This daylong workshop is an ideal (but not requisite) mate to the leadership class above. We discuss what makes excellent teams work, the difference in personalities and roles, and look at the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds as a model. A Meyers-Briggs personality exercise allows students to find their personality type, how others perceive them, and gives them a keen insight to their strengths and weaknesses. A communication exercise bridges the gap between sender and receiver, allowing the students to participate in and see the effect of poor communications.
Many fire departments, management teams, labor groups, academy training cadres, and aspiring fire officers have benefited greatly from this workshop. Team building is often assumed to take place in the fire service today, but does it? If so, how can we do it even better? Is having dinner together enough anymore? How do we get the most out of the team?
TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) is the motto of the workshop. Simple issues like telling someone to back off properly can enhance a team and reduce conflict.
Teams must share a common goal and buy into it, without booing each other. You’ve probably never seen a defensive unit of a football team boo their own offense while on the field, but this takes place every day in the fire service. A shift boos B shift, Engine 1 boos Engine 5, and the line boos the admin. Learn how to get past it and reach the collective potential of the team.
