oldsmar fire rescue management development

Running head: OLDSMAR FIRE RESCUE MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT 1

Oldsmar Fire Rescue Management Development

Dean O’Nale

Oldsmar Fire Rescue, Florida

2 OLDSMAR FIRE RESCUE MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is

set forth, quotations marks so indicate, and the appropriate credit is given where I have used the

language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another.

Signed:_________________________________________


Abstract

Oldsmar Fire Rescue (OFR) does not address succession planning at the senior

management level. The potential loss of institutional knowledge and organization continuity may

decrease the effectiveness of the fire department. The purpose of this research is to understand

the importance of a succession plan and develop a supervisory to managerial development plan

that can be implemented prior to senior management turnover.

Descriptive and action research methods were used to answer these research questions:

1. What local, state, and national standards exist for the development of chief officers?

2. How do non-fire organizations address supervisory to manager development?

3. How do similar size fire departments address this problem?

4. How does the City of Oldsmar currently recruit or promote for senior management

positions?

5. What leadership attributes and capabilities do Oldsmar Fire Rescue employees want to

see in a leader?

The procedures used for this research included a literature review of fire and non-fire

service organizations, a survey instrument for other fire agencies, a survey instrument for OFR

personnel, and personal interviews. The research results support the recommendation that OFR

develop and implement a succession plan for supervisory to managerial level personnel.


Table of Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………..3

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………5

Background and Significance…………………………………………………………6

Literature Review…………………………………………………………………….10

Procedures…………………………………………………………………………….20

Results………………………………………………………………………………....24

Discussion……………………………………………………………………………...28

Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….31

Reference List…………………………………………………………………………33

Appendices

Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………35

Appendix B…………………………………………………………………………….45

Appendix C…………………………………………………………………………….50


Introduction

The problem facing Oldsmar Fire Rescue is the potential loss of institutional knowledge

and organizational continuity due to future personnel retirements and the absence of a career

development plan for supervisory personnel to the managerial level. Fire departments mandate

various pre-employment job requirements such as certification as an Emergency Medical

Technician (EMT) or paramedic, and or the completion of a state approved fire training program.

The same does not hold true for the senior ranks of the fire service. Smaller fire department such

as Oldsmar Fire Rescue (OFR) may suffer from the loss of intuitional knowledge to a greater

degree because of the lack of a large internal workforce to draw future leaders from.

The purpose of this Applied Research Project (ARP) is to identify elements of a

development program for preparing supervisory personnel to be successful operating at the

managerial level as well as to create a career development plan for future implementation.

The action research method will be used to answer the following research question in

order to create and implement a management development plan:

1. What local, state, or national standards exist for the development of chief officers?

2. How do non-fire organizations address supervisory to manager development?

3. How do other fire departments address this problem?

4. How does the City of Oldsmar currently recruit or promote for senior management

positions?

5. What leadership attributes and capabilities do Oldsmar Fire Rescue employees want

to see in a future fire chief?


Background and Significance

The City of Oldsmar is located on the west coast of Florida in Pinellas County. Named

after Ransom Eli Olds, the founder of the Oldsmobile, Oldsmar covers nine square miles and is

bordered on its east side by Hillsborough County with Tampa as its largest city, and to the west

by the cities of Safety Harbor, Dunedin and Clearwater. The 2008 static population estimate for

Oldsmar was 13,401 (United States Census Bureau, 2008), with an estimated daytime population

workforce estimate of 50,000 (Clark, 2010).

Oldsmar has a mix of residential, commercial and industrial areas that provide for

economic stability, access to recreation activities for residents and visitors, and tourist interests.

Oldsmar has invested greatly in its parks and recreation facilities, with eleven different municipal

parks including beachfront, baseball and soccer complexes, wilderness preserves, and senior

services.

Oldsmar’s proximity to the gulf coast beaches, the City of Tampa and Tampa

International Airport, and the Upper Tampa Bay business community places Oldsmar in the

center of an active and prosperous business climate that continues to grow, although at a slower

pace due to recent economic downturn. Oldsmar is home to several national and international

corporations. Nielsen Media Research, Lockheed Martin, Goodrich-Hella Aerospace, and

Baycare Health Systems all call Oldsmar home, employing several thousand workers (Upper

Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, 2009).

Oldsmar strives to maintain a small town atmosphere while at the same time offer larger

city amenities to its citizens and visitors. Located in Pinellas County, Oldsmar makes up part of

the 900,000 plus residents of the most densely populated county in Florida


(Pinellas County Population, 2010). Despite its size, Oldsmar has the potential to experience the

same number and types of emergency incidents that the larger cities in the county area are

exposed to.

Oldsmar Fire Rescue (OFR) began as a volunteer department in the 1940’s. In 1982 the

city hired a full time fire chief and in 1983 hired an additional three full time employees to

augment the volunteer staff. OFR upgraded their basic life support care to advanced life support

in 1989. The addition of a second response unit in 2004 brought OFR to its current configuration.

Oldsmar operates a single fire station located close to the geographic center of the city. It

is a fully staffed career department that runs one Advanced Life Support (ALS) rescue unit and

one ALS truck company. The department consists of twenty-three full time personnel.

The fire chief oversees three traditional twenty-four on and forty-eight hour off shifts of

six personnel each. One shift officer is a Captain/EMT and the other two shift officers are

Lieutenant/Paramedics. Each shift has an additional five personnel who are certified as either

Firefighter/EMT’s or Firefighter/Paramedics. Four personnel are assigned to the truck company

and two personnel are assigned to the rescue unit when all personnel are on duty. When one

person is not at work, the truck company is staffed by three people. In the event two personnel

are absent, the rescue unit is placed out of service and the truck company is staffed with the

remaining four. The truck company will run with a minimum of three people before additional

personnel are called in. In addition to these two units personnel, Oldsmar has an EMS

Coordinator and two fire prevention personnel. A senior administrative assistant completes the

full time personnel roster. All personnel not assigned to one of the two response apparatus work

a 40 hour Monday through Friday schedule.


Oldsmar operates under an automatic aid agreement within the Pinellas County Fire and

EMS authority. The Fire/EMS system is made up of eighteen first response agencies and a

private ambulance contractor that provides ambulance transportation. Pinellas County utilizes a

single dispatch operation for emergency communications and a single medical director who

oversees the EMS system. Generally, all fire agencies operate under the same tactical guidelines,

with some individual changes by departments in different areas. A set of tactical guidelines, the

Pinellas County Standard Operating Procedures, (referred to as the 600 Series), is

the overall guide for tactical operations used by most departments. The 600 Series SOP’s allow

for seamless fireground operations regardless of which agency is at the incident. In Oldsmar’s

case, its first alarm structure fire response consists of units from four other agencies, any one of

which might arrive on scene first and establish command as required by SOP.

The first company officer to leave employment with Oldsmar was in 1995. A written

promotional test was administered by the department with two employees participating. The

Lieutenant position was filled and it was not until 2000 that the next company officer position

became available. Twenty-one members of OFR are represented by Local 2980 of the

International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). In the time period between the first company

officer leaving and the second position becoming available, the City and IAFF negotiated a

promotional process article that remains in the current union contract. The process states what

the educational requirements are, as well as any seniority or education points can be awarded

during the written examination. Newly promoted Lieutenants must be certified as a Florida Fire

Officer I, a Fire Safety Inspector, and as a Fire Service Instructor. To be promoted to Captain, in


addition to the requirements for Lieutenant, the candidate must have an Associate’s Degree

(International Association of Firefighters, 2007).

OFR has implemented an acting officer program in recognition of the need to provide

supervision and direction in the absence of the assigned company officer. Acting officers have a

minimum training and experience requirement of three years at OFR that they are required to

complete as well as a specific number of hours “riding up” with a shift officer in order to be

evaluated by that officer. Skills training and formal education classes including building

construction and tactics, scenario based training on SOP’s and formal leadership and conflict

resolution training courses complete the training requirement for the acting officer candidate

(Oldsmar, City of, 2009).

The current Fire Chief was promoted to that position in 1988. In addition to his

management and administrative duties to the department he serves as the emergency operations

manager for the city. The Fire Chief is a member of The Pinellas County Fire Chiefs Association

and meets regularly to discuss, design, and implement policy, procedures, and review existing

SOP’s currently in place in the county. He is currently participating in the Florida Retirement

System Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), and will reach mandatory retirement from

that program in 2013. In the event that the fire chief does not complete the entire five years

available in the DROP plan, OFR could be faced with loss of years of institutional as well as

associative agency knowledge which in turn could affect the organizational continuity and

operational capability of OFR.

While an in-depth promotional process designed for company officers and acting officers

exists, no such program exists for promotion to a managerial position in OFR. This Applied


Research Project will address the importance of managerial development and present a proposed

development training plan. This research is relative to and supports the United States Fire

Administration operational objective of improving local planning and preparedness by retaining

organization and operational continuity as well as its objective to improve fire and emergency

services professional status through its effort to develop future managers (United States Fire

Administration, 2009).

Literature Review

The United States fire service has a long history of preparing its personnel to deal with all

manner of emergency situations. Structure fires, hazardous materials spills, wildland fire

suppression and mitigation, swift water rescue, lost or missing firefighters, and a myriad of other

situations that could impact their individual communities or departments. The fire service

prepares for the terrorist event by training and predicting what could be a potential target, and

how it should be responded to. Fortunately, it is unlikely that most of the American fire service

will ever have to face such an event, but still prepare for it “just in case” it happens. Conversely,

the fire service does a poor job when it comes to preparing for an event that they know will take

place, perhaps several times in the lifetime of an organization: managerial turnover.

One definition of succession planning is “Any effort designed to ensure the continued

effective performance of an organization, division, department, or work group by making

provisions for the development and replacement of key people over time (Rothwell, 1994, p. 5).

In response to Research question # 1 regarding what local, state, or national standards

exist for the development of chief officers, various professional and education standards are


recommended. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1021: Standard for Fire

Officer Professional Qualifications, 2009 edition lists the recommended knowledge, skills and

abilities of chief officers. Human resource management, community and government relations,

administrative, inspection and investigation, and health and safety highlight the additional

requirements of chief officers as they rise through the ranks of the fire service (National Fire

Protection Association, 2009). The International Association of Fire Chiefs Officer Development

Handbook relates that “Professional development is the planned, progressive, life-long process

of education, training, self-development and experiences”. The IAFC incorporates the U. S. Fire

Administration national professional development model as seen below:


The IAFC handbook structures the career development of executive fire officers through

four major areas: education, training, experiences, and self-development ( International

Association of Fire Chiefs, 2003).

The American Council on Education supports the growing professionalism of the fire

service by reviewing what were traditional vocational training courses and recommend their

college education equivalent (Barr & Eversole, 2003).

One aspect of a good succession plan discussed by several authors was the need for a

mentoring system within the organization. Mentoring can begin with the most junior firefighter

as they begin their career, or at the executive level in any organization (Prziborowski, 2007).

Cochran (2006) believes that by mentoring through each stage of the fire service, organizations

can match the development of the personnel to the strategic priorities of the department.

The research shows several education recommendations at the national level. The State of

Florida addresses the problem in two different manners. Chief officers who will be participating

in fireground tactical operations must have the same firefighter training as line firefighters, called

a certificate of compliance. A special certificate of compliance for chief officers who are the

administrative head of an agency or organization and will not be engaged in firefighting can be

issued to an individual once they have passed the written portion of the firefighter certificate of

compliance as well as the written test portion of the Florida Fire Officer I certificate. The special

certificate of compliance has only been awarded eight times (Thompson, 2010).

Individual municipalities place their own specific job requirements with minimum

education recommendations, usually with a caveat that a number of years experience working in


a similar area can count for the formal education requirement. The City of Oldsmar lists the

following minimum qualifications, education, and experience for the fire chief’s position:

• Knowledge of management practices

• Knowledge of modern practices in firefighting and emergency medical services

• Ability to lead and motivate an organization and group of people

• Ability to foster innovation within the department

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally

• Ability to advocate management rights without alienating employees

• Skill at making public presentations

• Graduation from an accredited two year community college with an Associate’s Degree

in Fire Administration, Fire Science, or related field

• Five (5) years of progressively more responsible authority in the fire service with at least

three (3) years service as a chief, assistant chief, or a ranking officer in a similar sized or

larger department.

• OR Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a Bachelor’s

Degree in Public Administration, Business, Fire Science, or related field is preferred.

• (A comparable amount of training or experience may be substituted for the minimum

qualifications) (CITE)

The fire service does address the issue of succession planning and management

development. Several national fire service leaders expound on the idea of mentoring the next

generation and the importance of what leaders leave behind. One problem with the fire service is

the inability to say no. While succession planning can be a very important strategic planning


tool, the short term objectives of accomplishing training, dealing with personnel issues, budget

systems, senior management decision making, and a myriad of other day to day administrative

and political duties take the forefront and relegates succession planning to a back burner. One

positive side of this problem is the fire service continues to make it work-whatever “it” is.

Current problems are handled and the next problem comes up and it too is managed. Time spent

on succession planning and management development would be time spent away from solving

the current crisis, therefore it is not as important. There is some truth to the adage of worrying

about the alligators instead of remembering your first job was draining the swamp.

The idea of succession planning should reflect the thought of preparation, not just

promotion. Management candidates must be prepared for what lies ahead in order to have the

chance to be successful at it. Future leaders must understand the differences in what is expected

from them in the new position they occupy. In Leaders from the Pack Rowan University

Professor Robert Fleming states, “The greatest barrier to an effective transition to chief officer is

failing to recognize the changes in roles and responsibilities accompanying advancement to a

chief officer position” (Fleming, 2002, p. 38). Kelvin Cochran, the current U.S. Fire

Administrator, discusses the importance of institutional succession planning and notes that

“integrating professional development, leadership development and mentoring into the culture of

our organization will produce an abundance of fire service leaders who are ready to meet the

needs of the fire service” (Cochran, 2006, p. 86).

Future leaders must want to be in their positions. Coleman (2008) writing in Fire Chief

magazine states:


In our particular profession, there are many people who demonstrate that they are

not really interested in climbing that ladder of success, especially to the top rung.

Without belaboring all of the specifics, it is fair to say that we literally have paid

people to stay off that ladder by making working conditions more appealing at the

bottom than we have at the top of the fire service (p. 34+).

The organization must provide a positive role model for those persons who wish to

elevate themselves to senior management positions. The organizations role in fostering an

atmosphere for leadership is critical. In Developing the Leaders Around You Maxwell suggests

that creating such an atmosphere to develop the potential of employees is the leaders’ toughest

challenge (Maxwell, 1995). Future leaders need the support of the organization, starting with the

examples of those who they will succeed. If you want to raise future leaders in your organization,

you must give them good example to follow (Cleveland, 2004). In addition to the good

leadership examples, specific exposure to what the future chief officer will experience day to day

is important. Fire Departments should provide a realistic preview of the roles and responsibilities

of a chief officer position to all candidates considering advancement. It is important that those

considering service as chief officers be provided with the lay of the land regarding environmental

opportunities and threats faced by the fire department (Fleming, 2002).

Professional Emergency Medical Service systems are beginning to embrace the concept

of succession planning. Jerry Overton, the Richmond Ambulance Authority CEO for eighteen

years, now CEO of Road Safety International has created formal written job descriptions for

every position in his corporation as a means of managing the first steps in his organizations


succession planning process. Overton adds “Those descriptions are routinely used by human

resources…that extend from entry-level positions to the chief executive” (Kincaid, 2010, p. 56).

Future leadership qualities are discussed at length in the National Fire Academy’s

Executive Development course. History and theories of leadership, as well as understanding the

differences between technical and adaptive problems play an important role in leadership

development. One course text, Leadership on the Line, explains the importance of a leader’s

ability to differentiate between these two types of problems and citing the reason for some

leadership failure as trying to solve adaptive problems with technical solutions (Heifetz &

Linsky, 2002).

The literature review for this Applied Research Project looked at the concept of

succession planning not just from the perspective of the fire service. In response to Research

Question # 2 “How do non-fire organizations address supervisor to manager development?”,

research was conducted through the Learning Resource Center at the National Fire Academy, on-

line business and human resource websites, as well as the local library system in order to look at

best practices and succession planning theory and examples.

The concept of planning and training for the eventual replacement of senior management

personnel is in no way new, and in no way limited only to public sector emergency services. The

private sector takes the concept of succession planning very seriously, as it can affect the success

and survivability of the organization. Companies such as McDonalds and Texas Instruments

understood the value of succession planning and implemented programs aimed at recruiting and

training in-house personnel in preparation of the likely event of management retirement. Both


companies exercised their succession plans ahead of schedule when their current CEO’s died in

office (Crawford, 2007).

The increasing age of employees in both public and private sector jobs, and the loss of

institutional knowledge that leaves with them, solidifies the importance of succession planning.

The problem with succession planning is planning your succession plan. What aspects should be

included in the plan? Who makes the decision in what the plan entails? Should the plan include

external or only internal candidates? As with many planning exercises, ready, fire, aim will not

get the organization to where it wants to be, with the right leader chosen for the right reasons.

Crawford (2007) suggests that one of the first steps is to look at what you want the leader

to look like by examining competencies and characteristics, and by developing what skills,

experiences and attributes they believe will be necessary. In 1994 the Minnesota Department of

Transportation (Mn/DOT) began the process of looking for future executives by creating seven

core competencies that reflected the organization strategic and organizational goals as well as

take advantage of its own internal personnel resources. These included: leadership, learning and

strategic systems thinking, quality management, organizational knowledge, people management,

technical knowledge, and individual characteristics (Bjornberg, 1994). The core competencies

listed here are utilitarian in nature and could be applied across the board for almost any

organization in its succession planning selection process.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) calls the process of succession planning “Talent

Management”. It recognizes current personnel and develops leaders throughout the organization

to help provide continuity of leadership. Potential leaders are identified and listed as Ready Now,

Ready Long Term, or High Potential Candidates. This proactive approach ensures the


organization an in-depth talent pool. TVA does note the fact that if personnel are not available

in-house, an external search for candidates will be conducted (Tenessee Valley Authority, 2007).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has designed a personnel

development program that address the need for senior executive personnel with engineering and

science backgrounds who desire to elevate to the Senior Executive Service of the federal

government. Upon selection, participants are placed with mentors and create an individual

development plan based on the organizations core competencies (NASAPeople, 2009).

Examples reside outside the United States as well. One of the noteworthy designs is the

Canadian government Center for Management Development (CCMD). Senior civil servants who

are selected for the program study in groups and independently as well as participate in a six

month field study of all aspects of leadership, personnel management, political and social

elements (Mintzberg, 2003).

Managerial development and succession planning is not just a function of traditional

business organizations. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is currently

testing a one of a kind transitional pastoral process in Palm Harbor, Florida. The Senior Pastor of

the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection (LCR) is retiring after more than thirty years and the

ELCA has provided a transitional pastor to assume the duties of the senior pastor. The usual

function of the transitional pastor is to take over in congregations that have a sudden loss of

leadership or other difficulties. No such problems exist at LCR. The retiring pastor requested the

transitional pastor to help add to the organization and allow for continuity of the churches

mission. The transitional pastor will be evaluated after a three year period and the congregation

will decide if the transition pastor is a good fit for the church, or if a traditional call process will


be used to fill the position. The retiring pastor will have that three year period to help develop the

transitional pastor as well as help develop the congregation in their relationship with the new

management of LCR (Vetter, 2010).

Perhaps no other organization in the Unites States engages in succession planning more

than the military. Both ends of the spectrum from normal change of command to combat

situations requires the units involved understand the affect that succession planning can have,

sometimes in matters of life and death. The United States Army has developed a leadership

development model based on the three areas of education, experience and training. The goal of

the program is to develop leaders Army wide who are capable of operating in many different

areas outside of their core specialty (A Leader Development Strategy for a 21st Century Army,

2009).

A good example of the importance of succession planning is in the movie We Were

Soldiers. The character played by Mel Gibson, Lt. Col. Hal Moore, is watching a training

evolution in which helicopters are arriving and unloading their passenger compliment on the

landing zone. One helicopter arrives with the squad leader inside telling his men that they will be

the best and the fastest. Once the helicopter lands and before anyone is able to unload, Col.

Moore reaches inside and simulates killing the squad leader, asking the next man what he should

do. Upon hesitating, Col. Moore declares that man dead as well. Col. Moore then tells each man

to train the man below them in your job, and the man above you does the same (Wallace, 2002).

While an extreme example for the non-military setting, this scenario of battlefield succession

planning lends credence to the importance of the overall concept. The death of an organization


might not be as quick as on a battlefield, but without successful preparation of the next

generation of leaders, the end can be just as predictable.

Summary

The literature review was instrumental in providing strong evidence that the usefulness of

succession planning for organizational continuity, and in some cases survival, is a valuable tool.

Private and public sector organizations that practice good succession planning are able to

negotiate, and sometimes avoid, the difficulties that can be encountered with senior managerial

turnover. The importance of the participation of the organization for fire and non-fire entities is

shown to be critical in the successfulness of any development program. Proactive recruitment of

internal personnel along with a sound progressive development program is key to the success of

the plan.

Procedures

The applied research project was constructed using the action research method in order to

define the problem, detail what others have done to address this problem, and then to create a

plan to help overcome the problem.

The initial research began at the National Fire Academy in January 2010 during the

Executive Development course. Interaction with the staff at the Learning Resource Center

followed by review of books, periodicals, and various on-line sources, as well as discussion with

other members of the class to help frame the research project. Executive Fire Officer Program

ARP’s were reviewed for relative information on the subject matter.

Locally, research was conducted through the Pinellas County Public Library System and

the Oldsmar Fire Rescue training library. Additionally, two survey instruments were created


to help answer two of the research questions. Personal interviews were conducted with experts in

their respective fields.

The first research question related to what local, state and national standards exist for the

development of chief officers. Research conducted to answer this question included a literature

review of books, periodicals, and various on-line sources to determine if any such

requirements were noted. A review of the National Fire Academy National Professional

Development Model was included. Local criteria in the form of job descriptions helped complete

the literature review for this research question. A telephone interview was conducted with Carl

Thompson of the Florida State Fire College Bureau of Fire Standards and Training regarding the

Florida statute requirements for fire chief certification or education requirements.

Research question two looked at how other entities outside the fire service deal with the

concept of succession planning. A literature review of books, periodicals, on-line business

management journals, and current events helped to determine the answer to the question. The

research for this question was not limited to public sector agencies, or for that matter,

government operations in general. A broad range of business interests were reviewed in order to

gain an objective look at how the concept of succession planning is managed. A telephone

interview was conducted with Reverend Eugene Vetter regarding the current succession planning

program in place at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Palm Harbor, Florida.

The emphasis on research question three was how other fire departments manage

succession planning. A survey was created using a free on-line survey instrument and was

delivered electronically to sixty-six different fire departments throughout the United States.


The departments and personnel for this survey were chosen from a contact list managed

by the author from various educational programs attended over the last several years. The survey

is included in Appendix A. The survey consisted of six questions:

1. Does your agency have a supervisor to managerial development plan?

2. If you answered "Yes" to question #1, what are the steps of the program or

plan?

3. If you answered "Yes" to question # 1, does the managerial development plan

incorporate a training or mentoring plan that includes the various aspects of a

managers duties such as Human Resources, Budget analysis/preparation,

Administrative reporting, etc? Please list the areas that are covered by your

program.

4. If you answered "No" to question #1, what method of selection does/has your

agency used to fill senior management positions?

5. What is the minimum education requirement for the Fire Chief’s position in

your agency?

6. Does your agency address managerial development as part of strategic

planning?

The number of surveys delivered for this research question was not based on any specific

group, individual or ideal number of participants. The author believes that the lack of succession

planning is not dependant on the size of the organization, or what type of service delivery is

provided, regardless of metropolitan, rural or any other organizational configuration.


Research question four was used to determine how the City of Oldsmar had previously

replaced senior management positions. An interview with the human resource director for the

City of Oldsmar was conducted to help define any parameters that were in place to recruit

internal candidates, or how outside candidates were screened and selected. A review of fire

department company officer personnel changes was included in this research to look at any

career development progression that may have been in place.

An employee survey was created to answer research question five relating to what

knowledge, skills, and abilities would the fire department employees want to see exhibited in

their future fire chief. The survey was created on-line and delivered electronically to all

personnel assigned to the fire department. A total of twenty-two surveys (excluding the author)

were sent out. The survey is included in Appendix B. The survey consisted of five questions:

1. What knowledge, skills, and abilities would you like to see in a future fire chief for

Oldsmar Fire Rescue?

2. In order of importance, please rank the following seven items by placing the

corresponding number next to it, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the

least important

3. What challenges do you see facing the future fire chief of Oldsmar Fire Rescue?

4. How important do you feel the leadership attributes and abilities of the future fire

chief of Oldsmar are related to your own personal job satisfaction?

5. How important is it for you to feel included as a contributing part of the overall

organization?


The size of the survey for research question five was designed to gather data and

responses from the entire department.

Results

Research question 1: What local, state, or national standards exist for the development of

chief officers? The results of the procedures utilized for this research question show a definite

recommendation for the education and training level for chief officers. The National Professional

Development Model as outlined through the National Fire Academy’s Fire and Emergency

Services Higher Education (FESHE) Program. The National Fire Protection Association standard

1021 Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications describes the recommended training

and education for individuals to perform as a fire officer and lists the steps for personnel who

ascend through the fire service ranks to the executive level (National Fire Protection Association,

2009).

The State of Florida does not outline a specific management track for chief fire officers;

instead it references NFPA 1021 and makes allowances for chief officers from other states by

determining their certification based on their job duties as an administrative head of an agency.

Local municipalities such as Oldsmar require specific education and training components

for personnel at the managerial level. A combination of formal education and knowledge of

current management practices, as well as several interpersonal abilities are recommended.

The research question was able to make the determination that fire chief development

standards at local, state and national levels are available.


Research question 2: How do non-fire agencies address supervisory to manager

development? The results of the literature review provide clear evidence that succession

planning is an important and necessary tool in continuity of business and strategic planning.

Organizational entities from the public service sector to private businesses understand the

value of implementation of a succession plan and providing training and mentoring to

supervisory personnel in preparation for the eventual senior management turnover faced by all

organizations. The importance of the succession plan was illustrated by the sudden death of two

large corporations CEO’s and their individual organizations response to them (Crawford, 2007).

A thorough review of books, periodicals, and various on-line sources helped to make the

determination that succession planning and senior management development exists in a variety

of organizations, all with the goal of continuity of operations, either for profitable businesses or

for public sector agencies. Several different management development programs from NASA’s

Senior Executive program to TVA’s Talent Management and the ELCA Transitional Pastor

experiment are all based on the premise that developing personnel to move in to senior

management positions will benefit the organization, and should be accomplished with internal

personnel resources that have been identified, recruited and mentored.

Research question 3: How do other fire departments address this problem? A survey

instrument was designed and electronically delivered to sixty-six different fire departments

throughout the United States. Forty-four of the survey instruments were returned for a return

percentage of sixty-six (66%). The first question was whether the department had a supervisor to

managerial development program in place. The overwhelming answer was NO ninety-three

(93%) of the time. The survey asked how many departments addressed managerial development


as part of a strategic planning process. Seventy-three percent (73%) of the responding

departments stated that it was not.

The respondents who stated their departments did have a managerial development plan

were asked to detail the components of the plan. Informal career development programs and job

shadowing were included as part of the program. The detailed responses to this survey questions

are listed in Appendix A.

The method for selecting senior management positions for departments that do not have a

formal development plan was surveyed. A mix of promotional testing, interviews, seniority, and

practical exams were the dominate responses. Other responses included civil service exams and

the good old boy network. The results of this question on the survey appears to add weight to the

assumption that the selection process for senior management positions in the fire service is a mix

of formal and informal processes with no professional standard associated with it. Minimum

education requirements for the position vary as well. The complete results from this question are

described in Appendix A.

Research question 4: How does the City of Oldsmar currently recruit or promote for

senior management positions? The City of Oldsmar does not have a formal senior management

career development program. The City has experienced turnover from its senior management

staff, including early retirement options for several employees in 2000. When a management

position becomes available, any internal candidates who might be interested in the position can

apply. Over the course of the last few years, senior management positions have been filled by

different methods. Recently, the city clerk retired and the position was filled from within. No

outside advertising was conducted. Conversely, the utilities administrator position was filled


from external candidates when no in-house personnel met the minimum job requirements of the

position. Advertising in trade journals and newspapers produced candidates who were screened

and the eventual utilities administrator was selected from this group. The size of the city

workforce and the familiarity of the personnel who have worked together over the years have led

to some department management opening being filled by other department heads in the interim

until a full time managers could be hired. The Fire Chief has been tasked with the dual roles of

City Clerk during one period of time and as the Planning and Redevelopment Director at another.

These assignments were in addition to his regular duties as the fire chief. While no formal career

development plan for any of these vacancies existed, successful integration by another

department head was possible. Recent examples of informal career development include the

retirement of the administrative services director who also serves as the assistant city manager.

The current finance director will replace the retiring administrative services director.

Additionally, the account supervisor will be promoted to the city finance director. Both promoted

employees have experience in their new job positions through the benefit of informal training

and familiarization of that new position.

The former planning and redevelopment director was replaced on an interim basis by the

city’s plans administrator. During the interim phase, the new director was evaluated and the

position became permanent.

Oldsmar has been successful in replacing senior management staff from personnel within

the city and by hiring external candidates. A formal career development plan would help the

process by allowing current senior management the opportunity to mentor in-house candidates

who are interested in career advancement to the managerial level.


Research question 5: What leadership aptitudes and capabilities do Oldsmar Fire Rescue

employees want to see in their new fire chief? The survey group for this question was made up of

every member of the fire department (excluding the author). Employee stakeholders have a

vested interest in the type of individual, their capabilities, and weaknesses. Twenty-two surveys

were delivered electronically with eighteen returned for a completion percentage of eighty-one

(81%) percent. Personnel management, leadership abilities, integrity, and communication skills,

and were all listed as important assets for the new fire chief. The survey instrument included a

list of seven attributes that respondents were to place in order of importance. Integrity,

leadership abilities, and communications skills were the top three responses with length of

employment being ranked lowest. The complete results from this question are included in

Appendix B.

The goal of this applied research project is to create a supervisor to managerial career

development plan for personnel in the organization who wish to prepare themselves for

advancement, and for senior management personnel to be able to recognize, recruit, and develop

potential management candidates. The sample development program is detailed in Appendix C.

Discussion

The results of the research for this study clearly indicate the need for a succession

planning process to be used in preparation for managerial transition. Examples listed in the

literature review from both the private and public sector relate the importance of succession

planning as each of the individual organization see it. One recurring theme in the fire service is

the understanding of the importance of the process but how often the process is shelved for other


big picture programs or events. One place to begin the process is by looking at the organizations

personnel. Not all organizations will have candidates who have career development plans to

obtain a senior management position, but those that do should be identified and mentored. As

Coleman states in Today’s Grunt may be Tomorrows Fire Chief:

We spend an awful lot of time worrying about succession planning. Maybe we ought to

be worrying about making sure we are selecting those who can rise to the occasion once

they have been given the opportunity. Standing at the peak of that experience of being

faced with those leadership conditions, turn around and look down the chain of

command. Ask yourself how well prepared people are to follow you as you move

forward. (Coleman, 2008)

The results of the study support the research conducted in both the literature review and

the survey instruments that were completed. Private business entities practice and recommend a

strong succession planning process and have benefitted from it. The example of both the CEO’s

from McDonalds and Texas Instruments who’s untimely deaths exercised their company’s

succession plan earlier than expected drives him this valuable point (Crawford, 2007).

Standards exist for the career development of managerial candidates and are supported at

the state and national levels. Individual municipalities can add or subtract from those established

standards as they see fit. The results of the survey sent to fire agencies across the country show a

range of educational requirements for chief officers, from no degree requirement to following the

National Professional Development Model from the United States Fire Administration. Seventy

percent of the survey respondents related their agency requires at least an Associate’s Degree

with most requiring a Bachelors degree.


The survey sent to the department personnel shows their concerns with what the future

chief will face and what type of knowledge, skills and abilities that leaders should have. The two

most commonly mentioned attributes listed were integrity and communications ability. The

author feels that once you move the survey group down to the individual personnel who will be

affected by the future leader, education is less of an important criteria and how the personnel will

be treated, evaluated, and managed takes on a more personal nature. The survey results show

66 % of the survey group listed stated that it was important for their own job satisfaction to have

a leader who possesses the listed attributes and abilities. Similar attributes and abilities have been

listed throughout the literature review among companies who are looking to lessen the impact

from the turnover of senior managers. These included: leadership, learning and strategic systems

thinking, quality management, organizational knowledge, people management, technical

knowledge, and individual characteristics (Bjornberg, 1994).

The author feels that the research stands on its own merits. The example of the various

organizations that have addressed succession planning, designed programs to identify, recruit,

and development personnel, both internal and external, only goes to show that successful plans

help to maintain successful organizations. It is important for organizations that practice strategic

planning to incorporate succession planning into the plan.

The implications for Oldsmar Fire Rescue are clear. Senior management of the

department will be leaving over the next few years. The department has done a good job in

preparing company officers and acting company officers. Career development through degree

seeking courses has been supported as individuals complete their own educational goals. Without

a formal management development process, personnel who have invested their time, resources,


and commitment to a potential future as a manager, may not see the benefits of their work and

might question the need for professional development, just the opposite of one of the learning

objectives of the National Fire Administration. The time spent preparing personnel to assume

leadership positions for the eventual management turnover would be well spent. Oldsmar Fire

Rescue is a small single station department that competes on a larger scale due to the size of the

system it is in. OFR has a proven track record in its ability to provide excellent fire and

emergency medical service to its community. Implementing a succession plan for the fire

department, with the opportunity to use it city wide as other departments face the same eventual

managerial turnover will help OFR to avoid the pitfalls of a new leader having to get caught up

and familiar with the system. Succession planning is recommended at the national level. The top

of the fire service food chain, U S Fire Administration Kelvin Cochran, sums it up in one

sentence: “For chief fire executives, one of the greatest challenges is planning our exit”

(Cochran, 2006).

Recommendations

Based on the research conducted, the City of Oldsmar and Oldsmar Fire Rescue should

develop and implement a supervisor to managerial development plan. Similar to a strategic

planning process, a managerial development plan can be considered personnel strategic planning.

A short, medium, and long range analysis of what knowledge, skills, and abilities would benefit

a future leader in the organization. Initial identification and recruitment of current personnel who

are interested in career development should be addressed with the understanding that external

candidates will also be evaluated.


A committee of stakeholders from the city organization should look at the current job

requirements and decide if they are current or need to be updated, and what local, state and or

national standards should be applied.

Current senior managers should be consulted regarding their participation in the program

and should serve as mentors to those who are in the program. While job descriptions are

important, the experience of training with a mentor on some of the areas of the job that might not

be black and white will be beneficial, especially for field personnel who are transitioning to a

more office oriented environment.

The problem statement for this research identifies the understanding that a problem

exists, linked with the purpose statement of what it will take to solve this problem. The key will

be to spend the resources necessary to implement to create and deliver the end product.

This research project is utilitarian in nature. Exchange the name Oldsmar Fire Rescue and

any department facing this same problem can conduct the same surveys and apply it to their own

organization. Similar to commanding an escalating incident under NIMS (National Incident

Management System), the research presented here can be scaled to meet the needs of the

organization regardless of its size. Future researches have the flexibility to include similar

surveys, follow best practices as described here, or after reviewing the material ignore the

process completely.


References

Bjornberg, L. (1994). Succession Planning-Building leadership capacity. Retrieved May 16,

2010, from Strategic Leadership Studies: http://leadership.au.af.mil/index.htm

Census, U. S. (2008). Population Finder. Retrieved May 28, 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau:

http://factfinder.census.gov

Clark, R. (2010, April 14). Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. (D. O'Nale, Interviewer)

Cleveland, D. (2004). Footsteps or aftermath: What path are we creating? FireEMS , 45-46.

Cochran, K. (2006). Passing the torch. Fire-rescue magazine , 84-86.

Coleman, R. J. (2008, June 1). Todays grunt may be tomorrow's fire chief. Retrieved February

23, 2010, from Fire Chief: www.firechief.com

Crawford, C. (2007, May 25). Succession planning: The first decision in getting somewhere is

determining who is going to drive. Retrieved May 16, 2010, from The Business Edge:

http://businessedge.michcpa.org

Fleming, R. S. (2002). Leaders from the pack. Fire Chief , 38-40.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers

of leading. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Kincaid, C. (2010, February). Into the future. Journal of emergency medical services , pp. 54-59.

Maxwell, J.C. (1995). Developing the leaders around you. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Mintzberg, H. (2003). Managers not MBAs: A hard look at the soft practice of managing and

management development. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

NASAPeople. (2009). Retrieved May 22, 2010, from National Aeronautics and Space

Administration: http://nasapeople.nasa.gov/training/devprogs/CDDguidelines.htm


National Fire Protection Association. (2009). NFPA 1021: Standard for Fire Officer

Professional Qualifications. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from NFPA: www.nfpa.org

Oldsmar, City of. (2009). Oldsmar Fire Rescue SOP's Version 2.2. Oldsmar, FL, United States.

Pinellas County Population. (2010). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from About Pinellas Kids:

http://www.aboutpinellaskids.org/index.htm

Promotions. (2007, October 1). Agreement between The City of Oldsmar and Palm

Harbor/Oldsmar Professional Firefighters . Palm Harbor, FL, US.

Prziborowski, S. (2007). Succession planning. Fire Engineering , 115+.

Tenessee Valley Authority. (2007, May). Talent management. Retrieved May 16, 2010, from

Tenessee Valley Authority

http://www.tva.gov/foia/readroom/policy/prinprac/intstaffplan1.htm

Thompson, C. (2010, May 28). Instructor, Bureau of Fire Standards and Training-Florida State

Fire College. (D. O'Nale, Interviewer)

United States Fire Administration. (2009, October 1). Applied research guidelines. Executive fire

officer. Emmitsburg, MD.

Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. (2009). Directory and Community Guide.

Oldsmar, FL, US.

Vetter, G. (2010, May 28). Senior Pastor. (D. O'Nale, Interviewer)

Wallace, R. (Director). (2002). We Were Soldiers [Motion Picture]. United States. Icon.


Appendix A

Supervisory to Managerial Development Survey Responses

1. Does your agency have a supervisor to managerial development plan? Yes 7% Responses 3 No 93% Responses 41 Skipped question 1 2. If you answered "Yes" to question #1, what are the steps of the program or plan?

1. Nothing formal at this time. There are "career paths" that take one to the supervisor/middle management level of education via established outside classes.

2.

Informally, each position is taking a junior officer and training them for the next position. in other aspects, we have an apparatus committee that is led by a Captain. He is scheduled to retire in four year and has "passed the torch" to a Lieutenant to head the committee. This has been done with Training, Vehicle maintenance, EMS and purchasing of PPE and equipment. It is also our fear that a critical employee can leave without notice leaving the department to fill a void with someone who is novice to the subject matter.

3. The Fire Captains shadow District Chiefs for several shifts prior to being allowed to ride higher class in that position. Unfortunately it ends there. We do not have a formal plan for District Chief to Division Chief.

3. If you answered "Yes" to question # 1, does the managerial development plan incorporate a

training or mentoring plan that includes the various aspects of a managers duties such as Human Resources, Budget analysis/preparation, Administrative reporting, etc? Please list the areas that are covered by your program.

1.

Captains are familiarized with the operations of the Human resources office and have daily contact as needed. They are the first group of officers that contact the HR office for injuries in the line of duty and we are small enough to keep that one to one contact.

2. Not really

3. delegating works well


courses are budgeted

4. If you answered "No" to question #1, what method of selection does/has your agency used to fill senior management positions?

1. all above BC are filled by interview only

2. The Fire Chief hires the administrative staff personnel. The Board of Commissioners hires the Fire Chief. Based on education, practical and life experiences. Committees and interviewing processes.

3.

Senior management for us refers to Asst. Chief, 3 Battalion Chiefs, Fire Marshal, and special Ops/Training Officer. There are written position requirements for all positions. Interested and eligible candidates participate in a formal interview process. Interviewers may include senior leaders from other departments, our departments, our HR Director, and the Fire chief. The Fire Chief makes the final selection after receiving input from interviewers. The Fire Chief selection process is similar but the final decision is made by the County Administrator.

4. Advertise - receive resumes - preliminary resume screening - ID 5 best candidates - background check and interviews

5. combination of written test, practical exam, and seniority

6. Boards with the Dept. Chief making the end decision.

7. pass/ fail test then placed according to seniority

8. Currently use an interview process that includes work history and educational background.

9. Typical promotional process, with application/resume evaluation, management exercise, and oral interview

10. Unknown. Job announcement with KSA's ... unknown what they are and who is making them.

11. Resume, Experience and Personnel interviews

12. promotional exam/interview. No formal process based on need


13. Seniority

14. Civil Service Exams

15. After successfully passing the state Civil Service exam, the employee with the most seniority is selected for the position. Additional training/education for the management position must be completed with the first year.

16. Good ole' boy system. The dept may have a testing process to keep the union happy, however they already know who they are going to put in the position no matter how bad the person tested.

17.

Promotional Process which includes a review of your KSA's expressed through a resume and matched to a project "a day in the life" of the position/level of manager with submitted information utilized for a series of simulations - all are judged, and ranked by banding - senior position selects in coordination with the Fire Chief.

18. varies

19. I don't think there is a set methodology. We have always hired our senior positions from within, so we have a small number of candidates.

20. Panel Interview

21. Human Resources guidelines, Interview, Resume, Education requirements.

22. We do not need to do this very often but the process would involve oral interviews.

23.

Our agency fills these positions through both internal and external recruitment. Every position has a position classification which outlines the positions responsibilities. Within these responsibilities does include HR functions, budget, reports, etc.

24. Civil Service Testing for all positions below Chief ranking. Unclassified positions filled by City Manager based on resume / experience / qualifications

25.

We have a testing process consisting of the following components; 1. Application process 2. Oral interview-consists of management, situational, and get to know you type of questions.


3. Technical interview-consists of operational, emergency mitigation types of questions. 4. Fire Chief's interview.

26. Oral interview only. Chief makes the selection from the list of candidates.

27. Assessment Center

28. Generally, because of a lack of credentialed and experienced in-house personnel, our department has been forced to "go outside" for all of the Administrative positions. (Literally all of them)

29. Appointment by Board of Trustees

30. Apply and interview

31. The Fire Chief makes a selection based on individuals that have met the criteria set forth from the city's Human resource department (i.e. so many years as a District Chief, so many college credits).

32. Resume/Interview

33. the chief picks based on his preference.

34. list given by hr dept after resumes are rated chief and medical director pick and interview

35. This agency typically has used a private recruiting company. Our desires are clearly outlined, with the advertising, testing, and ranking completed my company.

36.

It varies but the last selection was done by advertising regionally and then conducting interviews, etc. There is currently no succession planning or plan, this is a problem that I am working on but it appears to be an attitude problem in that no one in the organization wants the two top positions.

37. We currently use assessment centers to fill our senior management position with the City Manager having the final decision.

38. Sole purview of the Chief of Department in conjunction with civil service,

39. Interview board, review credentials and resume


40. Assessment center, typically project/solution work, resume review and interview.

41. Appointment by Fire Chief or City manager.

5. What is the minimum education requirement for the Fire Chief’s position in your agency?

1. none, bachelors degree preferred

2. 4 year degree. EFO desired.

3. Currently Associate's Degree

4. Associated Degree and five years of experience or a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in Public Administration, Business, Fire Science or a related degree.

5. B.S. in related field and experience

6. unknown

7. 3 years of service at each rank; Lt., Capt., Deputy Ch., Ass. Ch. pass/ fail test w/seniority

8. BS degree with EFO preferred but not required.

9. Master's degree

10. Previous Chief had an Associate's degree and NFA-EFO. Chief before him had Bachelors and pursuing Masters. Current acting Chief has Bachelors.

11. Bachelor's Degree

12. BA

13. Basic Firefighter

14. Tx Commission of Fire Standards Certified Fire fighter; Bachelor Degree

15. High School diploma or GED + 10 yrs of progressive responsibility and experience with a paid fire dept, of which a minimum of 2 years must have been in an Administrative/Supervisory position.


16. Bachelor's Degree

17. Bachelors Degree

18. none

19. Bachelors degree

20. Bachelor Degree with Masters Preferred

21. Bachelor's Degree, Fire Officer II, ten or more years of progressively responsible experience.

22. The fire chief must have a bachelor degree.

23. Bachelor's Degree in a Fire / EMS related field along with being certified at the Fire Officer IV, Advanced Life Support Provider (Paramedic).

24. Bachelor's Degree, Firefighter L - II, Paramedic, Fire Inspector

25. It is currently being revised to an Associate’s Degree with a Bachelors degree being highly desirable.

26. Currently, the Position of Fire Chief requires a BA in a related field. I would expect that to change in the future to a Masters degree. Captains are required to have an AS or AA but that will change to a BA in the near future

27. Bachelors degree


29. A Bachelor's along with 10 years progressive experience at managerial levels in the administrative ranks of a fire department.

30. H.S. Diploma, Level 2 Firefighter, Paramedic and fire service supervisory courses

31. Bachelor Degree with Master's preferred

32. It use to be a bachelors degree but it is now an associate’s degree.

33. B/A, B/S

34. its unknown at this point. never consistent


35. none

36. Fire Officer I with an Associate’s Degree.

37. BS

38. Bachelor’s degree. Our current Chief has a MPA and is an EFO graduate. The Asst Chief (me) has a BS in Fire Science, post graduate work and also EFO graduate.

39. The City Manager has stated that he will not hire another Fire Chief without a college education. He wasn't specific about what level of college.

40. BA/BS with masters being "highly desirable."

41. Isn't one


43. BS

44. AS or AA

6. Does your agency address managerial development as part of strategic planning? Yes 20.5% Response total 9 No 79.5% Responses total 35


Survey Participants

Albemarle, NC Anchorage, AK Atlanta, GA Baltimore City, MD Bossier City, LA Cairo, GA Cal Fire Chapel Hill, NC Chesterfield,VA Clearwater, FL Depoe Bay, OR Dunedin, FL Durango, CO East Lake, FL Georgetown County, SC Greenfield, WI Gulfport, FL Homewood, AL Houston, TX King George County, VA La Brae, CA


Los Angeles City, CA Largo, FL Lealman, FL Lisle, IL Madeira Beach, FL Madison Township. OH Manhattan, KS Marin County, CA Memphis, TN Mobile, AL Nashville,TN New South Wales, Australia Oldsmar, FL Orange County, CA Orange County, FL Palm Coast, FL Palm Harbor, FL Peoria, IL Pinellas Park FL Pinellas Suncoast, FL Plant City, FL Providence, RI Ridgefield,CT


Rochelle, IL Safety Harbor, FL San Diego,CA Sandovall County, NM Savannah, GA Seminole, FL Shreveport, LA Sierra Vista, AZ Pasadena, FL South Trail, FL St. Pete Beach, FL St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport Sun City, AZ Tampa, FL Tarpon Springs, FL Treasure Island, FL Tuscaloosa, AL Vallejo, CA Waco, TX West Covina, CA Xenia, OH


Appendix B

Oldsmar Fire Rescue Employee Survey Responses

1. What knowledge, skills, and abilities would you like to see in a future fire chief for Oldsmar Fire Rescue?

1. a progressive leader that will combine a since of tradition with modern thinking

2.

Someone who is very knowledgeable with the fire aspect as well as people skills. The new chief should also change some of the things done around the department for the fact it sometimes is run the exact way it was 20 years ago.

3. Excellent knowledge of the job and day to day activities, good communication skills, well educated in the field.

4. Ability to interact well with the duty crews; to not micro-manage; to allow shift officers to make decisions without risk of reprimand;

5. At least a 4 year Degree, EFO, and not a person looking for another retirement.

6. All that is necessary.

7.

1) Integrity, is the most important thing. 2)Must treat all employees equal, not the way it is now, get rid of the good old boy attitude that we have now, 25 year perks or special treatment for some employees. 3) True safety knowledge, concern and leadership. 4) Look at the whole picture, not the, it's my way or the highway.

8.

Thorough knowledge of theory and also the ability to put those theories into practice. The remembrance and acknowledgement of what the field jobs entail and training on the practical aspects. The ability to hold everyone to the same standard and also hold people responsible for their actions and abilities. Someone who is fair and reasonable; will listen to all sides and make an impartial decision. Someone who will provide consistency in policy and procedures so that situations are handled the same each time.

9. -open minded, progressive - be able to look outside of our community and see what others may be


doing and how we may benefit from it. - book knowledge is just as important if not more important than hands on knowledge

10.

The future chief of Oldsmar should be some that can be a well balanced leader. Someone who is caring about the people that work under him or her and keep a professional attitude under any circumstance, task or incident they may be involved in. They should also be honest, fair and be open minded and supportive to his/her officers to whom he/she leads.

11. Administrative and leadership skills. Ability to fairly and evenly administer policy. Progressive thinking with ability to stand up to City Administration for what is best for the community and organization.

12. Personnel issues skills. A good knowledge of the fire service.

13.

Thorough knowledge of current fire protection practices, bachelors degree, EFO preferable. Excellent, proven communication skills. Experience in labor relations and contract negotiations. Experience in Emergency Management practices.

14. keeping the open door policy and being a good listener but willing to make good decisions even though they may not be the popular ones

15.

I would like to see the future fire chief for Oldsmar Fire Rescue have the ability to separate work relationships from personal relationships. I would like him/her to be well versed in all aspects of the fire service. The future chief should have spent time as a firefighter, driver, inspector, officer and he should have a deep commitment to fire prevention and firefighter safety. He/she should respect that the inspectors have also been firefighters and are still state certified. They have hands on experience and a good working knowledge of their jobs. He/she should realize there is more to inspections than exits, extinguishers and emergency lights. The future chief should strive to bring this department together. He/she should have good listening skills and he should expect his officer's to be able to make decisions. He should hold his officers', inspectors' and firefighters' to a higher standard. By this I mean consistency on all shifts, unity with prevention and a united department. I think the future chief should have a vision for the department. Where are we going? How are we going to get there? Hard work and dedication will be rewarded.

16. working knowledge of the operations of the City of Oldsmar, knowledge


of the budget process for the city, ability to advocate for the needs of the department.

17.

HONEST, COMPASSIONATE, OPEN DOOR POLICY....PATIENCE AND FAIR MINDED...ABLE TO SEE BIG PICTURE...GOOD LISTENER, CAN WALK THE WALK NOT JUST TALK THE TALK...CARE ABOUT EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES

18.

Ability to keep the apparatus staffed properly. Minimum 3 on truck 2 on rescue. Pay the overtime Share short, mid and long term department goals with crews.

2. In order of importance, please rank the following seven items by placing the corresponding number next to it, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important Integrity 2.56 Communication ability 3.11 Leadership experience 3.17 Decision making ability 3.33 Professional education/experience 4.00 Mentoring/coaching ability 5.44 Length of employment 6.39 3. What challenges do you see facing the future fire chief of Oldsmar Fire Rescue?

1. integrating a large amount of new employees and money

2. Different personnel as some employees are close to retirement. Also making the department run more efficient.

3. Budget concerns, aging equipment, new technologies and standards to comply with.

4. Budget cuts; Fire unification;


5. Getting some people out of there tunnel that they have been stuck for years.

6. Trying to get everyone on the same page with department issues.

7. Budget and correcting issues listed in answer to question number 1.

8.

Change will be the biggest challenge. Things have been done the same way for many, many years and field personnel will initially resist anything different from the current norm; even if it is for the better of the department.

9.

-motivating employees when there may be no pay increases or pension may be cut -taking a proactive approach to transporting patients, which would give us more job security

10.

Being able to maintain an even balance with its admin staffing, officers, and combat staff. The tuff economic times he/she will have to be creative with budgeting, staffing (additions or layoffs) Equipment purchases. Important decision making processes in apparatus purchases/refurbing. Allow officers to have a little more input and be willing to try different operational changes with monitoring these changes for any positive or negative outcomes.

11.

Correcting inconsistencies and personnel behavior existing under current administration. There will also be conflict with the City administration with any independent thinking and strong willed candidate after the current administration

12. Budget and the economy. Personnel retiring.

13. Budgetary, continual fire/ems system analysis, following a long tenured fire chief

14. Budget planning Working with less funds than in previous years and still maintaining moral!

15. I see the future chief facing resentment and hostility. I think he/she will gain the respect of the younger firefighters by calling the


"entitled" ones to the carpet. I think it will be most important to assure everyone that there is a future here with opportunities to advance and promote.

16. Bridging the gap between labor and management, deciding what's best for the department and weighing that against the overall direction of the city, increasing morale of the employees...

17. SCOTT HAS BEEN AN AWESOME LEADER...IN TUNE WITH STAFF FEELINGS & PROGRESSIVE IDEAS..TOUGH SHOES TO FILL

18. Transition from current chief. New ideas and strategies need to be delivered to the crews. Changing the currents "ways" to new leadership ideas.

4. How important do you feel the leadership attributes and abilities of the future fire chief of Oldsmar are related to your own personal job satisfaction? Important 66.7% Response total 12 Very Important 33.3% Response total 6 5. How important is it for you to feel included as a contributing part of the overall organization? Important 50% Response total 9 Very Important 50% Response total 9


Appendix C

Sample Oldsmar Fire Rescue Managerial Development Program

A. Evaluate current senior management job description and make any necessary

amendments or modifications

B. Adopt the National Professional Development Model for supervisors and managers

C. Identify personnel for participation in the program

D. Interview program participants and explain the program in detail, including benchmarks

for participation, department and City goals and objectives relating to the program

E. Decide on time structure for program. Use the time necessary to complete the entire

program regardless of a possible implementation date for management turnover.

F. Conduct in-depth job shadowing

G. Recruit city other department experts to train the candidates on the function and

interrelationship of the other departments. Allow the participant to work alongside other

department managers in the organization.

H. Engage candidates in professional associations that managers are members of.

I. Allow the participants the opportunity to perform as the senior manager in various

administrative duties, meetings, and functions.

The length of the program described could be dependent upon different factors such as

the ability of the participants to grasp the additional knowledge. Some administrative skills

may require little exposure while some of the more advanced skills that a senior fire service

manager conducts will require considerably more. The ideal situation would be when a senior

manager is able to give as much advance preparation time for the participant to work closely


with them prior to their departure. Similar to a promotional list for company officers,

multiple participants in the program allows the department or City to have the opportunity to

have more than one candidate who meets the requirements be available for potential

promotion.

oldsmar fire rescue management development

Documents