Soft Skills Matter
For years, I would review brochures and flyers of conferences advertising various classes. Like most of the firefighters I worked with, the most appealing classes would be action oriented: hands on, dirty and physical, the qualifications for a “good class". Refining my hard skills through this physical experience fed my sense of purpose as a firefighter. Consequently, there were a lot of soft skills classes that I overlooked. I viewed these classes as designed for firefighters on the fast track to promotion or who couldn’t handle the more physically demanding classes. Who needs to waste time on all this classroom, talking stuff? Real firefighters are hands on, doingstuff. Firefighting is hard work with hard schedules, hard situations and you need a hard core mentality to deal with it all. Soft skills had no place in the hardened culture of firefighting.
I had a few years on the job when a fellow firefighter was going through a bad divorce. As a firefighter family, if one person is going through life experiences, as a unit, we tend to all go through it. This firefighter would argue and curse his soon to be ex-wife over the phone. We would get a call and this mad man would get behind the wheel and drive us to the call. I didn’t understand a lot back then but I did understand that this wasn’t a good combination. This experience planted the seed of how bad management of soft skills can put hard skills in jeopardy. One set of skills is not more important than other. Properly applied soft and hard skills compliment each other. Great firefighters recognize and constantly work to maintain this balance.
The soft skill we discuss briefly in this article is personal leadership. Leading yourself is critical if you aspire to one day lead others. The personal leadership tool is called the EMPOWER model. This model is made up of 7 elements that enhance technical training. If you are never promoted to an official leadership role, your fire service career will still be enhanced.
The following can be added to your skills tool box:
Envision – Begin with any task truly defined. Leaders without vision perish. Hard skills suffer when this soft skill is not addressed. Envision is not just a map but a compass that will guide your course despite all the detours that life presents. I suggest a personal manifesto that you will refer to regularly. This will keep the vision in front of you and make every step count. Master this principle and watch all areas of your life, from family to career, increase in value.
Mutual Victory- We live in a world where people feel there are limited resources. The good news is, there is an abundance of resources. Our view of the world helps shape our scarcity or abundance mentality. This is important in mutual victory solutions for teams. Your independent attitude of the abundance mentality will help you contribute to interdependent relationships. The mastery of this soft skill limits or eliminates the tug of war of whose way is best. Focusing on the objective at hand creates a third alternative that satisfies the objective. When both parties submit to this mutual victory paradigm, the objective is achieved and all parties involved benefit. This practice is not a technique or maneuver to get what you want or plot for future deals. This is a total change in attitude, a firm belief that your investment in the other party will truly help them win, which in turn will make both parties interested in each other winning. Ultimately everyone truly wins.
Proactive - This soft skill is one of my favorites. The proactive leader plans ahead and understands that when they incorporate this skill, everything touched turns to gold. There are many situations in our everyday life, that would be made easier if we take time to think ahead. Effective plotting and planning will make life more simple, minimizing reactive energy. Firefighters have a reactive job by design. Citizens need help. We respond and mitigate the emergency. When our proactive habits are mastered, we serve citizens better and minimize costly mistakes. Personal stress is reduced because life is easier to predict. When unforeseen events occur we have the energy and resources to deal with the unexpected. The examples I love to use are the stories doctors tell of the recovery of patients. A proactive person with good physical health has a faster recovery from a hospital stay than those who present with poor health.The person in excellent health was proactive and enjoyed unforeseen benefits according to our hospital example. This is the beauty of the proactive skill, it benefits in ways you can and cannot predict.
Organize Priorities – You’ve heard the phrase, lots of activity and very little productivity? If organized priorities is not one of your soft skills, this will frustrate your day to day efforts. Productivity is no accident if you identify principally centered personal/professional priorities. Organizing priorities around principled centered planning gives a clear picture of what’s real and what’s fluff.
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least” –Goethe
We live in a world where information and activity comes faster than ever. Slowing down your internal system and organizing priorities will help you discern the difference between real priorities and activities disguised as priorities.
Working Together - Firefighting is a team effort. There is no getting around this fact. Unsuccessful teams are unacceptable. Successful teams are successful by design. The team is only as strong as the sum of its members. Each members A-game mentality produces a top notched team. Everyone pulling in the same direction helps the team achieve together what the individual couldn’t do alone. All talents are different and should be celebrated. Working together will reveal strengths and weakness. Strategically organizing the team will minimize weaknesses and create overall team strength. When members feel they are positive contributors to a successful team, they will exert independent will, conscience and reveal maximized potential. When these values are exercised before the emergency, performing at the emergency is flawless.
Empathetic Listening – Listening while not just hearing the words is an important skill that will do wonders for the communications soft skill. At times, we all experience not listening effectively. That can lead to delays in problem solving and misunderstandings. If we master the skill of truly listening we can hear the meaning behind whats being said. Listen with two eyes and two ears. Watch for body language. Listen for tone. Work hard to put yourself in that persons shoes and resist the temptation of listening autobiographically. Listening, while filtering through your point of view can be insulting to the speaker. The conversation can quickly become about your experience. The issue at hand is about the person you are listening to and how you can help them. This soft skill works with family and co-workers alike because outside of survival, being understood is one of the greatest human needs.
Recharge – This soft skill keeps your personal leadership arsenal at an optimal level. Recharge encourages physical and mental intentional attention. Value clarification, planning and meditation are a few areas requiring recharge focus. Our profession requires us to be sharp and make instinctive life saving decisions. We should be operating at optimum levels to deliver our best in all aspects of our lives. When we give attention to our physical fitness we reduce the risk of heart attacks and injury. We as industrial athletes have to make fitness a priority. Attention to our mental fitness helps keep order to reduce mental atrophy and burn out. We can be as excited and attentive whether we have 2 years or 32 years on the job. Value clarification gives substance to our efforts to keep us connected to the essence of our public service calling.
Changing the metaphoric oil often is critical to keep your personal leadership engine running smooth. I love the phrase that states “the best thing an old firefighter can teach a young firefighter is how to become an old firefighter”. The successfully applied recharge principle will guarantee quality and wisdom throughout your life and career.
Technical training (HARD SKILLS) are critical in maintaining readiness in our profession. Personal Leadership using the EMPOWER model (SOFT SKILLS) enhances technical training and therefore are just as critical. The balance goes beyond creating good firefighters. Great people emerge. Great people make great firefighters. Great firefighters make great teams. Great teams make for a great fire service.
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I had a few years on the job when a fellow firefighter was going through a bad divorce. As a firefighter family, if one person is going through life experiences, as a unit, we tend to all go through it. This firefighter would argue and curse his soon to be ex-wife over the phone. We would get a call and this mad man would get behind the wheel and drive us to the call. I didn’t understand a lot back then but I did understand that this wasn’t a good combination. This experience planted the seed of how bad management of soft skills can put hard skills in jeopardy. One set of skills is not more important than other. Properly applied soft and hard skills compliment each other. Great firefighters recognize and constantly work to maintain this balance.
The soft skill we discuss briefly in this article is personal leadership. Leading yourself is critical if you aspire to one day lead others. The personal leadership tool is called the EMPOWER model. This model is made up of 7 elements that enhance technical training. If you are never promoted to an official leadership role, your fire service career will still be enhanced.
The following can be added to your skills tool box:
Envision – Begin with any task truly defined. Leaders without vision perish. Hard skills suffer when this soft skill is not addressed. Envision is not just a map but a compass that will guide your course despite all the detours that life presents. I suggest a personal manifesto that you will refer to regularly. This will keep the vision in front of you and make every step count. Master this principle and watch all areas of your life, from family to career, increase in value.
Mutual Victory- We live in a world where people feel there are limited resources. The good news is, there is an abundance of resources. Our view of the world helps shape our scarcity or abundance mentality. This is important in mutual victory solutions for teams. Your independent attitude of the abundance mentality will help you contribute to interdependent relationships. The mastery of this soft skill limits or eliminates the tug of war of whose way is best. Focusing on the objective at hand creates a third alternative that satisfies the objective. When both parties submit to this mutual victory paradigm, the objective is achieved and all parties involved benefit. This practice is not a technique or maneuver to get what you want or plot for future deals. This is a total change in attitude, a firm belief that your investment in the other party will truly help them win, which in turn will make both parties interested in each other winning. Ultimately everyone truly wins.
Proactive - This soft skill is one of my favorites. The proactive leader plans ahead and understands that when they incorporate this skill, everything touched turns to gold. There are many situations in our everyday life, that would be made easier if we take time to think ahead. Effective plotting and planning will make life more simple, minimizing reactive energy. Firefighters have a reactive job by design. Citizens need help. We respond and mitigate the emergency. When our proactive habits are mastered, we serve citizens better and minimize costly mistakes. Personal stress is reduced because life is easier to predict. When unforeseen events occur we have the energy and resources to deal with the unexpected. The examples I love to use are the stories doctors tell of the recovery of patients. A proactive person with good physical health has a faster recovery from a hospital stay than those who present with poor health.The person in excellent health was proactive and enjoyed unforeseen benefits according to our hospital example. This is the beauty of the proactive skill, it benefits in ways you can and cannot predict.
Organize Priorities – You’ve heard the phrase, lots of activity and very little productivity? If organized priorities is not one of your soft skills, this will frustrate your day to day efforts. Productivity is no accident if you identify principally centered personal/professional priorities. Organizing priorities around principled centered planning gives a clear picture of what’s real and what’s fluff.
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least” –Goethe
We live in a world where information and activity comes faster than ever. Slowing down your internal system and organizing priorities will help you discern the difference between real priorities and activities disguised as priorities.
Working Together - Firefighting is a team effort. There is no getting around this fact. Unsuccessful teams are unacceptable. Successful teams are successful by design. The team is only as strong as the sum of its members. Each members A-game mentality produces a top notched team. Everyone pulling in the same direction helps the team achieve together what the individual couldn’t do alone. All talents are different and should be celebrated. Working together will reveal strengths and weakness. Strategically organizing the team will minimize weaknesses and create overall team strength. When members feel they are positive contributors to a successful team, they will exert independent will, conscience and reveal maximized potential. When these values are exercised before the emergency, performing at the emergency is flawless.
Empathetic Listening – Listening while not just hearing the words is an important skill that will do wonders for the communications soft skill. At times, we all experience not listening effectively. That can lead to delays in problem solving and misunderstandings. If we master the skill of truly listening we can hear the meaning behind whats being said. Listen with two eyes and two ears. Watch for body language. Listen for tone. Work hard to put yourself in that persons shoes and resist the temptation of listening autobiographically. Listening, while filtering through your point of view can be insulting to the speaker. The conversation can quickly become about your experience. The issue at hand is about the person you are listening to and how you can help them. This soft skill works with family and co-workers alike because outside of survival, being understood is one of the greatest human needs.
Recharge – This soft skill keeps your personal leadership arsenal at an optimal level. Recharge encourages physical and mental intentional attention. Value clarification, planning and meditation are a few areas requiring recharge focus. Our profession requires us to be sharp and make instinctive life saving decisions. We should be operating at optimum levels to deliver our best in all aspects of our lives. When we give attention to our physical fitness we reduce the risk of heart attacks and injury. We as industrial athletes have to make fitness a priority. Attention to our mental fitness helps keep order to reduce mental atrophy and burn out. We can be as excited and attentive whether we have 2 years or 32 years on the job. Value clarification gives substance to our efforts to keep us connected to the essence of our public service calling.
Changing the metaphoric oil often is critical to keep your personal leadership engine running smooth. I love the phrase that states “the best thing an old firefighter can teach a young firefighter is how to become an old firefighter”. The successfully applied recharge principle will guarantee quality and wisdom throughout your life and career.
Technical training (HARD SKILLS) are critical in maintaining readiness in our profession. Personal Leadership using the EMPOWER model (SOFT SKILLS) enhances technical training and therefore are just as critical. The balance goes beyond creating good firefighters. Great people emerge. Great people make great firefighters. Great firefighters make great teams. Great teams make for a great fire service.
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Larry Conley is the president and lead instructor of Leadership Development Concepts, LLC. He travels the country to present his popular and compelling program, ZERO TO HERO Personal Leadership (Powered by GLUE). The concept of GLUE (Growing Leaders Using Empowerment) was born in the fire service, where Larry successfully juggles many leadership roles.
Larry’s initiative and creativity are put to work in his roles as: Captain of the St. Louis Fire Department (Truck 13C); President of the Parkway Gardens Neighborhood Improvement Association; Chief Instructor for the Highlander Fire Academy St. Louis Community College at Forest Park; Director at Large for the ISFSI (International Association of Fire Service Instructors); President of the Supervisory Committee and Board Member St. Louis Firefighters Credit Union; and Co-Chair of the Fire Education Subcommittee Missouri Community College Association.
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