Humanistic leadership benefits everyone

NFPA Journal, May/Jun 2002 by Paulsgrove, Robin F

Guiding others requires the ability to learn from mistakes.

I've written this column for more than five years now, and my credibility as a columnist may depend on your belief that I have insights to share, even if our experiences have been quite different. I've been in the fire service for 26 years. I've worked in dispatch, in prevention as an inspector, and as a pubic education officer. I've worked as the department's public information officer and been assigned to a hazardous materials unit, an aircraft fire rescue unit, engines, and truck companies. I've been honored to serve as chief of two major Texas cities. I've commanded major incidents, and I've made right decisions and wrong decisions.

On a good day, I believe I have insights to share with other leaders like you. And that's probably within the healthy bounds of self-respect, as long as I never forget how much I must learn from others like you. As leaders, we must be both teacher and student. And we learn best not by talking, but by listening.

When we listen with open minds and open hearts, we hear not only words, but the unspoken messages. Often, we hear frustrations that we're powerless to fix, but sometimes we help just by providing a chance to be heard.

As leaders, we sometimes tell, and we frequently sell. But it's through our active listening that we establish the real foundation for communication. By listening, we communicate a powerful message: respect. In my "real" world, the attention and interest my organization has in what I say is proportional to the interest I've shown in them. As Chief Fire Officer Alan Speed of the Greater Toronto, Canada, Fire Service often says, "People won't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Two valuable tools to establish a foundation for communication are humility and humor.

Why humility? Because, although "command presence" is a part of the confidence that leaders project, we're rarely in the role of the omniscient incident commander. Usually, we're preparing for change in a dynamic, unpredictable world. We're human, and we make mistakes. When we guard against arrogance, we're more approachable. When we acknowledge our limitations, we allow others to be human, too.

There's a difficult, but critical, balance to achieve here. We need the self-confidence to lead through difficult circumstances and inspire an organization unsettled by change. But we're often strongest when we communicate our courage by showing the strength to admit to personal limitations. Humility isn't an admission of weakness. It suggests a respect for others and acknowledges that we can't achieve success by ourselves. And humor? Abraham Lincoln called laughter "the joyous, beautiful, universal evergreen of life." Ever the

pragmatic politician, he also said that humor "was the shortest common denominator to reach the hearts and minds of our countrymen."

As leaders, we have enormous influence. We set the tone. As leaders, we've had occasion to make sure that the

seriousness of our message was absolutely understood, but we can also reduce tension by finding something funny in difficult situations. We can be the first to smile. We can make it okay to find humor in a day. And we can use humor to break down communication barriers and

reinforce our leadership role as students, continuing to learn from members of the organization.

ROBIN F PAULSGROVE is the chief of the Arlington, Texas, Fire Department, past chair of the IAFC/NFPA Metro Chiefs Section, and a member of NFPA's Board of Directors.