Blog

Sep 11, 2019
5 min

Triumphs and Failures: An honest take on a leader's journey

#LeadersWanted My phone rings, and when I look down, I see that it's the fire chief calling. I know exactly why since the rumor mill had already started that phone calls for promotional notifications were occurring. But, I don't know whether he's calling with bad news or good news. At stake is a promotion to Captain, and the last two times the phone rang it was a resounding no. I don't think it's a stretch to say that hearing the word no is tough for anyone who is into

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Rethinking Leadership: The Importance of Investing in your People

Benjamin Martin

Aug 29, 2019
4 min

Rethinking Leadership: The Importance of Investing in your People

#LeadersWanted The other day I had a chance to take a transfer to a neighboring station and found our battalion chief standing by the engine with the station’s rookie. Not ever wanting to miss a chance to talk shop, I stuck around and over the next three hours we took turns asking the rookie questions about the fire engine, discussing the role of the driver pump operator and backseat firefighter, and offering some of our own lessons learned over the years. The three of us e

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My enemy is fire...not other firefighters

Benjamin Martin

Jul 20, 2019
3 min

My enemy is fire...not other firefighters

#LeadersWanted Each year in March our group at Embrace The Resistance sponsors and hosts a three-day conference in Virginia called the Fire Ground Commander. The conference has a singular focus of providing attendees experience to help them win on the fireground and in their firehouses by providing topics ranging from engine and truck operations to leadership. We have on rule when we select speakers—passion without ego. The conference typically features five national fire ser

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Benjamin Martin

May 7, 2019
3 min

Cowardice from the Cheap Seats

#LeadersWanted I was standing in the parking lot of our training center shooting the breeze with a few guys when one of them said, "Hey man, you've got to see this!" He whips out his cell phone, opens up Youtube, and proceeds to show me a video of two firefighters over zealously practicing a push of a 1.75" line in a parking lot. I quickly recognize the tone of the video is more satire than instructional, basically knocking the Nozzle Forward program. In true firefighter fash

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Confronting the Loudest Voice in the Room: How to Silence Critics

Benjamin Martin

Apr 6, 2019
5 min

Confronting the Loudest Voice in the Room: How to Silence Critics

#LeadersWanted Early in the morning a single vehicle went over the interstate guardrail into a steel traffic pole. I arrived as the first engine officer and established command, triaged the patient red, and requested extrication for the driver. I watched the truck company cut on the car and then as crews worked together to lift the unconscious body onto the waiting stretcher, I couldn’t help but take the situation in. Attempting to thwart the success of the extrication were

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Do You Know Your Job? The Dangers of "That's Good Enough"

Benjamin Martin

Apr 5, 2019
7 min

Do You Know Your Job? The Dangers of "That's Good Enough"

#LeadersWanted I opened the rear compartment of the truck and grabbed a 24 foot ground ladder. I quickly threw it up into a high shoulder position, and carried it over to the building. Without hesitation I spiked the butt of the ladder into the concrete ground, and up it went--smooth and fast. My captain happened to be watching the drill, and after throwing the ladder I glanced over at him expecting to hear a "nice job!". But what came out of his mouth sounded something clo

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Benjamin Martin

Mar 15, 2019
4 min

I Don't Trust You: A Leader's Nightmare

#LeadersWanted I hate to admit it, but unfortunately, as a leader I know what the words I don’t trust you sound like. I had spent countless hours second guessing myself, asking other’s opinions, and trying to find a way to reconnect with this person to get us back on track, but at the time I still couldn't figure out exactly where I went wrong. In searching for answers I found none. Each day the distance between us seemed to grow larger, and unfortunately it increasingly po

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Artificial Experience: Shortcutting Today's Fire Service

Benjamin Martin

Mar 13, 2019
6 min

Artificial Experience: Shortcutting Today's Fire Service

#LeadersWanted “What happens when you can’t just Google the answer?” I remember very vividly the Mayday! Firefighter Down portion of my recruit academy. It was taught over three days including a thorough review of LODD case studies and drills, which recreated many of the same conditions that has previously either injured or killed a firefighter in the line of duty. One such scenario was the Denver Drill, created after 16 year veteran Mark Langvardt of the Denver Fire Depart

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Benjamin Martin

Mar 13, 2019
5 min

The Potential of Having Problems

#LeadersWanted I recently got the chance to spend a whopping nine days in a row with my family in Florida and the Bahamas. For me, this is a pretty big deal since as a recovering workaholic I often allow work obligations to interrupt family time. We drove to DisneyWorld from Virginia while spending almost 26 hours together in the car. It's probably not hard for you to imagine the temptation that laid waiting at Disney World for our two little girls who are six and five yea

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Is your leadership distracted by accolades?

Benjamin Martin

Jan 11, 2019
4 min

Is your leadership distracted by accolades?

#LeadersWanted "Let the accolades come in their own time as a result of your work, not as the reason why you work." I recently received a phone call from an officer in a large department. We talk from time to time, but the reason for this particular call was to help him sort through a feeling he couldn't seem to shake on his own. He began, "I don't feel as though I'm having an impact right now." He continued, "I mean I know I am, I am just struggling more and more often to

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Benjamin Martin

Dec 13, 2018
3 min

The Abuse of Power

#LeadersWanted Power. Far too often people overestimate what they could do if only they had rank or position in their department. They often simultaneously underestimate what they could already be doing without it. Power is a gift we are given by either the formal recognition from an organization, the informal recognition of our peers, or at times from both. Power often has a negative connotation, perhaps because we often see leaders using it for selfish reasons. We've a

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Benjamin Martin

Nov 13, 2018
4 min

Do you really care about Brotherhood?

#LeadersWanted While teaching the latest batch of probationary firefighters during a relay pumping scenario, I started to use the terms "noise" and "loud" to help them differentiate between normal operations and a potential problem. In my example, I used the illustration of loud to describe the normal occurrences on our firegrounds, i.e. a diesel engine at high RPM, ladders slapping the side of a building, command talking on the radio, and teams encouraging and communicating

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Benjamin Martin

Aug 6, 2018
4 min

The Importance of Rooting for Underdogs

#LeadersWanted When you are into this job it's pretty obvious. My Facebook is flooded by videos and pictures by these kinds of folks, always practicing the craft and pursuing a better version of what they know. It's a fun place to work when everyone subscribes to and values training. But I have also read enough posts, combined with my own experience, to know that these folks aren't always welcome by others. When you care about knowing your job, others who don't and are c

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Complacent and Actively Disengaged: What can be done about correcting poor attitudes?

Benjamin Martin

Jul 10, 2018
4 min

Complacent and Actively Disengaged: What can be done about correcting poor attitudes?

#LeadersWanted Have you ever had a conversation with someone whose outlook or attitude about the fire service is so crappy you either found yourself exhausted afterward or perhaps even gave up in the middle for lack of making any progress? As leaders, we are often tasked with realigning people's perspective and/or performance to the expectations of the organization. Accomplishing this typically involves having to have "difficult" conversations with people whose own values an

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Benjamin Martin

Jun 18, 2018
8 min

Micromanaging Isn't Leading

#LeadersWanted There is no greater disservice as a leader to our teams than to micromanage them. It baffles my mind that micromanaging is still a thing, and that anyone should have to spend any time sorting out and highlighting the differences between leadership and management. But the longer I serve in a leadership role, the more carrots I see dangling around tempting people towards this fool’s errand. What’s the problem with micromanaging? Signs and symptoms include maki

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Letting Go of Ego and Learning From Failure

Benjamin Martin

Feb 18, 2017
4 min

Letting Go of Ego and Learning From Failure

#LeadersWanted Almost five years ago I had the opportunity to attend the life-changing training experience offered by the Nozzle Forward Cadre. In addition to meeting and finding many new brothers that I still keep in touch with, it also gave me the opportunity stretch and advance hoselines in freezing conditions with some of the best guys in my department. There was also a feeling in the air, a certain right of passage about having a 1/2 inch of snow on the lid of my helme

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The Enemies of Building and Maintaining Trust

Benjamin Martin

Jun 6, 2016
4 min

The Enemies of Building and Maintaining Trust

#LeadersWanted Trust is a value and feeling that occurs in ourselves, our teams, and our organizations. Creating and maintaining trust is paramount for leadership, yet unfortunately many do not see the need for giving attention to it. Leaders can make the mistake of assuming that their rank and the ability to say because I said so’s binds people to their decision. But how does one define trust and what does it look like? Sometimes trust is having confidence in one’s self: As

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The Courage to Lead Amongst Rumors and Half-Truths

Benjamin Martin

Apr 6, 2016
5 min

The Courage to Lead Amongst Rumors and Half-Truths

#LeadersWanted "When a toxic person can no longer control you, they will try to control how others see you. The misinformation will feel unfair, but stay about it, trusting that other people will eventually see the truth, just like you did." -Jill Blakeway A friend of mine recently relayed some criticism someone had voiced about me to him. Despite the fact that I didn't find his source very credible, it was still tough to hear. I’ve come to learn that you not only can't hi

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Benjamin Martin

Dec 30, 2015
7 min

Social Media Landmines

#LeadersWanted Photographs and journals are important tools in which to capture fire service culture. Stroll through any firehouse and look at its walls. The pictures and memorabilia that hang on them offer us glimpses into the history of our craft, helping preserve and transfer fire service culture to our newest members. It keeps our mission front and center and can be a powerful reminder of the sacrifices that mission demands. However, sometimes when these same pictures

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Leaving a Legacy vs. Having an Impact: I'm in Conflict

Benjamin Martin

May 6, 2015
9 min

Leaving a Legacy vs. Having an Impact: I'm in Conflict

#LeadersWanted "They'll remember us for this" Can I be honest? I think any time the topic of maintaining proper life and work balance comes up, it can quickly become intensely personal. But, if you are ate up with the fire service like I am, it's also one of the most important things we need to talk about. I’m hoping if I go first then maybe you’ll keep your defenses lowered and allow this to hit home. I’m a husband and a father who is spoiled by three incredible and beau

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