Courage Under Fire Leadership - Chief Officer Focused

What You Will Learn

This session is intended for current and aspiring fire officers & chief officers. Some may say we have a leadership crisis in today’s fire service, not to mention the World. I feel we also have a followership crisis. For a fire department to be successful, leadership and followership are both required.

As a fire service professional and especially as a leader in today's fire service, one must possess “Courage Under Fire” and continuously aspire to be the best you can be for them – those you are fortunate to lead and serve. Do you have what it takes to be a great fire officer in the year 2026 and more importantly beyond?

Situations a fire officer may face today can have severe consequences to the positive image of the fire service, their career, or the careers of those they lead or follow. If you are an officer, and you want to be everyone’s buddy, or never want to be “that person” when it comes to being the designated adult, then this session may not be for you. However, if you’re willing to be the follower and leader you took the oath for when accepting the position (even as a firefighter), you will find some value to the information being discussed. Being a fire officer in today’s fire service requires a delicate balance to ensure one is supporting their personnel and their command staff, while ultimately providing the best possible service to the community.

Current topics affecting the fire service, events that have occurred to the fire service (good and not-so-good), as well as personal lessons learned (some the hard way), will be shared and discussed in a positive and productive manner. Attendees will be exposed to and can leave with numerous tips for leadership success – both on AND off the job!

Topics to be shared and discussed can include but are not limited to:

• Courage Under Fire Leadership – Being the best fire service professional you can be!
• Fire officer leadership lessons learned AFTER getting the badge
• Preventing career and/or life altering events
• Personal leadership / traits of effective leaders
• Leadership & teamwork doesn’t start at the top – they start at the firehouse!
• Establishing your leader’s intent and holding personnel accountable
• Mentoring & succession planning (Building our bench strength)
• Balancing leadership, management & supervisory responsibilities