I had a realization that I am no longer a new Captain, and in fact I’m getting somewhere closer to being an “old” one. Being old does not mean that I have “seen it all” or am an experienced fire ground veteran. I am far from it.Over the years I have found a few things that seem to work well. So here it is, my list of tips that hopefully will help set you up for success as a company officer.  

1. Admit that you don’t know everything.  By “admit”, I mean actually talk to your crew about the skills and tasks that you need to improve on. Ask them to teach you what they know.  

As an officer, you are not expected to know everything, but you are expected to know how to acquire that information. Sometimes you only have to be aware of who knows what and trust in those people.    

Nobody wants to work for an arrogant boss and a good way to get on the right track, especially with a new crew, is to show some humility. I have witnessed in some officers an air of superiority, as if getting bugles made them an expert on everything. The only things those bugles give you is more responsibility.  

Respect and understand that there are very smart people at all ranks. Just because someone stays in a non-officer rank does not mean they are not knowledgeable.  

I will admit that I promoted too early. “Hurry up and promote” is what I heard early in my career and I followed that advice. In the end I had to go back and learn the basics that I missed as a firefighter and a driver. Luckily, I had access to guys who understood the basics and taught me. I had to be humble enough to ask for help though. I still attend Probie training classes to keep up on the basics.  

2. Lead from the front. I frequently hear complaints about lazy officers staying in their offices and avoiding physical work. Some of these officers use the excuse that they have too much paperwork and can’t help the crew load hose, clean the bay, or do other manual labor.  

One of my personal beliefs is that the more someone gets paid, the more they should do. That means never using paperwork as an excuse for getting out of manual labor.    

Anytime there is a task the crew is working on that could be done quicker or easier with another pair of hands, you should be there.  That means the officer should participate in the cleaning, washing rigs, training, loading hose and other dirty work.  

As an officer, you are expected to do more. They pay you more. That might mean you need to stay up late to finish reports after you help with the chores. But don’t forget to hold others accountable for their work. I recently edited this part after listening to a podcast with Eric Kapilulik. As leader you can spend all day working and still fail the team because you allow other crew members to slack off. 

3. Let your experienced firefighters become the “Senior Man”.  We were assigned a Probie this summer and I told my crew that I wanted them to take the responsibility of teaching the new kid the job. I want firefighters teaching the Probie how to be a firefighter.

It’s been a long time since I rode the back seat. Why not have someone who is currently doing that job teaching the new person those skills? I have seen my senior firefighters become very involved with the Probie’s progress. It’s a great feeling coming into the kitchen and seeing my senior guy going over streets with the new kid.  Now that’s ownership in our future.  

4. Pick your battles.  There are plenty of things that come down the chain that might not be our favorite activities. I’m sure I’m not the first officer to bitch about administration giving us busy work or what seems like ridiculous rules to follow.  

As I learned from the Jocko Podcast, sometimes it’s better to keep the boss happy, which allows you more credibility and freedom to do the things you find important, such as training, special projects etc. I took a class from Scott Corrigan where he told a story that fit this situation. He said the department Chief was very big on having the guys wear the button up uniform shirt. The guys complained about it, but Scott pushed his guys to wear the shirts because it kept the chief happy and he and his crew could get back to training and preparation instead of fighting administrative battles that couldn’t be won.  

5. It’s ok to fail in training.  This goes back to humility. I believe those people who complain the most about practice and training do so because they are afraid to fail in front of peers. It is acceptable for your crew to see that you don’t know everything and that you are willing to learn.

I used to be afraid to fail in front of my crew.  It had to do with my own ego and a fear of what people thought about me. I fail a lot, but I don’t give up. I know guys have concerns about my size (I’m on the smaller side) but the more I practice past failure the more respect I earn.

Remember you get paid the most, so you better put your time in. Participating in hands on training is a very important part of leading your crew.