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3 fire chiefs walk into a bar …

Understand the three types of chiefs – the Bully, Boss and Teacher – and how they can manifest in each of us

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Do you demand people follow every rule and call you chief? Boss. Do you revel in the practice of division and chaos? Bully. Or do you endeavor to make sure everyone has the opportunity to be the best they can be and have the opportunity to improve every day? Teacher.

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Three fire chiefs walk into a bar.

Relax, it’s not the start of a joke (although there are many possibilities for one); it’s the start of a discussion of three types of chiefs – the Bully, the Boss and the Teacher – and how each type can manifest in any one of us.

Back to our setup: Three chiefs walk into a bar. The Boss makes sure everyone in their party gets in, directs them to a side room, makes sure no one’s wearing a uniform shirt or identifying clothing, and closes the door. The Bully muscles up to the bar in their soul-crusher Maltese/skeleton T-shirt and belittles the ones who don’t follow their lead. The Teacher turns around and walks out when they realize they’re in a bar. In other words, the Boss checks the boxes, the Bully doesn’t care about the boxes, and the Teacher makes sure everyone knows how to do what needs to be done, to complete what the boxes represent.

Despite the reference to an age-old joke, I hope the premise challenges you to think about not only your own presentation, but the perceptions we make and leave for our members as well as the citizens who are watching our actions, whether in a bar or not.

The Bully is certainly the most toxic personality, so we’ll spend the balance of time focused on this type of chief.

Spotting the Bully leader

I once attended a conference session where an attendee was asked what makes a chief a leader. He responded, “Everyone that works for me knows who the boss is, and that’s all that matters … and I don’t really care whether they care.”

Bully.

In the 28 years that I’ve held an emergency service officers rank, it has been my experience that the Bully is the most tolerated of those amongst us – not necessarily a great trophy to hold up, but a trophy of reality no less.

According to Dr. Ronald Riggio of Cutting-Edge Leadership, there are five basic reasons we tolerate the Bully:

  1. “We Value ‘Strong Man’ Leaders. Perhaps it’s because of our evolutionary history, but when we select leaders, we often seek out the ‘alpha’ male (or female) – the dominant individual who will threaten or fight our enemies.
  2. “We Believe the Ends Justify the Means. We are often so focused on our team/group/nation winning, that we are willing to allow our leaders to use unsavory tactics to get us there.
  3. “We Enable Them. Bullying leaders cannot succeed without willing followers. In many instances, bully leaders attract other bullies who help the leader do the dirty work. Sometimes, this inner circle of followers are worse bullies than the leader.
  4. “The Bystander Effect. When we witness instances of leaders bullying others, we are outraged, but often don’t intervene. If other observers are present, a diffusion of responsibility occurs where everyone expects someone else to intervene, and the bystanders are essentially paralyzed.
  5. “Our Trusting Nature. When we elevate someone to a position of leadership, our general tendency is to trust that they will do the right thing. We want to believe that our leaders are honest and have good intentions, so we give them the benefit of the doubt, and wait for (and wish for) positive outcomes.”

The Bully tends to belittle, threaten, intimidate and ridicule their “target” – and we tend to allow the bully to continue this behavior “as long as no one gets hurt.” We also tend to shrug our shoulders when we find out someone did get hurt, whether they leave the department – or worse.

We MUST find ways to weed out these people, and the toxicity they bring, from leadership roles. There are enough pressures in our job responsibilities that we shouldn’t have to also constantly worry about how to deal with a Bully leader. As such, I offer these six ways to deal with this situation:

  1. Focus more on your job performance, less on the boss.
  2. Understand what makes your boss tick – to avoid the inevitable but unnecessary confrontation.
  3. Stand up to your boss when being talked to – and I mean this quite literally, not metaphorically.
  4. When you have to go talk to the boss, have your facts and be brief.
  5. Network and liaison with others who see the same bully tactics.
  6. Talk to HR, the boss’ boss, a counselor, someone who can help you mitigate the trouble.

By contrast, the Boss and Leader have quite different leadership styles.

Find the Bosses and Teachers

Most chiefs start out as a Boss and evolve to be true leaders/Teachers. While all three chiefs could be “the boss,” we should all be striving to become Teacher leaders. Let’s now compare the leadership styles differentiating the Boss and the Teacher.

The Boss

  • Gives orders and persuades others to get things done at their direction and by their rules.
  • Has employees and marks progress by a set of rules, standards and norms.
  • Assigns tasks and delegates authority responsibility.
  • Tells employees what to do.
  • Points out problems.

The Teacher

  • Influences, motivates and inspires others to get things done through development of their own knowledge, skills and abilities.
  • Has followers who know what to do.
  • Delegates authority.
  • Teaches employees what to do.
  • Fixes problems.

We should all be striving to become the Teachers for the next generation. Of course, not every chief will be a Teacher leader to the same degree. Some, by their actions, may never rise to the responsibilities.

Which one are you?

As I examine my own years as a chief officer, I must admit that I’ve seen elements of all three chiefs in my own performance. The key (for me) is how I believe I have evolved to understand and rid myself of all Bully tendencies and beliefs.

Now it’s your turn.

Do you demand people follow every rule and call you chief? Boss. Do you revel in the practice of division and chaos? Bully. Or do you endeavor to make sure everyone has the opportunity to be the best they can be and have the opportunity to improve every day? Teacher.

I’m asking each of you to evaluate yourselves and identify your leadership style. Let us consider the reflections on the “three chiefs” to identify those bullies among us, and take steps to focus more on our personal performance and the mission we’re sworn to provide.

So, three chiefs walk into a bar … which one are you?

Chief Marc S. Bashoor joined the Lexipol team in 2018, serving as the FireRescue1 and Fire Chief executive editor and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board. With 40 years in emergency services, Chief Bashoor previously served as public safety director in Highlands County, Florida; as chief of the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Fire/EMS Department; and as emergency manager in Mineral County, West Virginia. Chief Bashoor assisted the NFPA with fire service missions in Brazil and China, and has presented at many industry conferences and trade shows. He has contributed to several industry publications. He is a National Pro-board certified Fire Officer IV, Fire Instructor III and Fire Instructor. Connect with Chief Bashoor at on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Do you have a leadership tip or incident you’d like to discuss? Send the chief an email.
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