mechanism for reporting and using such data. Feedback communicated throughout the system allows replanning and other needed changes. 5. Evaluate. Have you reached your goal? By using the criteria you set up in the planning stage, you should know whether the desired impact has been achieved. If you did not, try another alternative or start the process over again. Were you too hasty in deciding what Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 191 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY the contributing elements of the problem were? Or did you select an alternative for which your resources were inadequate? Careful analysis can be an invaluable learning process that can help you improve your system, as well as a means of correcting errors on a particular project. 6. Communication and coordination. The element of communication and coordination is one of the most critical for a manager. All of the other elements depend on communication and coordination as the glue that maintains the interrelationships. Communication is defined as the process of transmitting or exchanging informa- tion, thoughts or feelings, and opinions between individuals or groups. It is accomplished through speech, writing, or the use of signs or symbols. Coordination is the combining of people for joint action to accomplish work for mutual benefit that is mutually inter- dependent. Communication and coordination are the most difficult to achieve in a management setting, because they also require the other "Big Cs": • Cooperation, • Collaboration, • Commitment, a sense of • Community, and • Commonality of goals. However, communication and coordination are weakened and even destroyed by: • Competition and • Conflict' Communication not only holds together the internal management elements, but it also allows the manager to communicate outside the fire department, and influence the 7. Management by Objectives. Management by objectives (MBO) is a particular way of moving an organization as a whole toward the achievement of stated goals. The process involves stating specifically what results should be achieved in a given time period at every organizational level- department, company, even individual, MBO encourages the organization and individuals to be result-oriented, and to plan for the resources needed to achieve the results. MBO has as one of its basic concepts the participation of everyone in the organization in deciding: • The direction of the organization and each unit, • The best use of available resources, and • What progress is being made. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 192 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY This concept translates into practice when, STARTING AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION, goals and objectives are established. Each manager and supervisor then develops goals and objectives for his or her unit that support the overall organization's goals and objectives. Finally, under the guidance of the supervisor, each individual develops goals and objectives. Progress toward goal and objective achieve- ment is then evaluated by the individual, the supervisor, the manager, and finally, top management. Individuals are given the opportunity to participate in the planning, and are also accountable for achieving their part of the plan. It becomes a function of the manager(s) to deliver the resources needed within the organization to perform, and to create the climate that supports the work being performed. The style of leadership used in an MBO approach is more participatory than in other management approaches. MBO has been applied for many years in business and industry, with excellent results. In the last five years, there has been a strong surge of MBO involvement in public service organizations. Fire departments that have initiated MBO process have found it to be very helpful in the following ways: It develops staff responsibility. It improves morale. It is future- and result-oriented (which is crucial when competing for resources for the department). It serves as a basis for calculating what resources are needed to achieve goals. It allows the department to negotiate for budgets very forthrightly: "These are the objectives we can meet with these resources— fewer resources, fewer results! " • It simplifies and objectifies individual performance evaluation as well as overall department achievement. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 193 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS UNIT TWO: LEADING EFFECTIVELY IN THE FIRE SERVICE SECTION I. KEY LEADERSHIP TRAITS IN THE FIRE SERVICE The fire officer faces a more complex leadership environment than any manager in either the public or private sectors. Few other managers lead emergency work groups who are at risk themselves. In addition, the fire officer must also exhibit leadership ability in directing nonemergency tasks such as prefire planning, inspection, public fire education, and maintenance of equipment. Finally, a fire officer must understand work groups as they exist in the organization's hierarchy. A competent fire officer has good cause to take pride in his or her leadership skills. A. What Is Leadership? Almost any writer who takes up the issue of leadership begins by making a distinction between leaders and leadership . Leadership is a set of behaviors that moves a group toward its goals. Thus, we may find (hopefully not very often) a fire officer who is the appointed leader of a fire team but exhibits no leadership. Conversely, a fire-fighter does not have to be "the leader" to move the group towards its goals. However, most people who have emerged as leaders have previously performed leadership functions that brought them to the attention of the fire group and maybe the whole fire officer core of the department. B. Research Findings on Positive and Negative Traits in a Leader When imagining what characteristics a good leader should have, most of us would probably describe him or her as physically fit and energetic. Personality and intellectual traits would probably include intelligence, knowledge about the fire service, sensitivity, self-control, responsibility, maturity, and courage. Over the last 50 years, hundreds of studies have been conducted to determine pre- cisely the physical, intellectual, and personality traits of the leader as contrasted with a follower. Contrary to expectations, there are only a few traits that leaders have that nonleaders do not have. This leads us to conclude that the traits needed to lead most groups effectively are widely distributed among people. Research findings indicate that leaders tend to be slightly taller, heavier, and physically more attractive than nonleaders. Leaders also seem to possess more stamina and active energy than non- leaders. Fluency of speech, confidence in tone, and more frequent communication are trademarks. Leaders also act differently, being more extroverted, dominant, assertive, persistent, and goal-oriented than nonleaders. In addition, leaders sometimes score higher on standard I.Q. tests and have greater mental agility in problem solving. It appears, on balance, that leaders are made, not born. However, in a given fire management culture and faced with certain recurring tasks, some leadership traits seem to stand out as required to get the job done. It is important to note that these traits are situationally determined, and that most of them are traits that a firefighter can develop in him or herself. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 194 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY C. Leadership Traits Valued in Fire Departments The leadership traits that are valued, or exercise influence, in your fire department are determined by your department's management culture, the individuals in your work group, and specific work situations. For example, if your management culture works on Theory X, or is a highly central- ized organization where the main emphasis is on the task (as opposed to human relations) and all power rests at the top of the organization, a very authoritarian personality would be valued in the leader. A people-oriented, sensitive leader would be valued in a management culture that subscribed to Theory Z, which has a highly participatory atmosphere. The members of your work group have an effect on what leadership traits will be most valued. If the members are concerned with their own physical strength, for example, they may value a leader who has similar strengths. The constantly changing work situation in the fire department makes different leadership traits important at varying times. For example, an authoritarian personality may be needed in an emergency situation where decisions must be made quickly by one person to direct the group effort effectively. On the other hand, skills such as good listening and encouraging participation may be more useful in a nonemergency situation. Each fire department is different from the next and, as we have seen, situations frequently change within fire departments. It is important to study the aspects of leadership traits discussed above to see how they fit into your fire department. You can then better prepare yourself to lead. SECTION II. LEADERSHIP— FUNCTION AND POWER Studies over the last 30 years have shown that there are significant communication behaviors that move a group toward its goal. Sixteen specific leadership functions have been identified that advance a group's goals, while seven behaviors can obstruct positive movement. Understanding these functions, as well as the power that leaders must have to be effective, is an important step in learning how to exercise leadership. A. Sixteen Leadership Functions Research generally divides leadership functions into three categories: task— those functions that relate specifically to the jobs or duties at hand, procedural— functions involving the methods of accomplishing the group goal, and interpersonal— functions relating to encouraging group cohesiveness and a climate in which all workers feel a sense of commitment to the overall group goal. There are several leadership functions that fall under the task category. In mature fire service work groups, all members of the team freely contribute their ideas to help solve work problems. Idea contribution is a leadership function that is shared by all members since groups need original ideas to complete tasks creatively. A good leader must not only listen to ideas, he or she must actively seek ideas from other members of the group. Competent fire officers can ask important questions of firefighters without threatening or embarrassing them. You know a leader by the questions he or she asks. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 195 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Evaluating these ideas is one of the most difficult leadership functions because it is hard to critique and reject an idea without offending the member who contributed it. To be able to kill a bad idea but have the member appreciate the criticism is a sign of an experienced leader. Often, you can save the situation by noticing the concern or problem that motivated the suggestion, even though the solution may be unworkable, and looking at other ways to approach the concern. A good leader can often find some aspect of a suggestion that is worthy of praise and can be a valuable contribution. In addition, a fire officer has to have his or her own ideas evaluated. Drawing out firefighter criticism of your thinking is a delicate and important leadership function. Statements like "My way or the highway" do not encourage firefighters to challenge and improve upon your ideas. Visualizing abstract ideas and generalizing from specific ideas are two sides of the same coin. A situation in which abstract ideas must be visualized or made concrete would be in presenting a general company policy so that its exact import is clear. For example, when faced with a policy— "Minimum damage should be done to a home in the act of extinguishing a fire"— you might explain to a rookie that to ax the front door and rip a four-inch slit in the roof would probably be excessive for a kitchen stove grease fire. On the other hand, a group can stone an idea to death with little pebbles. A good leader can work through the trivia and make a general conclusion that hits home with all the members. The reverse is also true. Many times a group member will have a good specific suggestion that has larger implications. For example, "Charlie has suggested we mark those thin steel columns as hazards on the preplan. What about marking other hazards related to building construction as well?" The fire officer needs to actively exercise the five procedural leadership functions . Goal-setting and agenda-making are routine, yet vital, leader functions. These activities give the group a clear sense of direction that enhances cooperation and a sense of morale. As a fire group becomes more mature, the members will want to parti- cipate more in goal-setting and agenda-making. A good leader will know when to allow and even encourage group members to do so. However, if one firefighter is continuously challenging your statements on goals and your plan of attack, rest assured that your leadership of the group is being challenged. Handled properly, such a "devil's advocate" can improve group output; however, you need to see that the group's interests remain central, not intragroup competition. Clarifying and summarizing are important leadership functions because communi- cation within a group is frequently diffuse and disordered, with many dangling possibilities and false starts. Good leaders are recognized by their ability to repeat clearly and often what the group has said. This shows group members they are being heard and their suggestions are valued, gives the group a sense of accomplishment, and keeps the effort "on track." A much under-used leadership function is verbalizing consensus . Frequently, a fire officer thinks his or her group has agreed to a course of action only to find out later that several members were strongly opposed, even though they appeared to agree by their silence. Always seek group member verbalization that they do agree, avoiding a threatening tone. This will help prevent future resentment and complications later on. Of the five interpersonal functions , instigating conflict is the most difficult. Groups have a habit of reaching agreement too quickly at times. Members want to avoid potential damaging personality clashes among themselves so they have a tendency to Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 196 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY agree to the first reasonable idea. But it may not be the best idea. The good fire officer instigates ideational conflict even at the risk of personal clash, so that the best solution may be found. Thrashing ideas around among group members with the clear understanding that only ideas, and not personalities, are to be thrashed, can lead to more alternatives being considered, so that more creative solutions to group problems can be found. Resolving conflict is also vital for a fire group's survival. It is sometimes said that a good working fire is the great peacemaker of the fire service. But a fire officer cannot depend on a fire to resolve interpersonal conflict within the group. Instigating group self-analysis is one way of resolving conflict. This function needs to be performed when the group is acting unfairly toward one of its members or when the group has not been living up to its own professional standards. Focusing concentration on the behavior of the members and examining such behavior in an open light will frequently put an end to it, if it is done in a nonjudgmental way. Regulating participation is the ability to tactfully manage group members' partici- pation. Knowing when to increase one member's activity and reduce another's takes a great deal of practice and sensitivity. A leader will notice when someone has not spoken, but appears thoughtful, and directly encourage them to offer their ideas. Finally, climate-making is the leadership function that provides a sense of safety for members. All group members want to feel they are an important part of the group and free to be themselves and express their opinions. The use of humor to deflate tension is an important instance of climate-making. Encourage the development of team spirit and morale. B. Seven Negative Functions For the most part, negative behaviors occur when leadership functions are over- played. Dominating happens most often when a fire officer is controlling goal-setting and agenda-making too rigidly. Also, the officer is probably contributing too many of the ideas to the group and not encouraging member participation. Blocking occurs when a fire team member works too hard at playing the "devil's advocate." This may stop the group from reaching the necessary conclusions. Playing the clown usually takes place when a firefighter gets carried away with climate-making functions. This type of behavior can obstruct progress toward goals when carried on too long or too intensively. Try pointing out to the joker privately how his or her behavior is affecting the rest of the group. Self-confessing— seeking the group's support for emotional needs— and help- seeking— asking the group to constantly "stroke" and encourage a sulking or needy member— can cause major problems for fire department groups. These behaviors frequently occur because of the dangerous nature of the work and long periods of time spent together. A good fire officer tries to keep personal disclosure within safe limits. When a group gets caught up in its members' personal problems, that can soon become the full-time job of the group. On the other hand, disclosure and group support are sometimes effective stress-management tools. You will need to make a judgment as to whether the team's interests are being served, and recommend outside counseling if a truly serious situation develops. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 197 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY The fire service has a long tradition of public humility and private heroism. Thus, when a fire team or group member tries to be singled out for special recognition, other group members may turn on that member and you, the fire officer, have a major internal group problem. Understanding the member's need for special recognition and giving it to him or her in a way that the other members won't resent may help you solve this prob- lem. Finally, special interest pleading is an anti-leadership behavior because it works against the good of the group. This occurs when a group member tries to influence the group to do things that serve only the selfish interests of a few members or an outside group. Stop this problem immediately by reinforcing the image of a team working together for the good of all members. C. Leadership as Power Social scientists who study power have broken it into six different types of power. All types have their strengths and weaknesses and are useful under different situations. When a firefighter is first promoted to the officer ranks, one of the first feelings is frequently that of being powerless. For a young officer, le gitimate power , or power assigned to him or her by the organization, does not necessarily produce a lot of influ- ence. American work groups tend to be irreverent toward legitimate power, and American fire teams can be very irreverent. Further, a fire officer soon discovers that the many different tasks in the fire service require such a diverse knowledge base that at almost every turn there is someone else in the group who has more expert power than he or she does. Expert power, which is based on knowledge of specific technical situations, should be combined with legitimate power to strengthen and consolidate the latter type of power. All fire officers have some power of information because they receive regular, formal communication from the hierarchy. However, someone in the group usually has an ear to the grapevine. Information seems to travel twice as fast in informal channels, and information is power. Getting group members to share information is an important leadership skill. Referent power , or charisma, is the personal attraction that some people have. It is the ability to so embody group ideals that group members wish to identify with you and "refer" to you as an ideal standard. It's a magic that few of us have very much of and it cannot be counted on as a basis of officer power. However, if you do have it, you can use it to confer approval and give encouragement to group members who can benefit from your good opinion. Reward and coercive power are two sides of the same coin. Most fire officers complain that they do not have rewards to hand out and they are reluctant to use coer- cive power. However, research shows that group members will accept the fair use of reward and punishment if it comes from a legitimate power source. Few fire officers have either the personalities or the situational conditions to allow them to make the best of all six types of power. Recognize which type or types of power you use most effectively and look to members of your group to provide the other types for the benefit of yourself and the entire group. Let that power work for you, not Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 198 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY against you. If you show that you are confident in your own power and encourage rather than fear the constructive use of others' power, you will rapidly gain the respect you need to lead effectively. D. "Followership: Developing Leadership Traits Leadership traits, as we have said, are not innate. Nor do they appear suddenly on promotion. Instead, they develop through creative "followership" which can be fostered both by supervisee and supervisor. The practice of followership means anticipating the needs of one's superior and organization. The future leader is one who takes responsibility for his or her own job performance, rather than passively waiting to be told what to do. This person knows the job , and has the initiative to ask questions when a superior's expectations are unclear instead of complaining to fellow workers and doing nothing. Alert followers know how to do the job, and constantly assess their skills, seeking opportunites for development. Finally, they do it. In difficult periods they are able to motivate themselves while others wait for something or someone to "start the engine." They are active, committed, dynamic, and involved— not passive, unquestioning, or self-centered. A good leader will never see these traits in a subordinate as somehow a threat to his or her authority, but will recognize them as an asset and encourage their growth. A leader will challenge supervisees to achieve their full potential through appropriate responsibilities, enabling them to stretch and grow. They will not hesitate to delegate when it is appropriate. Further, they will share information about the employees' strengths and weaknesses honestly, and communicate with them about important goals and projects. They will encourage thought , and even challenges to their own ideas, respectfully presented, knowing that such ideas can result in improved effectiveness for the work group and a chance for the future leader to show initiative. Few experiences are more satisfying than this nurturing of talent. Try a little "gardening" in your work group, and see what grows ! The results could make your year. SECTION III. LEADERSHIP STYLES There is a natural tendency to stereotype fire officers into one of two groups: the "task masters" and the "human relations experts." It does seem that some leaders are very goal-oriented and take a no-nonsense approach to work that seems to allow little time for the human needs of the group. Other leaders tend to take a considerable amount of time to ensure that group members are happy in their work. These officers seem particularly sensitive to the interpersonal needs of the group. Although it is probably true that each officer has a tendency to be one kind of leader or the other, a fire officer cannot afford the luxury of specializing in either the task or social dimension of group life. He or she must have a range of leadership styles that can be adapted to the level of the group's task and social maturity , and which are workable within a given fire department's culture. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 199 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY A. Four Leadership Styles There are four basic leadership styles, each one most effective with a particular group. A tell style is high on directed, structured communication on how to do the job. This would be most appropriate with a new training group of rookie firefighters. At this stage they need to have every move directed by their leader. Interpersonal skills are less important; the main emphasis is on clear explanation of what is required, with the assumption that the requirements are not open for discussion. As the group learns various tasks, they might start asking you why they were doing it the way you taught them. At this point, you would begin to change your style to that of selling them on your approach to the problem. You would increase your social com- munication on why you prefer a job to be done in a certain way. Otherwise, your group will tend to grumble and motivation will diminish. An example of a situation calling for this style would be a new captain explaining how he or she would like to see the house run. As the group gains more experience and confidence, their need to contribute their own ideas will increase. They will want to add ideas and change some things as they see fit. It is time to adapt your leadership style to participate since the group is more mature. They may find a better, cost-efficient way of approaching a function. A volunteer fire chief working with a somewhat experienced fire company on prefire planning would do well to adopt a participatory approach. Finally, on some tasks, you might delegate the job. Your group members now know how to do the work and they know you respect them for their maturity. An experienced engine company on a routine grass fire, or an experienced work unit planning Fire Prevention Week, might call for a "delegate" style. Adapting your leadership style to the needs of the group involves constant evaluation of the progress of the group and the needs of each specific situation. If you use a "delegation" style with an inexperienced fire team, they will be confused; conversely, if you use a "tell" style with a very experienced group, they may find ways to do the task wrong out of irritation at your failure to notice their ability. In choosing your approach, always consider: • Organizational culture, • Group maturity (task experience), • Group time together, • Amount and type of power you possess, and • Your contact with different styles. B. Using a Situational Style Theory Analyzing the situation in order to use the most effective leadership style involves assessing the experience, confidence, and ability of the group members; correctly evalu- ating the fire department management culture under which you are working; and knowing the amount and type of power that you have and using it effectively. Leadership in the fire service is a never-ending challenge. A good fire officer leads effectively by knowing and practicing the correct leadership traits, functions, powers, and then compiles them into a flexible leadership style. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 200 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS UNIT THREE: STRESS MANAGEMENT SECTION I. STRESS: WHAT IS IT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? A. The Nature of Stress As a firefighter, you are a member of a profession that requires you to think fast and accurately in situations where success is critical. This type of stress leads to mental, physical, and chemical changes that can impair both your health and your organization's effectiveness unless you learn to recognize signs of excessive stress in yourself or others, and act effectively to prevent or reduce it. Firefighting is stressful, partly because its activities are sporadic, their timing unpredictable. When a call comes in, the station springs to action. High levels of glucose and oxygen are released to key organs, your heart rate increases, more blood is pumped to your brain and skeletal muscles, adrenalin is released, your blood pressure goes up, and hormones are released. You feel excited, ready for action. On the other hand, long periods may pass without a call or much physical work. This, too, may become stressful and cause some of the same physical reactions as a call. Both prolonged periods of high activity and extremely low activity can cause stress. These reactions of the body to outside demands served our human ancestors very well and can serve us in short-term emergencies. The physical and chemical changes in reaction to a life-threatening challenge are called the "fight or flight" syndrome. They prepare our bodies by giving us extra energy to either remain and fight, or run for survival and safety. Hans Selye, the "father" of stress research, calls the body's reaction to a stressor (stress causing event) the "General Adaptation Syndrome," (G.A.S.). The G.A.S. includes all physical and emotional changes as they develop throughout a period of prolonged stress. The stages are alarm, resistance, and finally exhaustion. When you first become aware of a stressor— a fire alarm, the start of a family disturbance, a life-threatening situation, or an unfriendly summons from the chief— your initial reaction is alarm. You may feel confused or slightly disoriented during this stage, which may last less than a second. These symptoms disappear during resistance, the second stage. Your ability to deal with an emergency situation rises above its normal level during this phase. Your adrenalin, blood, hormones, and chemicals are being pumped to ready you for fight or flight. Your body will do exactly the same thing to prepare you for a major presentation to the City Council as it would for the physical demands of the fireground; however, if the resistance stage is prolonged as you prepare your speech, the result may be fatigue, anxiety, tenseness, or extreme irritability. Exhaustion, the final stage of the G.A.S., occurs when your body's energy reserves have been used up, either in an intense release of energy during resistance or in a Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 201 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY prolonged low-level release. Usually, we recover after rest, but extreme exhaustion can lead to apathy and emotional withdrawal, or even to death. Stress is an adaptation to the realities of the world we live in. When faced with an emergency, the body reacts by giving us extra energy needed to cope with the situation. After the emergency has passed, resistance drops below normal levels, giving our bodies a chance to rest and recuperate so we may start the G.A.S. over again when another danger arises. Stress is necessary for survival. In addition to the surge of energy needed to cope with a crisis, called distress, there is also "eustress." Hans Selye coined this word from the Greek "eu" (meaning good, as in euphoria), to describe the pleasant form of stress. Imagine your chief calls you in. You are likely to experience some degree of alarm if you have no idea what to expect. If he or she has called you in to fire you, you will experience distress. However, you would experience eustress if you were told you had successfully qualified for a promotion. Both actions would cause similar changes in your body, but one would be experienced as pleasant, the other unpleasant. Some researchers believe the amount of stress you experience from a task is related to how great a demand it places on your attention. J. Kalsbeek finds six categories of work classified this way. Category VI involves information-handling under pressure with a high amount of motivation required to complete the task at hand. Reserve capacities of energy are being used, and staying in this category for long is dangerous to your health. An example would be a peakload for an air traffic controller, or commanding a multijurisdictional response to a serious incident. Attention Category V also involves a high degree of attention to the task at hand, but no special motivation is required. An example would be maneuvering in heavy traffic. This category is also dangerous if continued for a long period of time. Fighting a fire or responding to some other emergency situation would almost always involve you in categories V and VI. A good fireground commander will rotate personnel and see that "breathers" are taken when needed so that the team can continue to perform efficiently for both the emergency at hand and the one two hours away. A normal level of mental activity, one in which you must pay frequent and conscious attention to the task but do have moments free for other thoughts or activities, falls into Category IV. This would include difficult maintenance tasks or report preparation. Category III is also a normal level of activity, but the tasks are simpler or more routine and require less attention than those in IV. Routine, repetitive tasks requiring only incidental attention fall into categories I and II. A very slow day in the firehouse may find firefighters involved in tasks in these categories, fighting the stress effects of boredom and fatigue, both of which lead to loss of initiative and decreased performance. These categories will not be the same for every person. It is important to recognize that a task that may be boring for you may be challenging and fulfilling for someone else. A good supervisor will keep this in mind in making assignments, so that people are operating under optimum stress levels for their skills. Obviously, it is also important that you understand what tasks fall in which categories for you, and attempt to balance your levels of stress so you stay alert and productive. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 202 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Results of Excessive Stress Stress is healthy as long as we have an opportunity to rid our bodies of its effects in a burst of energy appropriate to the physical arousal for the event. In other words, if there is an emergency call that your station responds to, the fire is successfully suppressed, and all the people inside are rescued, the tension that you felt when the alarm was sounded has been released in a good effort by you and your fellow firefighters. You go home feeling tired from the effort, but no longer "keyed up." But what if, instead, there is a false alarm? Or what if the team has been unable to rescue a family member, and has witnessed the grief and perhaps anger of relatives? The result will be continued stress that will have to be relieved. Stress that builds over time dramatically increases the probability of illness, injury, and death. Continued stress affects your emotional state, creating anxiety, fragmentation of thought, loss of integrating ability, and "tunnel vision" in which we are able to perceive only small parts of what is going on around us. The result will be an increase in "careless" accidents. Heart attacks account for almost 55 percent of all deaths in this country. Although there are many factors involved, the cumulative effect of stress is a major factor in such deaths. In fact, Dr. Selye has demonstrated that heart attacks can be induced chemically by excessive stress, even when there is no damage to the arteries in the heart. Excessive stress may also be a key factor in backaches and migraine headaches. Migraines, the result of dilation of the blood vessels in the head, often occur during the evenings or weekends, when a person is no longer under any actual stress but is continuing to maintain the same body reactions since the stress was not relieved properly. Prolonged tightening of the muscles in the lower back, a frequent result of stress, can cause severe backaches. Stress also contributes to ulcers by keeping the gastric system working full-time, whether it is needed or not. Acid produced by the gastric system actually eats holes in the lining of the stomach and duodenum. Ulcerative colitis, another serious form of ulcer, is frequently fatal. Diet may also be related to ulcers, but as Dr. I. Mendeloff, former president of the American Gastroenterological Association, put it: "It's what's eating you rather than what you're eating that is the real culprit in the development of ulcers." Some researchers now believe that stress is also a factor in cancer deaths. Lawrence Leshan of New York's Institute of Applied Biology studied 450 cancer patients for 12 years. He found that the cancer patients had three characteristics in common far more often than a control group: First, most had experienced the loss of a very important personal relationship just before their disease was identified. Second, almost half of them were unable to vent hostile feelings toward others. Third, many of the cancer patients had a high level of tension regarding the death of one of their parents, even when the death had occurred a long time ago. High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects between 23 and 44 million Americans. If you are hyperactive, you are four times as likely to have a heart attack or a stroke as someone with normal blood pressure. Stress has been identified as a cause of hypertension. More importantly, stress can accelerate the effects of an existing hypertensive condition. When your body encounters a real or imagined threat and goes Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 203 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY into the alarm stage of the G.AJS., it responds by increasing the blood pressure. When the threat subsides, the blood pressure normally drops back to its usual level. If you are unable to relieve that stress, however, the blood pressure remains elevated, creating unnecessary, long-term stress on the complex network of blood vessels. Excessive stress can have quite an effect on your emotional life as well. At work, you may become tense and snap at coworkers for little or no cause. At home and in other personal relationships, excessive stress can damage these relationships by making you anxious, angry, or depressed. You've probably had the experience of getting angry at a friend or family member when you feel frustrated or depressed, even though that person is not the cause of your anger. Unfortunately, there are many ways to cope with excessive stress that can have worse effects than the stress they were meant to relieve. Alcohol and smoking cigarettes are two of the most socially acceptable ways to relieve tension. Increased consumption of either cigarettes or alcohol could be a symptom of excessive stress. Although smokers claim that it relaxes them, nicotine temporarily raises blood pressure and levels of cholesterol and noradrenaline, a close relative of adrenaline. In effect, then, the more you smoke, the more stressed you will be. Alcohol, on the other hand, does cause relaxation— and a host of medical and social problems of its own if used to excess. Drugs and tranquilizers are also widely used in our country by those who have not learned stress management techniques. Valium, the most popular tranquilizer, is one of the top three bestselling drugs in the country. Although stress can be momentarily relieved by drugs and tranquilizers, addiction almost always causes additional stress because of the need to hide the addiction from co- workers and family, guilt over the problem, and a realization that addiction brings on its own stress as the user loses confidence in his or her own ability to control stressors. This sense of being "out of control" can lead, in extreme cases, to deep depression and even suicide. Overeating may also be a destructive way of diverting attention from stressors. A full stomach and intestine create a demand for blood in the abdomen, thereby decreasing the amount of blood circulating in the brain, leading to a slight tranquilizing effect. An increased intake of coffee may also be a reaction to stress that will place addi- tional strain on the body. Coffee drinkers frequently drink more when they're under stress. However, excessive amounts of caffeine can cause the same physical changes in your body as anxiety— edginess, nervousness, insomnia, and headaches. When individuals suffer from stress, the organization that employs them suffers too. Absenteeism, low productivity, higher than normal rate of accidents, high turnover, early retirements, anti-social acts such as theft and expressions of hostility, and mistakes in critical situations may all be symptoms of excessive stress in an organization. Stress among some members of the work group almost invariably increases stress among other members. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 204 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION II. CAUSES OF STRESS A. Overview of Causes There are four basic ways in which we stress ourselves emotionally— time stress, anticipatory stress, situational stress, and encounter stress. Time stress is one which many people face daily. The worry here is that time will run out before our mission is accomplished. In the world of firefighting, this is a very real stress. Will rescue be completed in time? Will the building collapse before rescue is possible? Imagining what will happen in the future and then worrying about it is called antici- patory stress. This is generally worry for worry's sake without a clear reason for anticipating the thing ahead. Situational stress results from the demands posed by a specific situation. Every emergency call involves uncertainty, a firefighter's feeling of responsibility for the out- come of the situation, and a concern for one's physical well-being. This stress can actually help during the emergency and is only harmful when it is not released after the situation is over. Encounter stress is caused by important meetings or conversations, conflicts with other people, or unpredictable behavior on the part of someone you work or interact with in some way. It is essential to monitor your own reactions closely enough to recognize each of these types of stressors when they occur and be careful not to let them cause prolonged distress. Let's now look at some specific sources of stress, beginning with the work environ- ment. Poor relationships with coworkers may result in daily "encounter stress." A poor work climate may result from lack of support, inadequate channels for decisionmaking participation, no positive feedback, unclear expectations, or poor communication. A poor physical environment at work— noise, crowding, cigarette smoke, or dirt— may also cause stress reactions of varying intensity for individuals. Shift work, common to firefighters, confuses the biological clock, adding to stress. Large amounts of responsibility also contribute to the demands that can lead to stress. It has been shown that mid-management personnel have the highest stress levels, since there is usually a lot of responsibility without complete control. Monotonous or over-demanding workloads, both of which are likely in a fire station on different days, are stressors. Any change, or continued lack of change, in career development may be stressful. The sense that one is not growing in the job, is at a dead end, or can no longer perform as well as in the past may affect self-image and commitment. A fear of not being able to meet expectations in a new role is a familiar source of anxiety as well. A good supervisor will be attuned to these tensions in employees and react supportively. Dramatic life-style changes in the 20th century have greatly contributed to the stress epidemic we are undergoing today. The breakdown in the family, increase in Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 205 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY crime, economic uncertainty, faster pace of life, and amazing advances in technology are all changes that require adjustment and result in stress. Family and personal life may add stressors to one's life. Quarrels, losses, deaths, changes, additions, financial problems, separation, and divorce are changes in life that make a demand for adjustment. Marriage or the birth of a child are normally happy events, but they are also major changes that must be adjusted to and are therefore also stressors. B. Stressful Elements in Situations There are many elements in each situation that can either increase the amount of stress or reduce it. Several of these factors are shown below. STRESSFUL ELEMENTS IN SITUATIONS Stress Increasers Unpredictability Uncertainty Uncontrollability Lack of support Danger Unfamiliarity Change Confusion Urgency Responsibility Tight time frame Constant demand for attention Stress Reducers Predictability Certainty Controllability Support Security Familiarity Stability Clarity Sufficient time Shared responsibility (with reliable person) Reasonable time frame Demand for attention with some letup C. Fire Department Stressors The firefighting profession has certain stressors not found in most other careers. For example, firefighters function with a high level of uncertainty. There is little Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 206 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY control over what happens at work. False alarms and the difficulty of getting all the needed information for "size-up" add to the amount of stress. When a fire alarm is sounded, the firefighter's body goes into the alarm and resistance stage of the G.A.S. If the run produces little physical activity, the body does not have a chance to release the tension and it remains, causing both emotional and physical stress. Firefighters must work as a close knit team in order to function most effectively. This can be beneficial in terms of feeling part of the group, but it can also produce tension, since the interdependence diminishes your personal control over your job. Equipment breakdown could have very serious consequences and tension can be produced if you worry that another worker has perhaps not done his or her job well in that area. Weak leadership can have pronounced effects on such a team effort as firefighting, causing prolonged stress. Firefighters must respond to human tragedy at an immediate and raw level. Talking to a family that just lost its home, dealing with sick and injured persons, and coping with death produce emotional stress reactions. Since firefighters are expected to deal with such things as a matter of course in their jobs, they frequently maintain an unemotional front. This suppression of natural emotions takes a great deal of physical and emotional energy and causes stress. Having to witness unnecessary deaths brings a feeling of helplessness that must be released in some way after the tragedy. The logical fears of personal injuries or death create stress, as does the denial of such fears. Irregular work hours demand that the body adjust frequently to different times for sleeping, eating, and working. The paramilitary structure common to fire departments, generally allows little participation in decisionmaking processes and a feeling of diminished control over one's fate. SECTION III. ASSESSING STRESS LEVEL We have seen that major life changes demand adjustments and cause stress, whether the change is good or bad. The stress then lowers the body's resistance, making us more susceptible to illnesses. Stress, like hypertension, is at times not noticed until it has already caused physical damage that may be irreparable. It is important to recognize when you are under prolonged periods of stress and to compensate during those times by releasing the stress in physically beneficial ways, rather than allow it to interfere with job efficiency and personal life. It is also vital to know when stress levels are climbing too high for the company or department as a whole. A. Social Readjustment Rating Scale The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, developed by T. H. Holmes and R. H. Rahe in 1967, is widely used to measure the level of major life changes an individual has experienced during the past 12 months. The developers of this scale have given numerical values to 22 different major life changes. Correlations have been established Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 207 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY between scores on the scale and serious illness during the next year. The higher the score, the greater the chance of illness. Specifically, a score of 150 to 199 correlates with a 37% chance of serious illness; 200 to 299 suggests a 51% chance; and over 300 indicates a 79% chance. Since the impact of various stressors will differ among people, however, the assessment is an approximation. Vulnerability to stress from these major life changes depends on how an individual copes with stress. This scale can be used to increase awareness of stress levels in your department. It could be administered regularly on a yearly basis to all in the department or be given to individuals when signs of stress are evident at work. High scores would indicate that stress-reducing techniques that either alter the stress source or the individual's ability to cope with it should be applied. B. Questions Regarding Everyday Stressors Although major life changes obviously are stress producing, several researchers believe that it is the everyday annoyances of life that contribute more to illness and depression than major life changes. In a survey of 210 Florida police officers, Psychologists Charles Spielberger and Kenneth Grier of the University of South Florida found that the day-to-day friction of dealing with what the officers saw as an ineffective judicial system and distorted press accounts about their work were far more stressful than responding to a felony in progress or making arrests. In other stress surveys, police sergeants in Houston complained more about routine paper pushing than physical danger, while air traffic controllers complained more about such trivial details as management and shift schedules than the strain of guiding heavy air traffic. It is extremely important to keep track of these smaller, cumulative annoyances in order to keep your stress level from rising dramatically. The 15 questions regarding everyday stressors found in your note-taking outline will give you a good idea of your possible stress level. Individuals with scores in the 60 to 75 range have been found to have significantly more serious health problems than the other groups. Interestingly, individuals in the 15 to 25 range have the second highest level of serious illness. Individuals with scores from 25 to 60 are considered the healthiest, indicating that a moderate level of stress is good for one's health. This instrument could be used to analyze the everyday stressors in your department or company. It is probably best to have individuals answer the questions anonymously. People would then feel more comfortable being truthful about these stresses and management would get a much better idea of steps it may need to take to reduce levels of stress and increase efficiency and morale. C. Selye's 31 Early Warning Signals Dr. Hans Selye claims that there are problems with the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and the Questions Regarding Everyday Stressors because they don't make any Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 208 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY allowance for the significant difference between eustress and distress. In addition, these scales do not measure or take into account the fact that people have quite differing abilities to cope with stressors. He urges that the rating instruments be used with care. They can be valuable in pointing out approximate stress levels, especially for groups of people, but they cannot predict accurately how individuals will react to either major life changes or everyday annoyances. Selye's list of 31 signs of danger, included in your note-taking outline, may help you to recognize stress in yourself or a co-worker. You may then be able to take appropriate steps to identify the stressor and reduce its impact, or increase coping ability. D. Type A or B The mind and body are intimately linked in stress— physical changes in the body lead to emotional changes and vice versa. A crucial research finding, published in the early 60's, was that heart disease could be linked to a specific type of behavior known as "Type A." Type A Behavior and Your Heart, by Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman, summarized years of their findings as cardiologists and researchers. Their conclusions have now been confirmed by further research and won wide acceptance. Type A people have several general characteristics in common: they are competitive, aggressive, deadline-driven, impatient, restless, and tend to see other people as obstacles in their path. The Type B person, on the other hand, has little hostility, a rational approach to achievement and recognition, and an easy-going, relaxed approach to life. Although most people fall somewhere in the middle of these extreme categorizations, one tendency is usually more dominant. If you feel a constant struggle with the environment, find yourself expressing hostility to coworkers, family, and friends, or are a workaholic, you are exhibiting Type A behavior and are probably putting your body and mind under prolonged and unnecessary stress. Type As tend to "burnout" more frequently than the Type B personality who is relaxed and has a balance in his or life. Further, although they push harder and are more competitive than Type B personalities, there is no evidence that Type As are more successful as a group. Do you honk when the driver in front of you doesn't move immediately when the light turns green? Do you tend to move, walk, and eat rapidly? Do you complete sentences for other people instead of waiting for them to finish themselves? Do you plan your vacations with as packed a schedule as a typical workday? If you answer yes to these questions, you probably fit the Type A personality. If you do have a Type A personality, it does not mean you are stuck with that for life. You can modify your behavior to a healthier behavioral pattern. We will learn more about that in the next section. The stress amplifiers and stress reducers shown in Visual 3.8 can be used to judge what areas of your life need work in order to reduce stress or to maintain it at an acceptable level. These factors have been found to affect stress levels after years of research, both through surveys and laboratory testing, and should be taken seriously as health concerns that can also impair productivity at the personal or organizational level. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 209 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SECTION IV. REDUCING STRESS A. Reducing Stress at the Personal Level Although there are many stressors in your life over which you have no direct control— hard economic times, pollution, increasing crime in your community— you can change the way you cope with both major life changes and everyday stressors. Keeping your body in good shape with regular exercise and a balanced diet, improving your time management skills, learning techniques for relaxation, modifying your "Type A" tendencies and building a supportive network of relationships are all positive changes that will enable you to better handle stress. Six commonly used, successful relaxation techniques are described below. Although all of them have been proven successful, each person should study them all and find those that work best. Biofeedback Stress raises blood pressure, brain wave activity, heart rate, and increases muscle tension and skin sweating. Biofeedback is simply a way to help you control these automatic functions of the automatic nervous system. Biofeedback is an amazingly simple but revolutionary idea— a machine provides feedback on how much stress there is in a certain part of the body and the user learns what to do internally to reduce stress readings. The machine creates whatever change there is. For instance, the biofeedback machine can be set to measure the temperature in fingers. The more relaxed they are, the warmer they will be. As mental commands take affect and the temperature of cool fingers is raised, a more relaxed state is generated. Another type of biofeedback machine measures muscle tension rather than temperature. The machine emits a tone— the louder the tone, the greater the tension in that particular muscle group. It becomes very easy to relax those muscles since you are getting constant, accurate feedback about how well you are doing. It is a good idea to check with your physician before starting on a program of biofeedback since the symptoms you believe are caused by stress could possibly be caused by some underlying medical problem. Since each biofeedback machine only helps you with specific control of an area where stress manifests itself, it is also wise to use one of the other relaxation techniques described below in combination with biofeedback. Self-Hypnosis and Autosuggestion There are a number of misconceptions regarding hypnosis, especially as practiced by stage hypnotists. The first misconception is that hypnosis is the same as sleep. This is not true. You are not unconscious and unaware while in a hypnotic state, you actually have tremendous awareness and sensitivity. Second, you do not lose control of yourself under hypnosis. You do lose the conscious feeling of control, yet you are still in control to handle any emergencies that may occur. Third, and most important, you cannot enter a hypnotic state against your wishes. You allow yourself to slip into the state. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 210 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Robert Woolfolk defines hypnosis as "the altered state of consciousness that results from focusing awareness on a set of suggestions— all while allowing free reign to one's powers of imagination." There are different types of hypnotic states, but we are concerned only with the alteration of consciousness that allows you to relax and give yourself suggestions- autosuggestions. There are two methods that are typically used in self-hypnosis: eye-fixation and eye-roll. To use the eye-fixation method, put yourself in a comfortable position, preferably lying on the floor. Focus your attention on some stationary object. As you concentrate on it, silently tell yourself that your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier, that they will soon close and you'll be very relaxed, yet fully aware. Repeat this suggestion every minute. Let your eyelids close when they become very heavy. Take a deep, slow breath, hold it for 10 to 15 seconds, and then exhale. Continue this breathing, saying the word "relax" each time you exhale. Imagine tension physically escaping your body with each breath. To use the eye-roll technique, roll your eyes inward and upward and look at the center of the top of your forehead. Hold this position, close your eyes, take a deep breath, then hold the breath, release it, and let your eyes return to their normal position. Imagine your body getting heavier and heavier, warmer and warmer. Start with your feet and imagine each part of your body becoming warm and heavy until your entire body is relaxed. Take another deep breath, hold it, and say the word "deeper" as you begin to exhale. Imagine yourself on a slow-moving escalator and going deeper into your trance as you go down on the escalator. Remember that you are in control at all times. If you want to come out of this light trance, say "I'm coming out," and then open your eyes. No matter which method you use, you will be very relaxed by this time. Your body is completely relaxed and your mind is very open for suggestions. Jere E. Yates gives these six guidelines to help you formulate good suggestions. 1. The more you repeat the suggestion, the more effective it will be. 2. Be positive rather than negative. Say to yourself, "I am going to be more relaxed as I face deadlines in the future," rather than "I shouldn't get so tense over meeting deadlines." 3. Don't expect drastic changes overnight. Anticipate progress in degrees. 4. See yourself gradually feeling better about yourself, rather than saying that you are going to try to feel better about yourself. The latter approach implies that your chances of changing are not very good. 5. Avoid phrasing your suggestions as orders. Instead of saying "I must," say "I choose to." Resistance to taking orders from anyone, including oneself, seems built into most of us. 6. Try to develop a visual image that reinforces your suggestion. Imagine yourself as being relaxed as you face an important deadline. Imagery can be Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 211 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY very powerful. There's little doubt that you can reduce stress through self- hypnosis and autosuggestion if you are open and receptive to the idea. Progressive Muscle Relaxation This method, first discovered by Emund Jacobson, induces relaxation first in the body, and then in the mind, using a series of sequential physical exercises. One muscle group in the body (say the hand and forearm) is held tense for about seven seconds and then completely and abruptly relaxed for 20 to 60 seconds. This tension-release pattern is released again and then used on other muscle groups throughout the body. In addition to reducing physical and then emotional stress, this method allows you to recognize how your muscles feel when they are relaxed. This will sensitize you to tension and stress when it does occur and you can take steps to relieve that stress before it gets out of control. Progressive muscle relaxation can be done either lying down or sitting comfortably, at work or at home. Once you learn the technique, you can adjust it to fit your own particular needs. First, get comfortable, close your eyes, and try to relax to the best of your ability. Cease to pay attention to distracting thoughts as they come in and just let go. Think of a nice, relaxing scene. Throughout the exercise, keep this scene in the back of your mind. Next, take a deep breath and hold it. Be sure to use your diaphragm. Start by filling the lower chest cavity and then expand to the upper area of the lungs. Slowly exhale after seven seconds. Each time you exhale, imagine all tension leaving your body with the breath. You will begin to feel your whole body relaxing. Now direct your attention to the muscles of your right hand and forearm. Clench your fist and hold it as tightly as possible for seven seconds. Be aware of the tension in your forearm. Then relax your fist immediately. Notice the difference between the tensed and relaxed states. Enjoy the relaxation for 20 to 60 seconds and then repeat the sequence. Move now to your right bicep muscle, but keep your wrist limp. Repeat the tension-release cycle twice for the bicep then for your upper right arm. Do your left arm, using the same tension-release pattern twice for each muscle group. Next, do your face muscles, eye muscles, jaw, lips, neck muscles, shoulders, stomach muscles, buttocks, thighs, and calves, until you've gone through all the major muscle groups in your body. When you have tensed and then released your body, imagine that relaxing scene again and again and enjoy the state of complete relaxation and tranquility. When you are ready to rouse yourself, gently move a limb or two and then open your eyes. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 212 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY The Relaxation Response Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School has developed a technique for relaxation that is based on four components. First, you need a quiet environment that offers few distractions. Second, you need a mental device to concentrate on to divert your attention from outside worries and concerns. (Benson recommends use of the word "one.") Third, you must develop a passive attitude. When distracting thoughts enter your mind, just disregard them and think about your word or phrase again. Fourth, you must be in a comfortable position. Benson recommends a comfortable sitting position rather than lying down since it is easier to fall asleep in the latter position. Benson's technique is as follows: 1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position. 2. Close your eyes. 3. Deeply relax all your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face. Keep them relaxed. 4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word "one," silently to yourself. Breathe easily and naturally. 5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. You may open you eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes open. Do not stand up for a few minutes. 6. Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling on them, and return to repeating "one." With practice, the response should come with little effort. Practice the technique once or twice daily, but not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the Relaxation Response. Other Forms of Meditation There are several methods of reaching the same state of body relaxation and calmness of mind other than those described above. Transcendental Meditation, or TM, Yoga, and Autogenic Training are some of these. We will briefly describe their methods and results because there are more complicated aspects to their practices which should best be learned from someone trained in their practice. TM was introduced to the United States in 1959 by the Indian teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. TM is designed to take you to a state of restfulness, which is also characterized by a heightened sense of alertness. The technique involves repeating a mantra (a monosyllabic word or sound specially chosen for you) for 20 minutes a day in the morning and evening. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 213 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Yoga has proven a successful method of decreasing stress through a mixture of mental and physical approaches. Yoga involves various body postures and breathing exercises and aims to unite mind and body to bring inner tranquility. Autogenic training was developed by Johannes H. Schultz to bring about a deep mental and physical state of relaxation. There are six steps involving exercises designed to make your body feel warm (dilation of the arteries) and heavy (actual relaxation of the muscles). After practicing these steps for a few months, you would then be ready for autogenic meditation. This involves picturing and holding certain images in the mind. Guided Imagery As with other letting-go techniques, guided imagery is designed to allow you to relax both your body and your mind. Guided imagery can be done alone, with one guider and one relaxer, or with a leader and a group. A comfortable position is the first necessity. Then you must decide what part of the body is tense and needs relaxation or whether there is a stressor affecting you that you need to work out. For instance, you have just had a disagreement with your boss. Your stomach feels tied up in knots and you can't stop thinking about the disagreement. Visualize your stomach and get a clear picture in your mind of its actually being tied up. Then, with your eyes closed and breathing regularly and gently, untie the knots in the picture in your mind. You will soon find that your stomach is beginning to relax. The clearer you can make the picture, the greater the effect will be. In order to stop thoughts of the disagreement from nagging at you, you could picture either a peaceful scene, completely removed from the situation or you could picture a resolution of the situation. Imagine sitting down with your boss and what you would say. If stressful thoughts continue to intrude, try visualizing a different scene. Make your images as vivid as you possibly can and remain seated comfortably with your eyes closed until you have finished the session. All the letting go techniques described above can reduce stress, discharge tensions, and release energy for productive work and personal interactions. Long-term benefits of these methods include producing a general sense of calmness and well-being that will enable you to react better to the necessary stresses of work. However, in order to get these benefits, you must practice the particular method of relaxation you choose on an almost daily basis. Meditation and relaxation must become a habit. B. Reducing Stress at the Organizational Level We have seen that a balanced diet, reasonable goals at work, supportive relationships, regular methods of relaxation, exercise practiced on a regular basis, and modifications in personal characteristics can lead the individual to less stress and greater productivity. However, we are not islands. We must work with others. Especially in the firefighting profession where teamwork is not only desirable but essential, reducing stress at the organizational level can have positive impact on efficiency and effectiveness as a unit. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 214 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY The following ideas on stress reduction will involve changes and time, but the benefits will greatly outweigh any short-term difficulties. One critical contribution you can make as leader is to notice signs of stress that can best be relieved through the services of a professional counselor, and do all you can to facilitate the location and use of high-quality counseling services. Many communities have Employee Assistance Programs that can aid employees who are alcoholic, stressed due to grief, or off-center emotionally because of unexpected blows from many directions. You can work to overcome "macho" traditions that make it more difficult for employees to seek the help they need. It is especially important that you are prepared to work with counselors after particularly stressful emergency duty— mass casualty incidents or the death of children can haunt people for a lifetime if emotions are not well dealt with near the time of the incident. Become familiar with counseling services in your area so that you can recommend them with confidence when appropriate. One of the major stressors in a firefighter's life is the fact that he or she does not usually know what to expect when coming to work. Will there be a call? Will equipment maintenance be done today? A great deal of the uncertainty can be alleviated by planning and posting activities for shifts ahead of time. One or two days should be designated as "catch up" for adjustments caused by emergencies. A departmental exercise program would help firefighters maintain good physical condition, which not only reduces stress but also lessens their chance of injury during an emergency. Since the program is department wide, workers could encourage each other, building morale as well. If it is necessary to purchase equipment, it may be possible to get a discount by appealing to the community spirit of an equipment supply firm. Perhaps the local parks and recreation division could help in the design of an appropriate program. Since improper diets contribute to stress, an educational nutrition program could be made available for the firefighters. This could be arranged by working with nutrition specialists from a local hospital or clinic. Meetings should be scheduled on a regular basis to give firefighters a chance to discuss problems at work and give suggestions for solutions. This reduces stress because it gives workers a feeling that they have some degree of control, in the form of suggestions, over what happens at their place of work. (This can only happen, of course, if someone is willing to listen to their suggestions and implement those that have merit.) It is important to see that each individual has some degree of control and input as to how his or her role is carried out. Signs of departmental stress should alert you that some form of positive action must be taken to solve the problem before it gets out of control. Personnel changes are necessary, of course, but they do contribute to ambiguity and stress. It takes time to develop an effective small work group, so transfers should be undertaken only when absolutely necessary. When transfers are needed, careful preparation is needed to enable all parties to adjust to the new situation by knowing what they can expect. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 215 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Another key to reducing stress is the effective use of training and educational programs. Fire department education and training must provide both knowledge and skills. Knowing that one's skill levels are sharp provides increased confidence as well as competence. Training should also be provided on personal stress management techniques. The training should emphasize that stress is a problem at some time or another for everyone, that the solutions are not difficult, and that the result will be improved work performance as well as better interpersonal relationships and a good feeling about oneself. At the scene of an emergency, strong leadership is essential. Keeping the crew informed as often as possible about the situation will minimize uncertainty, while rotating personnel to less strenuous assignments will allow them a chance to release the tension that has built up and recover their energy. Stress is a part of life— in fact, a necessary part of life. The important thing is to be aware of excessive stress and take immediate action to alleviate it. C. Goal: Holistic Health What "good" stress management is really about is "wellness"— in the holistic sense. Holistic health, or "wellness," might be viewed as a positive state of well-being accomplished and maintained by keeping in balance the physical, social/psychological, and mental/spiritual dimensions of our life. You can envision the physical dimension as a straight line with extremes at either end. The line runs from a high level of wellness characterized by good physical health and an abundance of energy and vitality, to minor disorders, disabilities, and premature death. The line representing the social/psychological dimension ranges from happiness, contentment, and serenity with one's self and significant others to unhappiness, depression, and despair. The mental/spiritual dimension flows from a full feeling of integration, "wholeness," and peace to total alienation from others, one's world, and one's inner self. While our personal inclinations often lead us to emphasize only one of these lines, the fact is that all three are needed to complete a three-dimensional view— a "holistic" one— of our state of wellness. Whatever throws us out of balance on one line distorts the full picture, having impact immediately on the other dimensions. This means we need a systems approach to well-being. No one can be truly "healthy" without giving attention to all three dimensions. "Wellness" is not possible unless you are really "in charge" of your own life. Holistic health enables you to respond to negative stressors as challenges, opportunities for personal and professional growth. You experience yourself as responsible and capable, never a passive victim. To assess your inner balance, you need to examine your current lifestyle and determine— honestly— where on each of these three continuums you are. Consider where and how you need to grow to achieve a positive total life balance. Regular exercise, quality nutrition, and adequate sleep may provide positive results in the physical domain, but what about the other two? Improving your social or work relationships, joining the neighborhood or department ball team, or developing hobbies may provide positive movement on the social/psychological continuum, but what about the other two? Practicing a religion, meditating, or praying might enhance your spiritual Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 216 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY growth, but what about the other two? If your goal is holistic well-being, "the big picture," you should be prepared to take explicit steps to bring your life into balance — on the positive side of the three dimensional design we've created. The result could be the most valuable gift you could give to yourself (and those around you) ! Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 217 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY SUPPLEMENTARY READING FIRE SERVICE SUPERVISION: INCREASING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS UNIT FOUR: TIME MANAGEMENT SECTION I. TIME CHOICES AS EXPRESSIONS OF INDIVIDUALITY AND CONTEXT We all have all there is— yet there never seems to be enough of it. We make choices every day about how to spend time. Our choices reflect our individual style, characteristics, values, priorities, and goals. These time choices also reflect the priorities and goals of the organization in which we work, the management culture. Time management affects both your personal well-being and stress level and your level of accomplishment. Accomplishment includes the quality of what is done, how much is done, and what is done. Your decisions about time are critical for you and your workgroup. Yet, managers often feel so overwhelmed by immediate pressures— clearing whatever is on the desk, responding to needs of subordinates, talking on the phone— that they do not so much manage time as give it away or even lose it. By making your decisions about time conscious and controlled, you are already on the way to improved results— and less stress. Time choices are frequently made out of habit. Managing time effectively requires that you realize the individual factors affecting your choices. Then you must decide how you can best approach a certain task with your individual style. It is also vital to consciously recognize the role of organizational factors. Then, and only then, can you determine how to best manage your time to meet both your own goals and those of your management culture. Let's look first at how your personality affects your management of time. Type A vs. Type B The Type A person is a compulsive worker, tending to do everything personally rather than delegating responsibility. If you fit this description, it would be more effective if you did nothing on a task until you have thought through whether you can delegate some of it, working on only the most important activities. Learning to drop or delegate low-priority tasks in favor of high-priority ones directly related to your key responsibilities may save you a good deal of time. While Type A people enjoy activity, Type Bs thrive on their relationships, private thoughts, and feelings. The Type B person needs to guard against procrastination and must work on maintaining a schedule. Careful record-keeping for each responsibility or task will help keep assignments from "slipping through the cracks." Task-Oriented vs. People-Oriented Task-oriented people often enjoy long-term problems that keep them isolated from contact with other people while people-oriented types get bored quickly by paperwork or any job that keeps them from dealing with others on a face-to-face basis. The task- oriented manager may forget to motivate and involve coworkers. While this type of manager needs to work on seeing people as a key part of the task, the "people-oriented" Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 218 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY person needs to keep specific objectives clearly in mind in business interactions, and check to see if they were accomplished. Recognize which orientation you have and schedule your time so you do the jobs foreign to your nature when you are best able to give them your attention. Realistic vs. Idealistic Short-term, immediate goals are emphasized by the manager with a realistic style, while the importance of the future is downgraded. On the other hand, the idealistic manager tends to spend and use time on what is yet to be. Frequently, the idealist does not recognize time constraints that can destroy the effectiveness of all other work, while the realist focuses on the problems of today to the exclusion of vital long-range planning. Each needs to work on seeing the necessity and value of the "other half of his or her personal strength. Intensive vs. Extensive Intensive types are the sprinters of the world, while extensive people are the long- distance runners. Intensive activity tends to burn a person out, so that projects are frequently not completed. If you are such a manager, be sure you have selected your most important task to receive your full intensity! The extensive person can be just as productive as the intensive, but it takes him or her much longer to finish. This individual may need to schedule intermediate check points to apply enough pressure to assure optimum performance. Schedule periods of work, breaks, and deadlines to fit your style. Diffusion vs. Focused A manager with a diffusion style is stimulated by having new projects start while others are in midstream or nearing completion. A focused style means concentrating on only one project at a time. If you are a diffusion-style manager, start new projects while they are ripe, but make sure you have a step-by-step plan to keep them all moving toward completion. If you are a focused-style manager, choose the one project that will bring the best return on your time investment. Delegate additional projects to others in the department. However, be sure you receive regular reports so you know what is going on with projects that others are handling for you. Investment Style Four investment styles when dealing with money can be just as applicable to understanding the investment of your time. The gambler invests large amounts of time according to the pressures and opportunities of the moment. The investment is high, but the potential payoff is also very high. Taking time to think through options will enable the gambler to make better use of his or her time. The aggressive investor is willing to risk large amounts of time where a very large return is possible, but makes more conscious calculations about time use than the gambler. This person may need to check out the probable outcome of his or her investment more carefully— to consider the receptiveness of the management culture or community to the idea, for example. The moderate investor occasionally takes risks with time, but only after he or she has considered the implications from all possible angles. A very conservative investor , on the other hand, plans all time expenditures to prevent losses rather than maximize the possible returns. The conservative investor should consider his or her goals to see if good Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 219 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY opportunities are being missed. Recognizing your style and modifying it when the situation calls for a different style will help you make the most of your time investment. Internal and External Prime Time Internal prime time is that period of the day when you can do your most creative, concentrated work, while external prime time is the time when others are most available for decisions, inquiries, and information. Try to schedule your prime projects for those hours when you are best able to concentrate. Realize when the people you need to talk to or see have free time available, and schedule meetings and phone calls accordingly. Save routine matters, such as opening the mail or reading the paper or business magazines, for other than internal or external prime times. Key Responsibilities and Management Culture So far, we have discussed ways in which your individual style affects your use of time. However, the style, overall plan, and goals of your fire station or department have a tremendous impact on the efficient and effective use of time by everyone involved. To take just one element of the management culture, consider how your department's preferred communication pattern affects your time. Are decisions disseminated through the ranks during a meeting, or are memos announcing decisions sent to everyone? Are there endless chains of approval for purchase of even small supplies? Take time to study communication patterns in your department to see where time could be saved. The range of philosophy and overall mission of the department can also affect the way time is spent. Is the mission solely that of suppression, or is your department also involved in rescue? Are procedures clear regarding the mission? What is valued in your department and what are the rewards for a job well done? Is the warmth and support of the fire station personnel for each other emphasized or is competition emphasized? To what extent is the department dependent on each member's self discipline and to what extent is the work a team effort? Realizing that these elements of management culture have an effect on the management of time can be an important first step to making changes where necessary. Sadly, we often fail to address what we consider our key responsibilities as successfully as we know we can. Sometimes this is because we fail to think about our time choices and realize where our "time drains" occur. Sometimes it is simply because we take a reactive, rather than proactive, stance toward the culture of our organizations. Whatever our situation may be, we can take time to count our resources and devise a strategy to accomplish our most important objectives. SECTION II. DEVELOPING A TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGY A. Guiding Principles of Time Management Save Time by Planning "When a man does not know what harbor he is heading for, no wind is the right one." The Roman philosopher Seneca had the right idea many centuries ago. Planning, a rational process that looks at where you want to go and how you intend to get there, is Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 220 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY vital in management. Until a plan is devised, there is no assurance that actions taken will lead to a goal. Managers frequently resist planning with the excuse that they don't have the time to plan ahead. Planning does take time, as well as concentrated thought and a willingness and ability to think about the future. But planning saves time in the long run. Planning is anticipating problems or situations that may arise, and taking steps to mitigate the problems and get the most out of the other situations. So, rather than spending all your time solving small crises on a day-to-day basis, prepare a long-range plan that will lend stability to the organization and guide the decisions that must be made. The planning process involves: • Analyzing the present situation (where I am now); • Developing relevant assumptions (what conditions are likely to exist within the time span of the plan); • Establishing objectives (what I want to achieve); • Developing alternatives (what different ways might I gain these objectives); • Making and implementing the decision; and • Establishing review and control procedures. Protect your time by setting concrete objectives and goals. Setting goals and objectives will help you decide what really must be done by you and which responsibilities can be delegated. Once you have set your goals and objectives, know in which direction to head. Then you must set priorities. Learn to say no, to yourself and others, in order to save your concentration for the tasks that really must be accomplished. E.B. Osborn, president of Economics Laboratory, Inc., has devised a plan sheet that is used by all managers in his company. They are provided with the sheet and encouraged to use it, but not forced to. The main objective of the plan sheet is to "furnish the executive with a tool for self-management." There are five categories on the sheet- phone, writing, general, meetings, and lunches. Osborn provides four tips for using the plan sheet: "Keep the plan sheet current; always schedule the most important subjects for handling first, numbering them in order of not just importance or priority but when they will fit best and be best executed; never yield to the temptation to clean up "small" items first, which is the pathway to frustration; and comb the plan sheet for items that can be delegated." Planning not only helps you set priorities in order to accomplish your goals and objectives, it also allows you control over your own time. You can then eliminate the feeling that things are piling up on you, that you can't possibly finish everything. When you plan, you control time, it does not control you. This attitude change is important because the frustration and stress relieved by taking a more relaxed attitude can allow you more creative, concentrated time and allow you to become more effective as well as more efficient. The old adage, 'The thinking time you do before you start a job will shorten the time you have to spend working on it," is still valid. Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 221 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY Many people think of planning as daydreaming, sitting back in the office chair and thinking about what will happen in the future. Alan Lakein, a time-management consultant, emphasizes that planning must involve writing. He suggests an ABC approach to planning. First, write a list of goals and objectives. Then, write a capital letter A next to those items that have a high value, a B for those with medium value, and a C for those with low value. In many cases, you will be guessing at assigning these relative values so the list should not be set in concrete. If halfway through an A task you decide the time involved is not worth the benefits at this point, change that time to a C priority. You need to set these priorities continually, considering the best use of your time at the present moment. No matter how busy you are, you do have time to plan. In fact, the less time you feel you have, the more important it is to plan your time carefully. Planning is usually most effective if you do it at the beginning or the end of the day. If you plan in the morning, your mind is fresh and you are less likely to be sidetracked as you go through the day with your priorities clearly in order. On the other hand, the advantage of planning at night is that you know what you have accomplished that day, which will help you select priorities for tomorrow. Another advantage is that your subconscious can work on developing ideas while you sleep so that you arrive at work ready for action. Either way, planning will keep you focused on your top priorities and allow you to get more accomplished in less time. Writing your plans down will have a great effect on your ability to carry them out. Several goal-setting aids, including a daily time analysis form, a telephone time manager, a weekly time management work plan, and a daily time management work plan are provided in your Student Manual . The daily plan will help keep you on course each day, while the weekly plan will allow you to evaluate that larger block of time. Give Priority to the "Vital Few" Tasks The Pareto principle, named after a nineteenth century Italian economist and sociologist, states that the significant items in a given group normally constitute a relatively small portion of the total items in the group. American project engineers applied this principle to inventory control and found that 20 percent of the inventory items normally comprise about 80 percent of the total value of the inventory. In other words, by analogy, only a small percentage of the things you have to do account for a very large percentage of the total benefits you could reap if everything on your desk got done. By concentrating on those critical tasks, you can reap rewards out of proportion to your efforts, while other tasks (such as phone conversations) sometimes absorb vast amounts of time with few benefits. By prioritizing , you can make the most of the time you have ! Give Priority to Management Functions Many managers have come up through the ranks and have advanced to their present position as a reward for work well done. However, there is a fundamental difference between managing and doing. Managers frequently spend a disproportionate amount of time doing rather than managing. Some reasons for this are that managers feel more comfortable working in their area of expertise; that managers want to feel they know all the details (the 'I can do it better myself syndrome); or insecurity about their position. Managing involves long-range planning, delegating responsibilities to others, and allowing Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 222 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY decisions to be made at the lowest level where the skill and knowledge exist to make that decision. As you rise from lower to higher management levels, more and more of your own time is spent on pure management functions and less on "doing." At the lower levels, technical skills are critical; at intermediate levels, interpersonal skills are critical; at upper levels, planning and organizational skills are critical. As you are promoted, talk to your new peer group about the time adjustments they found necessary to function effi- ciently at a new level. This can keep you from making the same mistakes. By recognizing the skills and tasks that are keys to success at your specific management level, and adjusting to the new requirements of a different management level, you can make the most effective time choices for you in your particular position. Avoid Business for Its Own Sake "Results are seldom proportional to the buckets of sweat generated," according to Robert Pearse of Boston University. There is a myth in our culture that the harder one works, the more work gets done. This is not true. We must distinguish between activity that produces results and activity that is done for the sake of activity alone. Careful planning will help you avoid this. Monitor Your Time After a study of Swedish managing directors, Sune Carlson concluded, "Up to now I imagined the boss as a bandmaster leading an orchestra. Now I know that this comparison is wrong, and I rather imagine the boss as a puppet whose strings are drawn by a crowd of unknown and unorganized people." Monitoring your time accurately will probably point up a few surprises. You will quickly realize that it is next to impossible to judge adequately how to spend your time until you write it down on a daily or weekly log. Although keeping track of your time may seem bothersome at first, it will save you time in the long run by allowing you to evaluate your use of time and change habits that are not producing results. Save Time Through Delegation As a manager, you are accountable for the accomplishment of specified duties and tasks, but no one says you must do them all yourself. Save time by delegating ! Delegation is often defined as the granting of authority to a subordinate to carry out an assigned task. In the process of delegating, the manager must clearly delineate the duties of the subordinate and the limits of the authority being granted. The latter may range from full authority to act to limited authority, or approval before action. The subordinate then becomes responsible for the task's completion. Effective delegation requires a balance between subordinate and supervisor governing assigned duties, authority, and responsibility that is appropriate to the situation, including such factors as the subordinate's level of experience and expertise and the task's importance. Remember, however, that it is the manager who remains accountable for the actions of his or her subordinates and for the task's ultimate accomplishment. Be sure that the feedback system you have set up is an efficient one that will enable you to make Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 223 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY adjustments at critical points without absorbing too much of your time, or leading the subordinate to feel he or she is not really trusted or responsible for the task. Some managers fail to delegate, or delegate only minimally. They may fear a loss of power. They may feel threatened by a subordinate's good performance. Or they may feel that subordinates lack the competence to complete the assignment. They may be inexperienced as managers, or they may be plain workaholics. Whatever their reasons, these managers are not effectively using their most important resource: their people. Yet, the art of management as we have defined it— the accomplishment of organizational objectives through people— demands this trust. When a manager is truly afraid to delegate, something is radically wrong. It is time to think deeply about why delegation seems so impossible, and begin to remove the barriers. With the exception of clearly managerial duties, almost any task or problem can be successfully delegated. Tasks that should be considered for delegation may be remembered by the catch phrase, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." "Something old": A new approach may well solve an old problem. "Something new": A new task that emerges suddenly on the horizon and threatens to destroy your careful planning might well be delegated. "Something borrowed": A task not part of your division's usual responsibilities should also be considered for delegation. Finally, "something blue": A task that is a royal pain for you personally may or may not be for someone else. In most cases, from the perspective of organizational efficiency, better them than you. Your responsibility as a manager is to make certain the tasks are completed as prescribed and the problems solved, not necessarily to do everything yourself. How does one "successfully" delegate? It begins with knowing you rself and your subordinates : strengths, weaknesses, interests, and commitments. Then, it's a matter of assigning the right tasks— clearly defined— to the right people and granting each the degree of authority (and freedom) necessary to fulfill his or her responsibility. The managerial role becomes one of monitoring the subordinate's activity at scheduled intervals to ascertain progress and offer guidance as requested or necessary. (It is important to let them do it— remember, you're developing "follow ership" in people who can grow through experience !) Several notes of caution are in order. Do not delegate those tasks that are in fact exclusively a managerial function. Secondly, do not have so many assignments given out that monitoring them becomes impossible. Lastly, always give credit for a job well done. There are many benefits to mastering the art of delegation. The tasks are completed and the problems solved— competently and on time. That makes the manager look good, and actually gives him or her more power. Secondly, the subordinates may be "motivated." They have successfully completed projects and seen their work recognized. They have often learned something or improved skills as a result of the task. And, it saves the manager time to address top organizational priorities, enhancing effectiveness and results ! Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 224 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY B. Combatting Time Thieves Internal Time Thieves Haste . Impatience with detail is one of the major causes of haste. Rather than doing it quickly, take time to get the project right the first time. ("Why is it that there's never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over?") Take time to plan, it will alleviate the problem of haste. Delegate more and attempt to do less operational work yourself. Lack of planning . Failure to see the benefit of planning can be a time thief. Recognize that although planning does take time, it always saves time in the long run. Planning enables you to emphasize results, not just activity for its own sake. If you have had success without planning, realize that success may have occurred in spite of, and not because of, the methods used. Management by crisis . Continual small crises that interrupt your day often result from a lack of planning. Ineffective "management by crisis" can also be caused by unrealistic time estimates and a reluctance of subordinates to break bad news. Allowing time for interruptions and encouraging fast transmission of information as essential for timely corrective action are two solutions to this problem. Lack of delegation . Fear of both inadequacy and incompetence among your subordinates can lead to a time-wasting lack of delegation. Train your workers, and allow them to make and learn from their mistakes. Delegate fully to competent subordinates, and give them credit for a job well done. If there is a work overload on your subordinates, balance the workload by staffing up or reordering priorities. Routine and trivia . Concentrating on routine and trivial matters can waste an enormous amount of time. Set your goals and objectives and concentrate on them. Delegate nonessential matters and then give your subordinates the lead. Judge them by results , rather than criticizing methods or details of their work. Paperwork. Shuffling paper around a desk can make you feel you are making progress if the pile is smaller at the end of the day, but did you really accomplish anything worthwhile? Have assistants screen your mail and telephone calls to determine what you really need to do yourself and what can be delegated. Too much reading . There is a knowledge explosion, and it is important to read professional journals and newspapers. However, you must learn to read selectively so that you can make the best use of your reading time. Learning speed reading also helps. Duplication of effort . The first step in reducing duplication of effort is to locate the source of duplication. Point out the problem to the people involved. Make sure everyone has a detailed job description and that lines of communication are kept open. Indecision . A lack of confidence in the facts or an insistence on having all the facts can lead to indecision. You may wish to improve your fact-finding procedures to increase confidence in the facts. However, you may also need to accept some risks as inevitable. Sometimes, as firefighters well know, you have to go ahead without having all the facts. Fear of error may also be a cause of indecision. Use mistakes as a learning Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 225 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY process so the same mistake won't be made again. Set up a rational decisionmaking process involving getting the facts, setting goals, investigating alternatives and negative consequences, making the decision, and implementing it. Procrastination . A tendency to delay unpleasant decisions or actions is a common time thief. To avoid this and help you tackle a very large or unpleasant task, break the task into smaller objectives and activities. Keep plugging away at these smaller tasks until you have done enough of them to make the large task seem more manageable. (Labein calls these little tasks that make holes in giant projects, "Swiss cheese" tasks.) Eventually you will see enough progress so that you are not overwhelmed by the entire project. Give yourself an incentive to work on unpleasant projects— perhaps a lunch at your favorite restaurant after a morning spent on a task you wanted to put aside. Q vercom mitment . Learning how to say no is the first important step in avoiding the time thief of overcommitment. The second step is to set your priorities clearly and then stick with them. It is usually better to do fewer things well— than more things poorly. Overcontrolling subordinates . It is extremely important for a manager to be aware of the effect he or she has on a subordinate's time. Looking over a worker's shoulders at every detail of a project not only wastes the manager's time, but also wastes the worker's time when he or she must stop and explain everything to the manager. Managers also waste time when they do not give clear instructions, which results in work not being completed properly. Lack of procedures for routine matters . There are routine decisions to be made and activities to do almost daily in every work place. Search the schedules of your workers as well as your own to handle routine matters in the least amount of time, while ensuring they are taken care of. Perfectionism . The problem with putting undue value on perfection is that time is wasted on perfecting even trivial matters. Learn to delegate routine matters and then don't worry about the details of the job. Look to results, not methods. An obsession with perfection also inhibits the ability to risk, both for the manager and his or her subordinates. Without the freedom to risk, and even to fail, creativity and innovation die. External Time Thieves Drop-in visitors . An open door policy does not necessarily mean that your door is physically open at all times. Close your door regularly for periods when you need intense concentration. Train your staff to screen all visitors discreetly. In order to cut a visit short, stand up when the person enters and remain standing. Preset a time limit on the visit and "foreshadow" the end. Distinguish between being available for business and for socializing. Meetings . Prior to calling a meeting, evaluate whether it is really necessary, what results will come from it, how long it should last, and whether you need to participate. Don't call a meeting without a specific purpose. Provide participants with an agenda Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 226 NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY including subjects to be discussed, information to be presented, and specific time limits well in advance of the meeting. Open and close the meeting on time and allow no time- wasting interruptions. Telephone calls . Screen, delegate, and consolidate your telephone calls. Set aside specific times each day for making and returning nonessential calls. Keep business conversations on track and don't exceed the time limits you have set. Make the telephone work for you, not against you. Disorganized records . Although having stacks and stacks of papers piled on your desk or in your office may make you feel accomplished, the clutter often distracts, and you may find yourself just shuffling papers from one pile to the other without accomplishing anything. Once you get a piece of paper, a report, or a letter, immediately decide whether it is an A, B, or C priority. Keep only the As on your desk. Make an immediate decision on the Bs and Cs or relegate them to one of your drawers until you have time to handle them. This will keep the clutter off your desk and allow you to concentrate on the important tasks first. Employee requests for help . You can minimize employee interruptions with questions or problems without becoming an ogre. Try spending more time training new employees and always being sure that you give complete directions for particular tasks. Delegate as much of the training to their coworkers as possible. Having to redo tasks assigned to others . Here again, a proper amount of time spent on training will eliminate much time redoing the work of your subordinates. When you give instructions for a task, have the employee explain the task to you in his or her own words. Correct any misinterpretations that may exist at the time, and provide enough check points to avoid "getting off track." Reverse delegation . Reverse delegation, when the subordinate comes in with a problem and asks the manager to solve it, can happen for a number of reasons. Frequently, the subordinate wants to avoid risk, is afraid of criticism, or lacks confidence or the necessary information and resources to handle the task. Managers accept responsibilities of their subordinates at times because they either want to be needed or they are unable to say no to requests for help. Managers need to encourage responsibility for decisions among their subordinates and give them adequate information to make those decisions. Recognizing that you have been caught in the trap of reverse delegation is the first step toward solving the problem. Learning to manage your time efficiently and effectively involves recognizing where your time is spent now, deciding what your goals and objectives are within the framework of your management culture, . planning the best use of your time to reach those goals and objectives, and learning to delegate responsibility, concentrate your own time, and how to say no a lot. You can control your time ! Increasing Team Effectiveness NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER 227 UNIVERSrTY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 3 0112 105179748