"Whether you were a born leader or are trying to become one, developing your leadership potential will open endless opportunities and help you make the best of them." Jeffrey Christien
Jeffery Christien is the CEO of an Executive search firm that spends its time looking for leaders. His statement is also very true in our profession. The road to leadership in today's world is more competitive and challenging than ever. The rapid pace of our profession pushes the speed of our decisions. All decisions need not be as rapid as we are use to making them in the field.
While the path to that risk taking may be swift, it is not always easy. Much is expected of those that would be a leader: strong leadership skills, experience, and lasting relationships with your colleagues and peers - both within and outside of your department.
It is important to develop your Chemical Agent leadership skills from the moment you start your career as a chemical agent instructor and an operator and to continue to improve them throughout your upward movement within your team. You must be driven, have high energy and motivation, and be willing to work hard and smart. If you are willing to take on more responsibility you will see faster growth in your career.
Strive for the following objectives:
- Develop a reputation for building, growing and problem solving.
- Always produce results. Tackle tough projects, take risks, and work long hours to produce noticeable results.
- Be a solution provider, not a complainer. If there is a problem don't dwell on the negatives. Propose ways to solve it.
- Always bring new ideas to meetings. Propose new strategies and processes to improve your team and the department. Be prepared to discuss not only the benefits and opportunities, but also the dangers and consequences of your plans.
- Manage your time. Don't waste time and don't let others waste it. Figure out how to produce the most results with the time available. See that every discussion results in actionable items and deadlines for them to be completed.
Developing relationships --and the communications skills that make them possibilities key people within and outside your department is critical to your success. Some ideas that may help you:
- Always have a mentor. Observe and study how he or she leads and makes decisions. Ask important questions, inform your mentor of your progress and solicit evaluations and feedback of your work.
- Stick with the winners and you will learn how to be one yourself. Develop relationships with the people who are driving your team and department and producing results.
- Motivate others. Help them become passionate about their individual goals and how they contribute to the team's mission.
- Stay informed. Teach the people that work for and around you to keep you apprised of what is happening in their area. This will give you the “BIG PICTURE” and help you develop strategies.
- Be customer centric. By developing strong relationships with our internal and external peers and listening to their goals, you can anticipate the next problems and help transform it into a positive.
To be a leader you also need to be, if possible, the resident expert in your assignment and understand the operations of your team and your department. So make career choices that give you broad knowledge of both and its operations. Also:
- Craft policies, strategies and articulate visions. Strategically become the person to come to for answers, and always prepare action plans for the future.
- Understand incident management. Determine the tasks in every meeting and identify who will accomplish them.
- Risk taker. A sign of a good leader is one who practices sound risk taking.
Above all, keep your eye on the big picture. Look at what you are doing and if it helps the team and the department, you will maintain that competitive edge needed for a leadership role in your team and the department.
Next Month How to Become an Expert
