Defining Leadership: Reflections and Lessons from My Career

1. Reflecting on my career, I believe it would be hard for me to imagine my current positions, rank and responsibility in both the fire service and the Coast Guard when I started in 1998. Over the years I have had several great teachers who have shaped my perceptions and guided my actions. My parents garner much of the credit of my successes as they raised me with a baseline of values which serves me today. Those values, my mentors, and my experiences have worked to construct my definition of leadership. To me, leadership is the practice of taking people to places (real or figurative) they would not likely go on their own. While this is a crude explanation, it is one which I have rallied around in my career. It distinguishes itself from that of a position of management where the parameters and rules for success are generally known. When encountering the unknown, or the uncharted territory, those who pioneer practice leadership.

2. My father was a veterinarian for more than forty years and is one of the most educated and intelligent men I have ever known. He taught

Make it a point to let people know about my confidence in their abilities. This was a behavior I thought I was doing a better job of than my evaluators indicated. It was the only behavior where I marked myself higher than my direct reports. I believe it is a key behavior for me to be a successful leader as it inspires and encourages personnel to be innovative, take risks and achieve the end goal. To improve my behavior, I plan on incorporating practices I learned in the National Fire Academy’s Executive Leadership course to build trust. Building trust is essential in providing feedback and confidence in one’s abilities. Another tactic I plan to use is to share some of my collateral duties with capable personnel who would enjoy professional growth and personal gratification in completing a job I normally complete. I believe these actions will demonstrate my confidence in other