Feeling Critical?
The other day I read a post someone made about our Vice President wherein she (VP) stated “enjoy your long weekend” or something to that effect. The criticism was that the Vice President was trying to “de-patriotize” the US and that the statement should have been about Memorial Day and our lost veterans. This post really got me thinking about something I have shared with many people; A thought I shared with others because I have made the same mistake myself.
Regularly, firefighters criticize the leadership, actions, policies and practices in their organization. Some Firefighters have lots of free time in the station to sit around the beanery table and profess “solutions” to all their organizations issues; actual or implied. Typically, these solutions are projected upward, proudly proclaiming how “we could do it better” than the incumbent leadership.
As I sat in a fire station one day, a few years ago now, I listened to the crew criticize some decisions made by the Chief. So I asked them a couple questions; “have you ever been an officer in the fire service” to which the officer said, “Uh, yeah.” So I asked them about their experience as a Battalion Chief to which they replied, “we’re not Battalion Chiefs, duh.” I then asked about their experience as an Operations Chief in the Fire Service and as you can guess, they had none. Then I asked them about their experience as a Fire Chief, again receiving the same response. Then I asked them about their experience as the Fire Chief of THIS organization....yep, you guessed it. I then asked them what qualifications they actually had to criticize the Fire Chief’s decisions if they didn’t know the whole story.
When you criticize the action of others, you really need to take a look at yourself. If you have no experience in the position/function which of which you are being critical, you don’t have all the perspective. And perhaps you do have experience in that position, but not with the same organization, so you really only have part of the picture because there are particular organizational nuances that influence leadership decisions.
Now let’s say the author of the critical piece has experience as the Vice President of the United States. The author now has a little more complete picture of the job and a little more room to criticize. Let’s take the specific phrase to be criticized.... “Enjoy your long weekend” instead of take time to reflect on the sacrifices of our veterans. Perhaps the Vice President experienced “Selective Attention” phenomena and misspoke. Not sure what selective attention is? Go through the exercise or view the video at the link at the end of this message.
What does this have to do with the statement in my opening paragraph? Read on if you like but it’s a bit of a long explanation. I will try to put put a little context in.
As you may know, I spent most of my career in the fire service. I didn’t always have aspirations to promote to a supervisory position as I thought being a firefighter was pretty fun and where I could have the most impact. Many times, I sat at the beanery table criticizing others for their leadership or the way the organization was running. I, along with all those around me, had all the answers. I knew I could “do it better than that guy....” or could clearly see the answer to any problem; “it’s so simple....” went the solutions. Then I promoted.
As a Lieutenant life was still pretty good. A little more responsibility, a little busier, a little different focus, but the job was really still pretty straightforward. Usually, the work was focused on solving Mrs. Smith’s problem. The other day I read the headline and a few lines of an article where the author said “Being an engine company officer is the hardest job in the fire service.” He had only held the role of firefighter and lieutenant so how would he know if being Captain, Battalion or Division Chief was easier? Betting he, like I, had all the solutions. Yes, being a Lieutenant was hard. Then I promoted.
I made Captain and things changed a little. Sure, we were still heading over to Mr. Smith’s house which was really pretty easy. It was the “in house” stuff that got tricky. Trying to get other crews to follow the policies and practices of the organization along with some of my new found “authoritative” decisions took more thought, smoother delivery and sharing of vision and values. Every now and then, someone’s personal beliefs got in the way of established operations and said “offender” needed help getting back on track without saying “because the Chief said so.” I think I did ok as a Captain and I began watching those above me even more closely, noticing what was working and what was not. Still, I had many of the “answers” but I began trying to avoid sharing those around the table. “It’s stupid that we....” began to fade from my vocabulary as I recognized I didn’t have all the information or background on why we were doing something. Then I promoted.
When I was promoted into the Training Division as a Captain I began to work more closely with Chief Officers and started to watch, and work on, policy development. While I didn’t agree with all the policies of our organization, I at least understood how we “got to where we are” and was able to begin to work to adjust policies that were outdated, were not followed or not in-line with industry standard. This job was much more difficult than anything I had done in the past as there was no template from which to work, no outline of what to do or what was expected. However, in this position, I enjoyed the freedom to learn, create and share. A lot of what I did here required convincing those above me that “we should be doing this” and then convincing those in my sphere of influence that “we should be doing this”. It was definitely more than a “9-5” gig, requiring a lot of thinking, engagement, caution and a few bruises (caused when the brain was so engaged it missed the obvious) along the way but I think it went ok. At the table, we never talked about how “it’s so stupid that we....” but instead worked to identify the correct answer, based on standards and share it. Then I promoted.
As a Battalion Chief, life was easy; Go to Mr. Smith’s house and watch other people solve her problem, ensure we have enough staff for the day, go to a meeting, coach/counsel someone who needed improvement. Simple, right. This job required complete engagement from the day before I went to work through the day after my shift sleeping short hours as I couldn’t stop thinking about what I needed to do, wanted to do and how I was going to do it. In a sense, 1 shift required 3 days of engagement. I needed full focus on my team and sometimes that focus caused me to miss some things that were right in front of me. I was so focused that some things became invisible just like the invisible gorilla experiment I had learned about. Selective attention. But....I think I did ok. Then I promoted.
Training Chief in a new organization. All new territory. The team members didn’t know me, I didn’t know them, didn’t know the organizational culture, the area, the past practices....nothing. Or more importantly, I surely had no idea how “we got to where we are” and was regularly reminded so. Being from outside the organization, following the Chief’s Mission and Vision, I was going to work to influence change. I had to really focus on the task at hand to gain the institutional knowledge so that I might be able to share my “training, education and experience in a professional manner so that others may grow to perform to their maximum potential.” As I worked with our organization, other city departments, other regional organizations, on multiple committees, I recognized how many moving parts were involved in my job. I missed stuff on a regular basis, that should have been obvious, but was blinded by my daily load. I was able to stand next to the Chief, watching what he was doing, seeing all the moving pieces that made HIS job so complicated. This is when I really started to understand that I had only had a tiny portion of his perspective because I had never walked in his shoes. My new job required 6 day a week a focus and I made some mistakes and missed some stuff (selective attention) but overall, I think I did ok. Then I promoted.
As the Operations Chief I was pulled in a lot of different directions. I was working on our daily operational plan, building or repairing relationships, developing solutions to problems and growing others in the direction that our Mission and Vision dictated. While sharing my training, education and experience with those across the department, city and region, I was trying to develop disciplined leaders. This job required complete engagement and a lot of focus. Some days I was killing it and other days it was killing me. I was really good at some things, not so much at others. I misstepped occasionally and missed stuff all the time. Selective attention. There were so many moving pieces, I could only see part of them. I had to prioritize what I could keep in focus which was the people’s health and safety above all else. I made some mistakes, but I think I did ok. I did not promote. Well, maybe I did. Now I have a corner office with no address.
The previous paragraphs are to illustrate that I have fallen prey to Selective Attention and it gets worse when you carry a higher load. That is why the first fire I went to, I don’t recall seeing the fire until I had it well under control.
So the message is this: If you are complaining about those that are above you, you are likely unaware; unaware of what that leader’s job actually entails, unaware of what challenges that leader is facing, unaware of the constraints put on that leader. Perhaps the leader misstepped or misspoke, just like you do occasionally, because they are so loaded they can’t see the obvious. Perhaps it’s really just a difference of opinion. Separate the occasional mistake from a pattern of errors/abuses. Show a little grace, a little respect for what the leader is trying to do. And most of all, remember that they are human as well.
If you want to try something fun, follow this exercise. I wish I was there to do it in person because we could make it effective. But, because I am not, try to follow these directions. Go quickly to the video without reading any titles, info or ...... Just follow these steps:
- Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo
- Watch the video, COUNTING how many times the players in the WHITE shirts pass the ball.
- SEND me a message (text or messenger) with your answer.
- If you have done this exercise before, please don’t ruin it for someone else.
Another GREAT video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bnnmWYI0lM
