Okay so you wake up one morning and you realize you are the ahole.  What do you do?  How do you fix it?   I was teaching a senior officer course and that question came up to me as the instructor.  I am pretty sure I had a deer in the headlights look, what do you all think

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Michael OBrian
The Fire Prevention Side of things
www.inspector911.com

go back to sleep and worry about it later.....

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I suppose it kinda depends on WHY you are the a-hole...  Is it because you are just anti-social, can't motivate your folks, or maybe everything you touch turns to f**k???  In that case, maybe you should take some time to do some self-reflection, mosy over to the Community College to take some classes, or maybe apply to the PD Academy (just kidding...).  OR, are you the type of a-hole that makes everyone wear their full PPE and Scotts at an alarm activated (even when it's hot outside), insists they wear their traffic vests while working on the roadway, or conducts regular training sessions (even during a weekend shift)??  If the latter example is true, then RHTower got it right--roll over and go back to sleep cause, more than likely, you sleep pretty good at night knowing you are doing your job well.

Screw it! Write em up if they think your an asshole! That way at least you have confirmation of the alligation put forth. Dont let the little people bother ya you are the Asshole you are the most imortant part of the body. Without you there wouldnt be any bullshit! So live on strong and proud! And wink your twinklin brown eye as you piss off your crew. What can the do?

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Cant catch this one!!

MOBRIAN,

I worked in the corporate world for many years before I changed careers 10 years ago. (Yes I am OLD) Lessons I learned there I have applied to my Fire Career. I have seen many managers and officers treat people like crap just because they can.  I have seen managers and officers that are in over thier head so they take out thier insecurities and fears on the people they need to depend on.  So you wake up one morning and realize YOU are the jerk, well admitting you have a problem is the first step to getting well.  Both in the business world as a worker and a manager I made sure I was the hardest working person in my area. As a firefighter and now as the shift commander I do the same thing. Iam the last to go to bed, and the first to get up. I am always the first at the station when we come on. I treat my guys like gold, but I hold them to a very high standard. I have firefighters asking to move to my shift.  Do not get me wrong, I am not a push over, I will call a FF on the carpet faster than they can blink, but if they do thier job, dont piss off the other shifts, the public or the chiefs, I will do everything I can to make the shift safe, fun and challenging. 

The simplest way to say all of this is: Treat your crew(s) the way you want to be treated, not necessarily how you were treated.

I hope this is helpful.

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Be Nice, Don't Kill Anyone.

I agree with EP. And I hate to say this but Slayo1, I’m not sure you fully understand your role as an Officer. You can be a brother when you and your crew are out at HOOTERS, but when it comes to station time, you are an Officer first. This gig is a lot like parenting. Look at the kids who's father acted like their brother, they turned out as misguided punks. Look at the kids who’s father guided them and was tough on the issues, they turned out to be functioning members of society.

 

I was always told that as an Officer you can’t be one of the boys. At first I thought that was bull shit, but as time went on I found it to be true. Your JOB is to be an Officer, and as an Officer it is your JOB to make sure that your folks do what they are supposed to and wear their bunkers and other shit, no matter how much they bitch, because that is what your Chief pays you to do.

 

I am the asshole that EP refers to. I force my people to be accountable. And guess what, I sleep great knowing my folks, while grumpy, are safe. And when we punch out, we are all pals, and that system works. You want to be brotherly? Make sure, at all costs, that they go home!

 

As far as new Officers go, they do explore their power, and they do calm down.

 

As for the guys who are pricks just because, ask your crew what makes you a prick, and LISTEN TO THEM! Chances are that just by identifying that you are a prick you will get better.

 

Take it for what its worth.

 

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Loosers try thier best... winners go home and f$@k the prom queen

Just relax and enforce the rules, but have a good time for God sakes you have to live with these guys. Don't forget though that you have to hold them accountable for their actions.

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The above comments are mine and have no affiliation with my department or the position that I hold with it.

RELAX francis I was jokeing. Cant you feel the sarcasim?   Gee dont be so serious!

AKdude

If you even have to even look sideways at your crew in order to get them to perform better and to comply with safety concerns as simple as wearing all their PPE, than you are the asshole!

If your crew sucks, look in the mirror!  Get out and drill.  Be creative and have fun.  Raise the performance level and be safe, that is your job.  I have seen a lot of crappy fire crews in my career that have gotten reassigned to other crews with good officers.  Guess what, the guys performed totally different when they worked with an officer that was competent.

An officer's responsibility is to lead their crew and to keep them out of trouble.  A well trained crew keeps the officer out of trouble.  Maybe I live in a dream world or something, but we could care less what admin thinks when we make decisions, you know why?  Because our Chiefs trust us to make the right decisions.  Yes, we get to make decisions!  We don't have to rehearse some SOP that says we shall, always or never in order to do the right thing for the unfortunate person that called 911 of our help.  We do have SOGs, the G stands for guideline, and we take it that way.  Sometimes mistakes are made, and if we document them and don't hide anything, there isn't discipline.  Therefore, we don't have to work for some asshole driving a red suburban around checking in on us just to look for something we are doing wrong. 

Sounds good to me.

By the way, like your screen name steve fisher. 

It depends if "your the asshole" or "you're the asshole". 

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I like being on B-shift.