leadership principles and practices: making the transition from plan to progress!

Leadership Principles and Practices:

Making the Transition from Plan to Progress!

By

Dr. Bill Lowe

Dr. Bill Lowe, EMT-P, EFOInstitute of Emergency Preparedness

Jacksonville State UniversityJacksonville, Alabama------------------------------

Assistant Professor of Emergency Management

Doctorate in Business Administration

Master of Disaster Science

30 years of Command Experience as a Fire Dept. Battalion Chief

Georgia Law Enforcement Officer – SWAT Medic

Hazardous Materials Technician

Change in Emergency Management? OVER MY DEAD BODY!”

Three Categories of Emergency Management Change:

Mission

Methodology

Technology

Emergency Management –

Importance and Commitment?

Having a crisis event is a PROVEN Method to WAKE People Up and GET their Attention!

Senior Leadership’s Change Responses

Underestimated impact of change

Isolate themselves

Gather information on change via written reports

Expect subordinates to “just” comply

Blame middle managers for rank-and-rank resistance

Feel betrayed when subordinates resist/complain

Middle Managers’ Change Responses

Pulled in different directions

Often lack critical information about the change

“Caught in the middle” and lack clear instructions

Have to interact with angry and frustrated subordinates

Deserted and blamed by supervisors

Rank-and-File Members’ Change Responses

Feel attacked/abandoned by supervisors

Caught by surprise

Angry, frustrated, confused, frightened

Afraid to take risks, be innovative, or assume responsibility

Loss of relationships and predictable career goals

Emergency Management -

Planning for THE Plan to Go Wrong

Kouzes and Posner’s

Ten Leadership Commandments

Challenging the Process

1. Search out challenging opportunities to change, grow, innovate, and improve

2. Experiment, take risks, and learn from the accompanying mistakes

Plan Your Emergency Management Tactics & Strategy –

and WORK THAT PLAN!

Kouzes and Posner’s

Ten Leadership Commandments

Inspiring a Shared Vision

3. Envision an uplifting and ennobling future

4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to their values, interests, hopes, and dreams

Kouzes and Posner’s

Ten Leadership Commandments

Enabling Others to Act

5. Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust

6. Strengthen people by giving power away, providing choice, developing competence, assigning critical

task, and offering visible support

Kouzes and Posner’s

Ten Leadership Commandments

Modeling the Way

7. Set the example by behaving in ways that are consistent with shared values

8. Achieve small wins that promote consistent progress and build commitment

Who gets the Blame when

Management and Line Personnel

Do NOT Cooperate and WORK Together

on Emergency Management Initiatives?

Let the Finger Pointing Begin!

Kouzes and Posner’s

Ten Leadership Commandments

Encouraging the Heart

9. Recognize individual contributions to the success of every project

10.Celebrate team accomplishments regularly

Putting Plans Into Action - Changes

Brief your employees on the upcoming changesWhen?How?

Describe the change as comprehensively as possibleMost affected get the most attention

Understand your agency’s historical reaction to change

Have change priorities

How Hard Does CHANGE Have to BE?

It’s Just NOT that Complicated!

Or this IT?

Planning for Change

Have contingency plans

Productivity levels? Increase or decrease

Employee input critical

Assess KSA’s needed by employees

Develop change timetable / objectives

Implementing Change

Providing training of new skills

Provide more feedback so people know where they stand

Allow resistance. Allow people to make up their own minds on their own timelines

Seek opportunities created by the change

Monitor the progress

?

Thanks!

Bill