Al Braatz is the Captain of Station 9 in the London Fire Department. He has 25 years of experience in the Service. I have known Al for about 4 years. He and his colleagues put together a high-impact simulation. I have invited Al to the classroom to share his leadership insights with executives. We met about a month ago and Al shared with me some ideas on leadership that I think are important for every leader to consider.
People become better leaders because of formative and transformative experiences. Can you reflect on one of those experiences that was a defining moment?
There was a situation with an individual who was senior to me - an acting Captain. We had an incident in which two young people lost their lives. There were pictures in the newspaper indicating that several officers on my shift did not wear protective equipment. This became a big story. The acting Captain came in to our station to do a debriefing. There was a lot of harsh language used. Senior officers were pointing the finger at the young guys. Other officers were sitting there like the three monkeys - hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. Officers were blaming the team but took no ownership for their supervision, directions and decisions. I didn't want to raise a situation in front of everybody. But I decided I was going to handle this situation like a man and deal with it. I spoke to the acting Captain in private. I told him I have absolutely no problem receiving hell for something I've done, but I will never accept negative comments for something I wasn't involved with. I had the chance to proceed to explain what I believe had happened. We were looking at a cover up. Why was it so defining? My leaders - the officers, the people who I looked up to, the ones who are wearing the light blues, and who have your life in their hands - they scrambled. These people were mentoring me. But they disappeared at a time when it was really the time for them to be there for their junior colleagues. This incident taught me how easy it is to lead poorly. I thought, "I will never, ever, ever, ever throw anybody under the bus." You look good as a team and bad as a team. If we find ourselves in a bad situation, I'm going to step up and learn from it. I don't ever want to lose my team. What my leaders did through their actions was an unfortunate way to lose the team. It goes back to my days in minor hockey. You learn to be a team player, you have to follow through on what the coach tells you to do, and you have to work together. You jump off the bench hoping to score a goal, but sometimes you get scored on. When that happens, it's not the time to start bailing on each other, it's the time to come together and move forward.
People see the fire-fighter service as a good training ground for leadership. Why is that?
The process of actually becoming a firefighter is a lengthy one. I talk to the young people who join us on their first day. I tell them that they will be a Captain someday. But I emphasize that taking on that role is not like flicking on a light switch - its' something they have to work on from the first day on the job. Everybody in the engine company has the opportunity to lead and be in charge of something that is very important to that team. Each person has to take charge of what they are doing to make the team effective. People have the ability to think and make decisions. They also need to be able to think quickly on their feet because fire-fighting can be quite unpredictable - things happen that aren't normal. We face life and death situations and hence the stakes are always high. We work in 24-hour shifts. Our work environment often resembles family environment. You get close to each other. You have to have a high level of respect for each other. And because of that, you're not hiding anything. People know exactly who Al Braatz is, and I can't say something I'm not. I have to speak through my actions - not my words. That is the way we each show that we are there for one another. There is a real sense of accountability.
I imagine you get a lot of Type-A people to join the service. How do you get these individuals to be part of the team? They often want to be in charge of initiatives and I can see that leading to conflict in high-risk situations?
I start right at the very first day that they join our shift. They have done their basic training. I do a distinct indoctrination into my station. I think it is really important to start these people off on the right track. We will be having a meeting over the coffee table. I will say to the new person, "Tell us a little bit about you. Tell us your background, where you've worked before, your schooling, your family - anything you want us to know about yourself. I want us to get to know who you are. And, in turn, each one of us will explain to you who we are - how long we've been with the service, what we've done in the station, our interests, our families - everything we want to tell you. Each one of us will also give you one tip to be successful in your career." I do this every year. And each time these new recruits say, "Are you joking? Is this a set-up?" They think it's a joke because firefighters are notorious for setting each other up. The reason I am asking these questions is because you can't tell who is who based on dark blue work outfits. You may encounter a person who saved lives and done so many outstanding things, but you don't really know who he actually is. In an organization, people are defined by their accomplishments, and should be recognized for them. So right off the bat, in the station, the new recruits learn a little bit about their colleagues. And most importantly, when you get a tip to be successful from a person, it spurs even more conversation. People build upon that sharing, and then it becomes not only a tip but a training session. By the end of that session, and it takes several hours, that person feels like he has been tucked under a wing. I want to give them the green light to be an active member of the team. They are now part of something. Type-A individuals are not used to someone opening up and indicating that "I'm here for you" and putting an arm around them - if you give them the feeling that you are there for them then they don't necessarily have to have the Type-A veneer. And for some of those types of people, it is a veneer.
What have you learned about good followership over the years?
There are instances where you're not the final decision maker and your job is to accept the decision made and move on. Being a good follower is showing that skill. But we always have to watch the bandwagon of negativity. It's easy to jump on the bandwagon because someone gets negative, especially during times of management of change. I was always the opposite, because once that bandwagon starts rolling, it's tough to stop. I always wanted to be the one to jump off and try and stop that thing. When you look at negativity in the workplace, it seems to be a real easy thing for people to jump on the bandwagon, because there is not one person who wants to step up to the group and say, "This is wrong."
You recently shared a powerful image with a group of senior executives. Can you please share this image?
I wanted to leave the group with some imagery and insights to live by, so no matter what they come across, whether it is in their life or their working relationships, it will help them solve the issue and always come out on top. The idea that I shared with the group is that an invisible sign hangs around everybody's neck and it says "I need to feel important." Absolutely everyone wears the invisible sign no matter what title, rank or position. But not everyone recognizes it on others. Even less people will take the next step and appeal to another's invisible sign. As a leader, you look to appeal to people's needs. You can appeal to needs in many different ways - all you've got to do is to touch someone's life a little bit. You can learn someone's name, or stop and have a conversation and talk to people with more than just a stone face. Show that you care about them. It is my firm belief that when you recognize the invisible sign, you're more apt to listen to people. Often times, people aren't true communicators in the sense that they don't really listen, they don't hear, and hence they can't understand where that person is coming from. I also believe that a leader - or a future leader - should ask himself- or herself two questions when dealing with people. First, what do I want to be known as? Second, what do I want to be remembered as? I believe that as long as people keep these two questions in mind, they will always take care of their leadership reputation.
Is there anything else that business leaders can learn from the way you and your colleagues operate?
We try to create an atmosphere that "we're all in this together." Sometimes things don't go so well - there can be casualties. There is a steep learning curve each time a person gets promoted. Learning from large and small mistakes and improving takes time. Our goal is not to finger point and critique. We debrief and in that process you have to create the atmosphere that it is okay to say, "Here's what I heard. Here's what I saw. Here's what I did. And you know what? It wasn't really right." But to encourage someone to say that, it is critical that you create the appropriate environment for them. As a leader, I always feel that I have to bare my soul first, and show them that this is the way I'm going to lead, and establish an environment of emotional safety.
But don't you think people start rolling their eyes when you talk about baring your soul? I don't think this practice is very common in the business world.
You know the difference though? In the service, we can't create that thin veneer of somebody that we're not because we spend so much time with each other. People know who Al Braatz is. We can't really choose to be somebody - we have to be who we are. People like being followers in the sense that you've got your arm around them and they'll move along with you. Creating that environment of emotional safety and trust allows them to do that. Some business organizations do that well; others not so much. Some people want to advance and pretend to be individuals that they are not. Some people think it is a strength to be able to say, "I made a mistake." Others think it is a weakness. I think it is a strength because I don't want to make that mistake again, and I want you to learn from it.