“I’ll stab you in the neck.”
There just aren’t too many ways to misinterpret a statement like that.
One can easily see how friends, probably young men, could say things like that to one another in jest. But when something like that comes from a supervisor to a subordinate, it is flat-out wrong.
This comes from the story of a fire chief in Cleveland who was given a verbal reprimand for saying he would stab a firefighter in the neck if his duty uniform was not up to snuff.
It is undeniable that firefighters need to follow officers’ orders for their own safety, the safety of other firefighters and the effectiveness of fire or rescue operations. And certainly that extends to a lesser degree to the fire station — career or volunteer.
But there is a profound difference between gaining obedience through fear and intimidation and gaining it through true leadership.
Obedience through fear works only as long as the threat it evokes is present; take away the threat and the obedience disappears. Anyone who has owned a dog knows this.
Real leadership establishes its authority on competence, judgment, fairness and the ability to remain cool under pressure — I’m sure the list goes on, but you get the drift. The obedience, or desired behaviors, remains when the leader is not present.
Regardless of the circumstances in Cleveland, and how accurate or inaccurate the news report may be, this story holds valuable reminders for everyone on how to lead. And it is not just chiefs and officers that leadership lessons apply to; it extends to those informal leaders who hold seniority and experience over newer firefighters.
Whether it is something that implies violence like, “I’ll stab you in the neck,” or a shouting tirade, the only lesson that the subordinate takes away is that the boss is a jackass.
And when that is the only lesson being taught, real leadership suffers and so too does the fireground operations and the department.