Last week we talked about how to handle replacing a popular chief who left on his or her own terms. This week, I’d like to address a very different situation: how to handle replacing a chief who was run out of office for valid reasons. Unfortunately, for this situation, I really don’t have much advice to give. There are far too many variables among the departments, personnel, chiefs and the reason(s) the chief was run out of office.

So now what? You’ve got a big challenge ahead, and breaking the troops’ bad/old habits and attitudes is going to take some significant work. For example, if the former chief was a micromanager, you could just step in and follow in their footsteps. But you’re not going to do that. You were appointed/elected because people didn’t want to be micromanaged. Problem is the troops are now used to being micromanaged and their attitudes can be hard to change. People may have a hard time taking responsibility back.

Here’s a starting point if you do find yourself in this situation: firefighter safety. Ensure that your number one priority is — and stays — the safety of your firefighters. If you replaced a poor chief, it’s likely he or she did not give too much thought to the safety of the troops. Fix the safety issues first, and things will improve from there. People want to know they’re cared about first and foremost.